Is the Crawford family, let alone America, ready to embrace the MAGA look?
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I’m not sure how to explain this to my wife, but I have my doubts that we can afford to let her look “natural.” A “celebrity cosmetic dermatologist” in Beverly Hills told Vogue that we’re “entering an era where natural, timeless beauty will be increasingly valued.” A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon said the look is “characterized by lifted brows, defined cheekbones, and firm skin.” They call it the “Mar-a-Lago face,” and I can only imagine how much it would cost to achieve.
“Trump’s America is reshaping its aesthetic ideals and imagery,” notes Vogue. The country has shifted to the right, and the evidence of that shift has been evident since at least the inauguration. There was a “uniform style” among the fashionistas surrounding the new president: they stood tall with “bouncy curls, heavy makeup, and ultra-traditional skirt suits.” They were “stern and reserved… bold and daring [but] unmistakably Republican.” This is not the Barbara Bush GOP aesthetic, of course, but something entirely new and exciting: Little House on the Prairie, perhaps if transplanted to Trump Tower.
This turn, at least in terms of fashion choices, is more significant for women than for men, I think, but the political sociology affects us all. Some “Utah curls” (not sure what that is) are in fashion, while tattoos are on the decline. “As ideals and morals change, so does appearance,” Vogue asserts, and one sign of this conservatism is “a return to ultra-gendered values; be it hyper-femininity or hyper-masculinity.”
We’re seeing a “rejection of non-binary aesthetics” and a rise in “gender stratification.” On the fashion runway, “size inclusivity” continues to decline, meaning plus-size people don’t have to apply. “It’s a sign of what’s happening: the continued shrinking and toning of bodies in the name of control. The resurgence of diet culture, the popularity of Ozempic, and the decline in alcohol consumption are not simply a matter of health or aesthetics.” These trends, someone at a “strategic forecasting agency” told Vogue, “reflect a deeper societal push for moderation, discipline, and control over one’s body.”
None of this comes as a surprise to Neil Howe, the author (with the late William Strauss) of Generations: A History of America’s Future and other works, and most recently of The Fourth Turning Is Here. I’ve known Neil since he was, in the Pleistocene, the editor of what became The American Spectator, and I was a writer. When I need advice on, say, what tie to wear the next time I go to Hooters, I call Neil. So I called him the other day to see what he thought of this news from the world of Anna Wintour and Michael Kors—the Neverland where people wear sunglasses indoors.
Vogue is right that the women around Trump, “appointees as well as family members and extended relatives, take their appearance seriously,” Howe tells me. “Aesthetics are certainly important to this administration and its supporters. These women don’t look like they spend a lot of time barefoot in the kitchen, like the idealized ‘traditional wife.’ But they do embody a kind of subservience to the patriarch. And the men’s appearance matters, too. Trump seems to be choosing his
Sourse: theamericanconservative.com
