For Appearance' Sake: The Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks, Beauty, and Grooming
An unusual resource, this overview of cosmetics, treatments, beautiful people, organizations, and social issues concerning appearance zeros in on a definite reference need for the professional, school, college, and public library but falls short of mastering the subject. The work presents a cornucopia of 203 topics as essential as Elizabeth Arden, Mary Kay Ash, and Estee Lauder and as arcane as facial patching, Nefertiti, and Wodaabe, a nomadic group that lives in Niger and gives a great deal of attention to how they look. For anyone anticipating nonstop frivolity, photos of an X ray of bound feet, eye-lift surgery, a South African children's beauty pageant, a beaded coif of a Kenyan woman, and the notorious Draize test on rabbits should broaden expectations.The author skimmed over much of the field, incorporating Turkish baths, tattoos, Yardley of London, and models Twiggy and Cindy Crawford along with data on color additives, critics of the cosmetics industry, and Madame C. J. Walker, America's first black female millionaire. Notably absent are male fashion-plate Oscar Wilde and numerous Native American contributions. Generous cross-referencing and lists of additional books, periodicals, and Web sites point the way to a fuller study for classroom research as well as personal concerns regarding topics such as hair loss. A "Guide to Selected Topics" lists entries under several broad categories such as "Companies" and "Social Issues." Useful to the researcher is a 16-page bibliography amassing a broad span of resources, including a sprinkling of up-to-the-minute writings on bulimia, makeup, wrinkles, plastic surgery, allergies, and Latino standards of beauty. Indexing is adequate.The text exhibits a straightforward, nonacademic style but fails at examples and in-depth commentary (for instance,Suntanfails to mention any risks associated with tanning booths;Teethfails to name the specific chemicals that are "applied daily for a certain number of days" as current tooth-whitening treatments). Some illustrations, such as a cheesecake shot of Betty Grable's legs, sharpened teeth of a Sarawakan woman, and a late-nineteenth-century Japanese barbershop, are wisely chosen, but a half-page each is wasted on nail painting and Avon products. More damaging to quality are insufficient commentaries on topics such as feminism and the personal appearance messages that provoke binge dieting and anorexia.Despite these weaknesses, the book should be popular in high-school and public library collections. It provides numerous interesting tidbits of information and covers a topic of perennial interest.RBBCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved