Walking around the Louvre or the Hermitage, you can get an idea of how people lived in different eras, how they looked and what they wore. For example, in the Middle Ages, women had to go to incredible tricks and sacrifices to meet the generally accepted standards of beauty. The “subtleties” were convinced of this by admiring the portraits of medieval beauties and making a checklist of the appearance of a beautiful lady of those times. Instead of big lips, a big forehead, and this is just the beginning. /8f/r9/8fr9z016pm8sg4sgo8g44wkks.jpg” media=”(max-width: 549px)”> The unspoken trendsetter in the Middle Ages was the church, which strongly encouraged asceticism and the rejection of all earthly pleasures. In view of this, a haggard, fragile, colorless woman was considered the standard of beauty. Bloodletting, the use of lead white and the absence of walks in the bright sun helped medieval beauties to fit themselves to the ideal. With the spread of travel to Asia, narrow slanting eyes and high foreheads have been added to the list of “it's beautiful”. Those who were not naturally gifted shaved or otherwise removed the hair above their foreheads, plucked their eyebrows and eyelashes cleanly, and consumed puffy foods to make their eyes narrower. A fragment of a painting by Jacob Cornelis van Ostsanen A haggard, fragile, colorless woman was considered the standard of beauty in the Middle Ages. The holy fathers did not encourage dyeing hair in a bright color, and it was also impossible to wear them loose. Therefore, beautiful ladies wove tight braids and hid them under hats and capes or laid them in the form of rollers and horns. The hair at the back of the head was often shaved off to make the neck appear longer. 6k/07/6k079r2yvb0g80080g8wc0go0.jpg” media=”(max-width: 549px)”> The ideal proportions of the figure in the Middle Ages were considered to be a large belly and small breasts with general thinness. In the Middle Ages, the ideal proportions of the figure were considered to be a large belly and small breasts with general thinness. A bulging belly was supposed to indicate pregnancy and was considered an indispensable attribute, even if the beauty was not on demolition. To create the desired effect, the ladies used special overlays or additionally draped fabric on the stomach. But the chest, on the contrary, was bandaged and hidden in tight corsets, thus emphasizing their fragility and chastity. The skin on the body was also supposed to be white, and some ladies believed that they could whiten it by bathing in milk. A fragment of a painting by Van Eyck The richer the medieval lady was, the more intricate her outfit was. And although excessive splendor was not encouraged, women of fashion found an opportunity to emphasize their originality. Someone – with the help of interesting drapery or unusual sleeves, someone – with the help of cone-shaped, horn-shaped or heavily embroidered headdresses with veils. Cutouts on the neck were modest or absent at all, in many models of dresses only the hands remained visible, and the body was closed from the chin to the fingertips. There were no pockets in the Middle Ages; little things could be hidden in a purse, which was hung from the belt. By the end of the Middle Ages, morals became freer, and outfits richer. Women got massive jewelry with colored stones, not only crosses. Fabrics are brighter and more lustrous, and cutouts are bolder. 
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