„One of the Mightiest Weapons of Modern Thespians is Their Wardrobe”. The Influence of Hungarian Actresses on Fashion Cover Image

„A modern színművészetnek egyik, hatalmas hódító fegyvere a toilett.” A magyar színésznők öltözködésének hatása a divatra
„One of the Mightiest Weapons of Modern Thespians is Their Wardrobe”. The Influence of Hungarian Actresses on Fashion

Author(s): Csilla Kiss
Subject(s): History
Published by: KORALL Társadalomtörténeti Egyesület

Summary/Abstract: Theatres have always had an important role as shapers of mentalities and social functions. Ever since female roles are played by female actors, they became role models both in attitudes and in culture and education. Whether they wanted it or not, actresses have always had an influence on their audience. Their clothes and mannerisms were imitated readily. Their profession meant that they were constantly in the public eyes and from the beginning of the twentieth century, their private life was shared with the news reading public, too. A large part of female theatre-goers wanted to imitate their favourite stage actresses, thus they bought the beauty products advertised by them, had their clothes made in the style of their idol’s stage outfits, and copied their hairstyle and even their mannerisms. Since it was first the stage outfits that women began to imitate in everyday fashion, the study of the actresses’ wardrobes necessarily includes these. Hungarian actresses became ‘fashion dictators’ in the modern sense from the second half of the nineteenth century. Their first field of conquest was lifestyle and the market for beauty products, probably because (besides aristocrats and the grand bourgeoisie) it was their name and face that was known by the public enough to be used to advertise certain products. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, middle class ladies began to copy the stage outfits of actresses. From the middle of the century, fashion salons began to use the most popular actresses as living advertisements and other professionals of the beauty industry, such as hairdressers, beauty product manufacturers and jewellers, also discovered their potential. After the turn of the century, nearly everything became marketable by actresses: cars, home decoration, sporting equipment, food and drink. While this trend has continued in the West without faltering, this phenomenon turned out differently in Hungary and actresses have lost their role as fashion influence after the Second World War.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 55
  • Page Range: 46-73
  • Page Count: 28
  • Language: Hungarian