How Hollywood Sold Glamour

In the September 1932 issue of Modern Screen, actress Loretta Young appears in a full-page portrait. She’s artfully slouched in a chair, wearing a long dress with delicate cuffs that graze her hands and a semi-sheer top that doesn’t reveal so much as suggest her delicate shoulders. She has a cigarette in one hand, and she’s looking away from the camera, creating a distance between her and the reader. You can’t fully know her, but you probably wish you did—if nothing else, to ask her how she does her mascara. 

Australia Twitter: Glamour photography

Glamour photography is a genre of photography whereby the subjects, usually female, are portrayed in a romantic or sexually alluring way. The subjects may be fully clothed or seminude, but glamour photography stopshttps://t.co/ekPrl0BoUJ pic.twitter.com/D1hvJ7BFRv

— Mix World Tw!tter (@Mix_World_Blog) February 25, 2021

This photo provides a strong contrast to another portrait of Young, printed in a 1936 issue of Movie Classic. In this one, she’s smiling in a simple white shirt, long coat, boots, and pants. One hand is in her pocket and the other is curled around a leash connected to two large, docile dogs. She’s not quite looking at the camera here either, but you don’t necessarily need to know this woman. You probably already do.

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