By Hunter Oatman-Stanford — The French called them or “flies,” because of the dark spots’ resemblance to small insects alighted on fashionably pale skin. In England, artificial beauty marks were known as "plaisters" or patches, since they often covered scars and pockmarks, thereby transforming a blemish into a feature. During the late Renaissance, these conspicuous spots spread among the stylish set and tantalized onlookers, to whom they seemed like a secret language: Were hers placed in symbolic locations? Did his...

How a Makeup Mogul Liberated Women by Putting Them in a Pretty New Cage

By Lisa Hix — When Caitlyn Jenner made her debut on the July 2015 cover of “Vanity Fair” in full old-Hollywood glamour mode, her highly styled appearance triggered discussion and debate: After all, not every woman has the money to, or even wants to, embody that particular ideal of feminine beauty, which involves elaborate foundation makeup to create shimmery highlights and contoured cheeks. Fifty years after the women’s lib movement railed against makeup, we’re still deeply conflicted about the stuff. Is...

Purse Perfection: Judith Leiber on Faberge, Rhinestones, and Her Favorite First Ladies

By Maribeth Keane and Bonnie Monte — When I was a girl, my mother had a lot of wonderful handbags. My dad traveled often in Western Europe. Every time he came home he brought her a beautiful bag. Some of the bags came from Vienna, where my mother was born and raised. She also had bags from France, England, and Spain. My father used to buy them from all over the place. Before the war, there were laws in Hungary that prevented Jews from going to university. If you were Jewish and wanted to attend a university, you had to go...

Abigail Rutherford on the History of Vintage Handbags

By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn — Even as a young girl, I was interested in the historical aspect of handbags. I probably started collecting in high school when I became more aware of my own tastes. I went to a small art school for college and did a lot of studio work, even though I was an art history major. Eventually, I went to one of Leslie Hindman’s auctions and talked to her about the historical side of things versus the mass market of today’s fashion world. She took a chance and hired me as the director of vintage...