The standard for what constitutes the “ideal” female body shape has evolved in step with changing fashion tastes throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The beauty standards of the day hinged, essentially, on whether or not people thought it was okay for women to have curves, and the stark differences between idealized female figures from different decades reveal a lot about public opinion.

Even in 2017, after countless failed attempts to change women’s and girls’ attitudes toward their bodies through diets, pills, and celebrity role models, we’re still doing it wrong by encouraging them to constantly compare themselves to others. At the very least, we’ve come a long way from the days when the latest beauty trend was to use cigarettes and Wonder Bread to lose weight.

Join us as we journey through time to observe the evolution of ridiculous standards for women’s bodies.

More info: (h/t: Vintage EverydayDM)

Image credits: Leo Delauncey

Camille Clifford

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Image credits: Leo Delauncey

Alice Joyce

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Image credits: Leo Delauncey

Jean Harlow

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Elizabeth Taylor

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Twiggy

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Farrah Fawcett

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Image credits: Leo Delauncey

Elle MacPherson

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Image credits: Leo Delauncey

Kate Moss

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Image credits: Leo Delauncey

Christina Aguilera

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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
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