In a recent interview on hubpages, Lilian Eden asked me whether I was drawn towards 'yesterday's definition of beauty' or to what Hollywood is projecting today. I all but skirted the issue (no pun intended) claiming that there were great beauties in every era despite the socially inflicted standards. I did; however, mention my fascination with the Gibson Girls of the late 19^th and early 20^th saying that those buxom, bloomered babes were quite the rage in their day. Incredibly sexy, despite their turn of the century moral standards, Gibson Girls possessed more than an alluring mystique. They possessed powerful skills and attributes that today’s women could easily emulate and from which they would indubitably benefit.

When I say “Gibson Girls” I refer to the fair creations depicted in the wildly popular drawings of American artist Charles Dana Gibson. These clever young women were considered “hot” when the word “hot” still referred to the state of your porridge.

Before I get down to the bootylicious bits and suggestions on how to become as steamy as a Gibson Girl, I feel compelled to offer a brief glimpse into the era in which Gibson became so popular.

Gibson lived from 1867-1944, which would place his most productive years right in the middle of the Victorian era. American Victorianism was trendy chiefly in the New England states from roughly 1875 to 1910 . During these puritanical times, sex was never discussed in polite company. Even the word “leg” dare not be mentioned for fear that gentlemen overhearing such conversation might lose control of their bodily functions. Sexual feelings and non-marital “relations” were barely acknowledged by people of good breeding, save for one or two goateed Viennese psychoanalysts. That’s not to say people of the day were asexual; quite the opposite. Brothels flourished and were widely frequented by gentlemen (mostly) of all walks of society both in Europe and the U.S. while thousands of pornographic pamphlets, photos and novels were fervently snatched up by a sexually repressed populace.

So what does that have to do with Gibson? A talented art student, living in New York City, Gibson got a real break in the fall of 1886 when he managed to sell a drawing of a dog chained to his doghouse to a little publication called Life magazine. He continued to produce drawings for Life for the next 30 years and became a veritable media superstar of his day. The dog had nothing to do with it. The Gibson Girl was what made him famous. She was to artwork what Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot were for photography. In Victorian times, it was the illustrators for popular magazines that influenced people’s esthetic values much the same as movies and television do today.

The real life sex goddess in C.D. Gibson’s day was a beautiful teenage showgirl named Evelyn Nesbit. Her story is a Hub in itself so I won’t say much about her here except that she was the model for Gibson’s most iconic illustrations. Her flowing tresses typified the Gibson Girl, along with her taller than average hourglass figure and seductive expression. Her personality probably matched Gibson’s modern woman as well. Life magazine’s Gibson Girls were spirited, well bred, independent and utterly feminine, yet underneath it all, there was that Scarlet O’Hara flash of mischief their eyes. That ever so naughty characteristic was what made them so alluring.

Coy, mischevious, intelligent, - those sexy attributes in the Victorian era are still sexy today. I may be a woman, but women know what’s sexy as well as any man. Ladies, don’t let any man tell you otherwise. In today’s era of uber women’s liberation, bare-all swimsuits, and liposuction, it’s not too late to celebrate the cleverness and untapped power of the modern woman! Here are my highly educated suggestions:

• We need to sport more Gibson Girl hairstyles. Curling irons, flat irons, hair rollers and the like are as cumbersome as corsets were in Evelyn Nesbit’s day. Just let your hair do its thing and pile it on top of your head. If a few tendrils escape, all the better. 
• Design and market a Gibson Girl swim suit complete with black stockings. I’m sure Gortex has some newfangled material that keeps you cool in 90 degree temperatures. When you’ve developed it, let me know and I’ll invest in your company. The reason the word ‘cellulite’ didn’t exist in Gibson’s day was because no one had it. No one had it because no one saw it. Surely you’ve heard of Schrodinger’s principle of the quantum theory of superposition? Simply put, it doesn’t exist until you observe it.

• Wear a shirtwaist blouse with a sexy bustier or camisole. Padded push up bras are also acceptable and very Gibsonesque. Sport a flowing skirt hiked up a little in the back with just a hint of a bustle. If you’re bustle is already built in, more power to you.
• Continue to trust your feminine intuition. It will help you screen out deadbeat suitors.
• Don’t be afraid to be “mischievous”. It worked for the Gibson Girl and it will work for you. Just don’t get arrested.
• Read Victorian sex novels. They're the real thing and your partner will thank you for it.

If you’re interested in an incredibly sophisticated Victorian read by a modern day author, check out “The Crimson Petal and the White” (offered below); a brilliantly conceived, funny, erotic and satisfying novel by Michael Faber. The book explores England’s Victorian society including “preening socialites, drunken journalists,.. and whores of all types and persuasions”. His brilliant heroine is in many ways, the Gibson Girls’ British sister.

There's so much more to say about the clever social commentary that accompanied the drawings of Charles Dana Gibson that I'd have to reserve it for another Hub. I also promise you a Hub on how to create the perfect Gibson Girl hairdo. It's not as easy as I've described so hastily above. I do have some hands-on experience, having played several Gibson Girl era characters on stage. Stay tuned.