In Europe and the United States in the second half of the 19th century, social elites and literary and artistic stars became the leaders of social trends.
At that time, it was not popular to think of thinness as beauty, and women represented by Lilian Russell opened the trend of plump figures.
Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell, an American light comedy singer at the time, was tall and rounded, weighing 200 pounds, more than 180 pounds.
However, her dress, lifestyle, and even athletic figure have attracted fans to follow suit.
It is said that the later Marilyn Monroe, throughout her life, used Lillian as a fashion icon.
Monroe by bicycle
Lillian inherited her mother's warm, straightforward, and courageous character.
She was born in Iowa in 1860. Her father, Charles, was a newspaper publisher, and her mother, Cynthia, was a prominent writer, feminist, and the first woman to run for mayor of New York City.
Lillian is the fourth of her 5 daughters, born beautiful, intelligent, energetic, and especially fond of singing and acting.
As a teenager she taught herself music and became a major choir.
When Lillian was 18, her parents divorced. The mother took her and several daughters and moved to New York City.
The free and open atmosphere of New York opened Lillian's horizons and gave birth to her ideal of being an opera singer.
However, the open-minded mother objected to her daughter's choice, believing that it was not a very decent thing for a girl to work in the theater.
But Lillian decided to make decisions for her own life.
She dated the young Man Walter, the son of a theater owner. Later, she fell in love with band conductor Harry Brahan and soon married—she was pregnant with his child.
After giving birth to a son, Lillian began performing on stage. Her beautiful beauty, plump posture, and especially her beautiful singing voice were welcomed by the audience.
Unfortunately, when his son was only a few months old, the nanny changed his diaper and accidentally stabbed a pin into his abdomen, causing the child to become infected and die.
This human tragedy also ended Lillian's marriage to Harry.
At this time, performing selflessly and devotedly on the stage seems to be Lillian's way to resolve her grief. She began to stand on the Broadway stage, collaborating with some famous song and dance stars, and her singing and acting skills were becoming more and more sophisticated.
At the age of 22, Lillian fell in love with the composer Edward Solomon.
The beautiful Lillian gave Edward great inspiration, and he created many works for her, such as "Paul and Virginia", "Billy Taylor", "Legion Pet" and so on.
After they gave birth to a daughter, they were married in New Jersey.
The marriage brought Lillian luck: she began performing in New York theaters and became a little famous new opera star.
However, in 1886 Edward was arrested—it turned out that he had committed bigamy and had previously concealed the fact that he was married from Lillian. The second marriage ended abruptly.
During that time, Lillian took the stage as a lover.
Her crying, her laughter, her touching singing voice, her breathtaking beauty, her plump and rounded figure, her graceful and luxurious dress, all shined on the stage and became the theme of media hype.
In just a few years, she became a well-known opera goddess.
An actress named Mary Dresler once recalled in an interview with the media that Lillian performed at that time: "I still remember when she came on stage, with a pure sense of awe, followed by thunderous applause, almost overturning the roof of the theater." 」 ”
Lillian's charm comes not only from her singing voice, her figure and beauty, but also from the fashion ideas she advocates.
She doesn't blindly follow fashion trends, because she is a trendmaker herself.
The first thing she advocated was a plump and muscular figure.
She herself is such a figure - tall and round, weighing 200 pounds, which translates to more than 180 pounds.
Although according to the current vision, her figure is already obese, but in that era, her rounded arms, plump breasts, soft waist, delicate skin, but it is synonymous with sexy, charming, and luxurious.
Women who pursue fashion, in order to imitate her roundness, even secretly put some cushions in their clothes.
However, instead of preaching fat beauty, she intensifies exercise to stay healthy, such as cycling.
In that era, bicycles were no longer commonplace, yet few women rode them. One is because women's clothing is complicated and bulky, and the other is that some people think that it will damage women's physiological functions.
A woman on a bicycle at the end of the 19th century
However, some free-thinking ladies began to break the stereotypes and pedal their bicycles freely, including Lilian Russell.
Women on bicycles at the end of the 19th century
For the convenience of cycling, she modified her outfit: she wore a skirt that was 3 inches shorter, or a cardigan with bloomer pants.
She also claimed: "I don't wear skirts that are too long when I exercise. ”
The fashion goddess's approach immediately triggered the pursuit of fans, and everyone wore short skirts or lantern pants to ride.
One of Lillian's die-hard fans, the billionaire Jim Brady, even gave her a Tiffany couture bike.
The bike is extravagant: many parts are made of sterling silver, gold-plated, the handlebars are studded with pearls and gemstones, the spokes of the wheels are engraved with the initials of her name, and countless sparkling diamonds are embedded.
This blingbling priceless bicycle is very much in line with Lillian's graceful and luxurious temperament, making her trend trip more high-profile.
In this way, Lillian bloomed on the stage while leading the trend in the field of fashion, becoming the brightest star of that era.
After a third failed marriage, she married her fourth husband, Alexander Pollock Moore, the owner of a newspaper, in 1912.
Lillian Russell and her fourth husband
After marriage, Lillian gradually withdrew from the stage, but still maintained a huge influence in the field of fashion.
She opened a column in the newspaper to promote a healthy and fashionable lifestyle, became a popular fashion lecturer, and has been running for women's rights.
In 1922, Lillian died of illness at her home in Pittsburgh at the age of 62, attending her funeral by thousands of people.
To this day, her plump and enchanting posture is still a fashion landscape; her healthy and upward life concept is still influencing many people.