HELD AN ALMOST UNKNOWN IDEAL BODY IMAGE IN COMPARISON TO PRESENT DAY. THIS ERA WAS KNOWN FOR THE IDEAL REPRESENTING THE NATURAL BEAUTY, ECHOING FREEDOM AND CELEBRATION OF EXPRESSION. CURVACEOUS, TALL FEMALES WITH SOFT LINES, CONTOURS AND VOLUPTUOUS BREASTS WERE SEEN AS THE IDEAL BEAUTY OF THE TIME. CURVES MEANT WEALTH, SOCIAL STATUS, CLASS AND POWER. BEING WELL FED AND WELL DRESSED WERE SIGNIFIERS OF DOING WELL IN LIFE AND CELEBRATING GOOD TASTE. IN THE 1910S THE CORSETRY TREND WHICH WAS PROMINENT THROUGH EDWARDIAN AND VICTORIAN TIMES CAME BACK INTO FASHION ALLOWING FEMALES TO TAKE ON AN HOURGLASS FIGURE. IT WAS COMMON FOR THESE TO BE MADE FROM WHALE BONE, AND BE FITTED SO TIGHT, OVERTIME WEARING THE CORSET ITSELF COULD CAUSE INTERNAL DAMAGE AND BREATHING PROBLEMS. IT WAS AT THIS POINT IN TIME WHERE WOMEN BEGAN TO SUFFER TO BECOME THE PERFECT SHAPE, SIZE AND WEIGHT. WOMEN WERE BEING EXPOSED TO MORE CULTURES, FASHIONS, MEDIA AND ADVERTISING THAN EVER BEFORE, SUBSEQUENTLY ALLOWING FOR A PREDETERMINED PRECONCEPTION OF WHAT IS AND ISNT THE IDEAL BODY IMAGE. 1920-29 THE ROARING TWENTIES SAW A DRAMATIC CHANGE IN THE IDEAL BODY IMAGE, WHICH CELEBRATED LOOSE FITTING CLOTHES DRAPED OVER A BOYISH FRAME. COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS OF CORSETRY AND VOLUPTUOUS BREASTS, THE 20S BOASTED BARE ARMS, MINIMAL BREASTS AND SHORT HAIR, REPRESENTED THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. THERE WAS A GREAT SURGE OF ANDROGYNOUS YOUTH AND GENDER BLENDING THROUGH FASHION AND PERSONAL INTERPRETATION. THE 20S WERE KNOWN FOR THE FLAPPERS AND THEIR ENVIED STYLE, TASTE AND CLASS. DRESSES WERE BEADED TO ADD WEIGHT AND MOVEMENT TO THE FABRIC. SIDE SLITS, LOW WAIST LINES AND DARING CUTS, ALLOWED FOR FLASHING ANKLES, KNEES AND ACCENTUATED LEGS, HINTING AT SEXUALITY. THIS FREEWHEELING LIFESTYLE CAME TO AN ABRUPT END WITH THE ONSET OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN THE EARLY 1930S. 1930-39 THE 1930S SAW BOTH THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE ONSET OF WWII. WITHOUT MOST NOT REALISING AT THE TIME, THE FASHIONS AND BODILY CHANGES WERE INFLUENCED BY THESE SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL CHANGES. THE ERA ALLOWED CURVES TO NATURALLY COME BACK INTO FASHION, AND STYE BECAME MORE TRADITIONAL. SWIMWEAR CAME TO A PEAK AT WOMEN BECAME MUCH MORE CONFIDENT IN THEMSELVES. HEMLINES DROPPED ADDING FEMININITY TO OUTFITS, WHILST FLORALS AND COLOUR WERE USED TO DEFINE MEN FROM WOMEN. SKIRTS BECAME LONGER SHOWING AND HIGHLIGHTING A NATURAL WASITLINE. THE CELEBRITY IDEAL IN THIS ERA WAS HARD TO REACH DUE TO AN AVERAGE US BMI OF 23.6. CELEBRITIES WOMEN ENVIED AND ASPIRED TO LOOK LIKE WERE BARBARA STANSWICK WITH A BMI OF 18.5, AND LENA HORNE WITH A BMI OF 20.3. 1940-49 THE 40S ALLOWED WOMEN TO BECOME SEXUALISED AND IN FULL GLORY. THE IDEAL BODY IMAGE THROUGHOUT THE DECADE WAS SEEN AS SEXY, CURVY, LARGE BREASTED, WITH A FULL FIGURED, HOURGLASS SHAPE. PIN-UP GIRLS AND PLAYBOY WERE SEEN, PRO- MOTED AND TALKED ABOUT EVERYWHERE ADDING A SENSE OF PERFECTION TO THE IDEAL BODY IMAGE WHICH MOST ASPIRED TO LOOK LIKE, OR AS A MALE, BE WITH. NEWLY INTRODUCED BEAUTY PRODUCTS SUCH AS MAX FACTOR PANCAKE FOUNDATION, LIQUID SILK STOCKINGS AND PILLAR-BOX RED LIPSTICK, ADDING A FLIRTACIOUS, AND SEXY VIBE TO THE ERA. ALL OF THESE PRODUCTS ARE SEEN IN PRESENT DAY TO DAY LIFE, INTERNATIONAL BEAUTY TRENDS AND FASHION MAGAZINES. WOMEN OFTEN ASPIRED AND WORKED TOWARDS LOOKING LIKE MARILYN MONROE AND GRACE KELLY. BOTH OF THESE WERE SEEN AS THE BEAUTY IDEALS OF THE DECADE DUE TO THE INCREASED POPULARITY OF HOLLYWOOD AND ENTICING VISAGE. 1950-59 THE 50S EXAGGERATED THE 1940S IDEAL FEMALE IDEAL WITH AN OVER EMPHASISED WAIST, PERFECT HAIR AND FLAWLESS MAKE-UP. THE GLAMOUROUS IDEAL YET AGAIN STEMMED FROM FAMOUS HOLLYWOOD ICONS AND FILM STARS SUCH AS PETITIE AUDREY HEPBURN, SOPHIA LOREN AND MARILYN MONROE, WHOSE BMI THROUGHOUT THE DECADE AVERAGED AT A LOW 20, WITH THE AVERAGE BEING 23.6. THE 50S SAW THE BEGINNING OF MAJOR BODY INSECURITIES, IN REGARDS TO COMPARING ONESELF TO THE IDEAL AT THE TIME. THE PRESSURE TO LIVE UP TO THIS IDEAL WERE TOUGH AND DEMANDING, COMPARING THE 50S TO THE PRESENT DAY IDEAL BODY IMAGE. ICONS AT THE TIME WERE THAT SUCH AS SHIRLEY MACLAINE WHO HAD A LOW BMI OF 18.8, AND ELIZABETH TAYLOR WHOSE BMI WAS 20.5. 1960-69 THE 1960S WAS NICKNAMED THE SWINGING SIXTIES AND THE HEIGHT OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION, REFLECTING THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF FASHIONS AND THE IDEALISED 50S BODY IMAGE. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE 50S AND 60S IN TERMS OF BODY SIZE AND IMAGE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES IN HISTORY REGARDING THE EVER- CHANGING IDEAL. FASHION, MUSIC, ART AND THE SURROUNDING SOCIOCULTURAL ISSUES OF THE ERA, CHANGED THE SHAPE OF THE DECADE. RATHER THAN HIGH-END GLAMOUR AND CURVES, A SKINNY, PREPUBESCENT LOOK TOOK OVER THE HYPE SURROUNDING BODY IMAGE. THE IDEAL WAS VERY SLIGHT, SLIM FRAMED, PETITE AND BOYISH, OFTEN WITH SHORT PIXIE-CROP HAIR AND LAVISH EYE MAKE-UP EXPRESSING PERSONALITY AND STYLE. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 20S WOMEN AND MODELS WANTED TO BECOME SLIM. TWIGGY HAS BEEN NOTED AS THE STEROTYPICAL IDEAL OF THE 60S IN TERMS OF BOTH FASHION AND BODY IMAGE. THE MODEL WHOSE WEIGHT AVERAGED AT 112LBS, HAD A DANGEROUSLY LOW BMI OF 15, ALMOST INVISIBLE BREASTS, SLIGHT FRAME, SHORT HAIR AND A FRESH, BOYISH CHARM. THE AVERAGE US BMI HAD RISEN FROM 23.6 TO 25.2, WHILST IDEALS SUCH AS SOLEDAD MIRANDA AND JESSICA LANGE, HAD BMIS OF 17.6 AND 20.4, BEING ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO BOTH OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN NATURALLY. 1970-79 THE SLENDER IDEAL OF THE 60S CONTINUED ON THROUGH THE 70S. TOWARDS THE END OF THE DECADE, WOMEN WERE ENCOURAGED TO DRESS WITH MORE FREEDOM ALLOWING EXPERIMENTAL DRESS. GARMENTS TESTED WERE SUCH AS MAXI SKIRTS, ALLOWING PARTS OF THEIR BODY TO BE COVERED. AN UNKEPT, TOUSLED LOOK VISAGE WAS COMMON AND IDEALISED AT TIMES BY MANY, WHILST FEMALE SEXUALITY CONTINUED TO SOAR. IN ORDER TO KEEP UP WITH THE CHANGES IN BODY IMAGE, DIET PILL SALES ROSE DRASTICALLY OVERTIME. AT THE SAME TIME, KAREN CARPENTER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ANOREXIA NERVOSA HIGH- LIGHTING TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1945 WITH THE CASE OF ELLEN WEST, HOW EATING DISORDERS CAN BE INFLUENCED THROUGH ASPIRATIONS AND ONES ENVIRONMENT. THE AVERAGE US BMI DROPPED SLIGHTLY TO 24.9, WITH IDEAL BEAUTIES MORGAN FAIRCHILD AND JONI MITCHELL BOASTING BMIS OF 18 AND 20.5. EVEN WITH THE BMI AT AT A LOWER FIGURE, THE IDEAL ONE WOULD WANT TO REACH IS STILL ALMOSt IMPOSSIBLE WHEN COMPARING ONESELF TO THE CELEBRITY STATS WITHOUT EXCESSIVE DIETING, EXERCISE AND/OR PURGING. 1980-89 IN THE 80S THE IDEAL CELEBRATED LEGS IN HIGH-CUT SWIMWEAR AS WELL AS SHOULDER PADS TOWARDS THE END OF THE DECADE, BEING USED AS SYMBOL OF FEMALE POWER. 60% OF PLAYBOY MODELS THROUGHOUT THE DECADE WEIGHED 15% LESS THAN AVERAGE FOR THEIR HEIGHT. NAOMI CAMPBELL, CINDY CRAWFORD AND CLAUDIA SCHIFFER WERE IDEALISED THROUGHOUT THE DECADE, EVEN THROUGH CRAWFORD HAD A LOW AND UNHEALTHY US BMI OF 19. THE AVERAGE US BMI HAD RISEN SLIGHTLY ONCE AGAIN TO 25, WITH IDEAL BEAUTIES SUCH AS CHERYL TIEGS AND BO DEREK HAVING A BMI OF 17.6 AND 20.4. 1990-99 WOMEN IN THE 90S TOOK A TURN FOR A HEALTHIER PHYSIQUE. TONED MUSCLLES AND SLENDER BODIES WERE CLASSED AS THE IDEAL SHAPE, WITH WOMEN BEGINNING TO TAKE EXERCISE AND HEALTH VERY SERIOUSLY FOR THE FIRST TIME. SHARING A GYM WITH MALES, ALSO PROVOKED THE THOUGHT OF WANTING TO APPEAL TO THE OPPOSITE SEX, AND THE NEED TO WORK FOR IT. WOMEN WANTED TO BE THE GIRL NEXT DOOR CHARACTER, SHOWCASING A FRESH AND NATURAL APPEARANCE. KATE MOSS BECAME AN ICON OF THE 90S CLAIMING THE COVERS OF FASHION MAGAZINES SUCH AS VOGUE AND BAZAAR SHOWCASING THE WAIF LOOK WHICH BECAME REMINISCENT OF THE DECADE. MOSS HAD A BMI AT THE TIME OF 16, PROMOTING AN UNHEALTHY IMAGE TO HER FANS AND FASHION CULTURE AS A WHOLE. IMPOSSIBLE IDEAL STATISTICS CONTINUE TO DROP, WHILST THE AVERAGE US BMI IN THE 90S ROSE TO 26.3. IDEALISED AND PROMOTED FIGURES SUCH AS TARA REID AND PENELOPE CRUZ RANGED FROM 17.5 AND 19.6. 2000-14 THE NAUGHTY NOUGHTIES SHOWCASED AN ARRAY OF ISSUES AND DEBATES REGARDING BODY IMAGE AND THE IDEAL. THE SIZE 0 TREND CONTINUED TO GROW EPIDEMICALLY, WHILST OTHERS ARGUED PLUS SIZE MODELS SHOULD BE USED MORE TO BALANCE THE PRESS AND THE IMPRESSION ON THE READER. SUPER SKINNY MODELS WERE SEEN ON THE CATWALKS AND MANY ASPIRED TO BE AS THIN AS POSSIBLE IN RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE. SEXUALITY IS AT ITS HIGHEST IN REGARDS TO FEMALES, EVEN THOUGH BODY SHAPE HAS CHANGED DRASTICALLY FROM SEXY TO STICK THIN. MEDIA, MAGAZINES AND PRESS BOMBARDED READERS WITH DIETS, FITNESS REGIMES, CELEBRITIES AND THE SKINNY IDEAL BEING PROMOTED. IN 2014, ISSUES REGARDING WEIGHT AND SIZE CONTINUE TO RISE, WITH ORGANISATIONS STEPPING IN TO PREVENT, TREAT AND RAISE AWARENESS OF EATING DISORDERS AND NATURAL BODY IMAGE. THE AVERAGE US BMI IS 27.5 IN 2014, IS THE HIGHEST IN HISTORY SHOWING A CONTINUED BATTLE IN REGARDS OF WEIGHT AND IMAGE. IN COMPARISON TO THOSE IDEALISED, KIERA KNIGHTLY BOASTS A LOW BMI OF 17.2, WHILST NATALIE PORTMAN COMES IN JUST HEALTHY AT 19.2.