A History of Sex and Fashion

In the 18th and 19th centuries it wasn't a plunging neckline that could get you in trouble, it was lipstick. There was even a British law that said a marriage should be annulled if the woman wore makeup before her wedding day. Respectable ladies didn't wear makeup; it was reserved for prostitutes and actresses. French actress Sarah Bernhardt brazenly wore lipstick, even calling it a stylo d'amour or "love pen."