And the genius of pure beauty: what we would have looked like in the Middle Ages

I'm currently writing a new novel set in the Middle Ages. Accordingly, I read and watch a lot about the period, and here's something I couldn't help but notice. What did the beauties of that era actually look like?

Let's start with dresses. Clothing was as covered-up as possible, and IMPORTANT! no 'indecent protrusions' were supposed to be visible. So both the cut and the underwear were designed to make the chest flat (great news for 'size-zero' women). But that's not all. Since the cult of the Madonna flourished at the time, women wore special pads attached to the stomach to imitate pregnancy. Here are the dress models for going out:

Still want to be the lady of someone's heart? Be prepared to do a bit of magic with your appearance. The forehead had to be as high as possible, so painful hair removal was guaranteed. You would also have to remove your eyebrows and—wow—pluck your eyelashes. Portraits confirm this fact.

Next — headwear! Since even a strip of hair was forbidden to show, women invented many headdresses that featured elaborate shapes, multiple layers and sometimes reached 40 cm in height.

A little later, women were luckier. Full hair came back into fashion (blond or red and necessarily curly). It was braided into very thick plaits (real gold threads were woven into them) and the braids were twisted around the ears.

Fanciful hair nets and ornaments were also in fashion, and women were allowed to wear jewelry, gradually bringing them closer to that magical image many associate with the Cinderella fairy tale.

Men's fashion next time. This will be a post for women with strong nerves)))

By the way, my heroine looks something like this