Another Piece of Forgotten History

 

I recently completed my cozy mystery set in a 1943 radio station, “Dead Air.” In the book, the station’s main actress, a seductive temptress named Samantha Starr, is murdered. I relied heavily of research dealing with life on the home front during World War II and the fashion of the day but there was a fact that I did not know that friend, author, poet, songwriter Mike Turner sent to me – how red lipstick became a symbol of patriotism during the war.

Red lipstick was considered blasphemy when the United States was born. Preachers of the 1700s called the makeup frivolous and it made American women look Oriental.

The first use of red lipstick to make a protest statement came in the early 1900s when cosmetic manufacturer Elizabeth Arden, who was a staunch supporter of the suffragette movement, handed out tubes of her red lipstick to marchers and protestors who were demanding the right to vote. The lipstick would show solidarity between the marchers.

In the mid-1930s, the Axis powers came into power in Europe. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini each proclaimed that they hated women using red lipstick and virtually banned its use. At the same time, Arden and her competitor, Helena Rubenstein, were brought in by the U.S. Army and Marines to create makeup for the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve and the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. The main makeup item in the kit was bright red lipstick that was designed not only as a compliment to the women’s uniforms, but also as a slap in the face to the Axis leaders. The designers said the lipstick was to “fight fascism in style.”

Suddenly, World War II propaganda posters began springing up across the country featuring women like Rosie the Riveter wearing red lipstick. Red shades with patriotic names such as Victory Red, Tussy’s Fighting Red, and Regimental Red appeared in stores and the women of America loved it. In fact, the government would not allow rationing of the ingredients to make the cosmetic because women needed to “maintain their femininity while working in factories and on the front lines of the war effort.”

An interesting and forgotten fact from American history. Thanks for sharing, Mike Turner!