What Do You Think?

Beauty is famously in the eye of the beholder, but it turns out the beholder changes their mind every few decades. What people considered the height of physical perfection in the past might make you do a double-take or scratch your head today. From lead-based face paint to questionable hairstyles and extreme body proportions, the "it crowd" of the 18th century wouldn't exactly be trending on social media right now.

Joseph-Siffred Duplessis on Wikimedia

1. Queen Elizabeth I

During the Elizabethan era, the Queen was the ultimate fashion icon because of her stark, pale complexion and incredibly high forehead. You might find her look a bit haunting today. This is especially noticeable since she used poisonous white lead makeup to achieve that ghostly glow.

Unidentified painter on Wikimedia

2. King Louis XIV

The Sun King was the envy of Europe with his massive, towering wigs and his penchant for showing off his legs in tight stockings and high heels. He was the peak of masculinity in the 1600s. You’d likely think he looked more like he was heading to a costume party than a business meeting.

Hyacinthe Rigaud on Wikimedia

3. Empress Elisabeth of Austria

Empress Elisabeth, or Sisi, was known for wearing her hair down to the floor and having a waist small enough to fit around a spoon. Hair technicians spent hours braiding her hair each day. To a modern observer, her extreme proportions and the sheer weight of her tresses would probably look more exhausting than attractive.

Emil Rabending on Wikimedia

4. George Washington

George Washington was considered extremely handsome and towering in his day. Most people don’t realize that Washington also powdered his hair. Run into him on the street and his chipped teeth and dusty white hair might not strike you as attractive.

John Trumbull on Wikimedia

5. Marie Antoinette

This French queen was the trendsetter of her time, often wearing hairstyles that were several feet tall and decorated with literal objects like model ships. While her peers were obsessed with her extravagant style, you’d probably find the cakey makeup ridiculous. She embodied the rococo ideal, which was all about being as artificial and ornate as humanly possible.

After Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty on Wikimedia

6. Charles II of England

With his dark, heavy features and his massive black periwig, Charles II was known as a charming "merry monarch" who had no trouble attracting attention. His pencil-thin mustache and the excessive ruffles of his outfits were considered very dashing. Today, his look might come across as a bit overly theatrical.

John Michael Wright on Wikimedia

7. Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon wasn't actually as short as the myths suggest, but his hairstyle and his choice of high-waisted breeches were the height of early 19th-century cool. He rocked a "Brutus" cut that was meant to mimic Roman emperors. But it usually just looked like a messy bowl cut to the modern eye.

Jacques-Louis David on Wikimedia

8. Casanova

The name Casanova is synonymous with being a great lover, yet his actual portraits show a man with a very long, prominent nose and a receding chin. In the 18th century, his wit and his elaborate silk coats were enough to make him the most desired man in the room. If you saw his profile on a dating app today, you’d likely swipe left.

Attributed to Francesco Narici on Wikimedia

9. Anne of Cleves

Henry VIII famously called her a "Flanders Mare" because she didn't look like her portrait, but her features were actually quite popular in her home country. She had a very heavy, regal face and wore bulky German fashions. To us, her look seems a bit dowdy and somber.

Hans Holbein the Younger on Wikimedia

10. The Prince Regent (George IV)

Before he became King, George IV was a "dandy" who obsessed over tight-fitting corsets and extremely high collars that brushed his ears. He was considered the most polished man in England. But his heavy use of rouge and his bulging silhouette wouldn't win him any beauty contests now.

Thomas Lawrence on Wikimedia

11. Madame de Pompadour

As the chief mistress of Louis XV, she invented the "pompadour" hairstyle and was the blueprint for 18th-century French beauty. Her look involved very round, rouged cheeks and a soft, fleshy face that signaled wealth and health. Today’s preference for sharp jawlines and contoured features makes her soft, powdered appearance look a bit outdated.

François Boucher on Wikimedia

12. Lord Byron

Byron was the original "bad boy" poet, and women across Europe swooned over his pale skin and curly, dark locks. He actually suffered from a club foot and was constantly dieting to maintain a "frail" look that was trendy during the Romantic era. While he was the ultimate heartthrob then, his moody, sickly aesthetic might feel lackluster today.

Richard Westall on Wikimedia

13. Alexander the Great

Ancient biographers described Alexander as having a "melting" gaze and a unique tilt to his head that everyone tried to copy. He famously refused to grow a beard when all other men did. To a modern eye, his wavy "lion" mane and his wide-eyed stare look a little more intense than handsome.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

14. Lucrezia Borgia

This Italian noblewoman was celebrated for her golden hair and her delicate, fair features that inspired many Renaissance painters. She would often spend days sitting in the sun with a special hat to bleach her hair. Her very high forehead and lack of eyebrows, which were fashionable then, would probably look quite intense today.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti on Wikimedia

15. Cardinal Richelieu

He might be a villain in movies, but Richelieu was considered a very elegant and sharp-looking man in the French court. His long, thin face and his perfectly groomed "van dyke" goatee were the epitome of sophisticated masculinity. Now, his sharp features and his flowing red robes might make him look more like a cartoon antagonist.

Nicolas de Larmessin III, Esme de Boulonais on Wikimedia

16. Beauchamp "Beau" Brummell

Brummell was the man who convinced men to stop wearing wigs and start wearing suits, making him the most influential stylist in history. While he was the peak of "dandyism," his stiff neckcloths and obsessive grooming would seem incredibly high-maintenance and stuffy in a modern setting.

Giammarco Boscaro on Unsplash

17. Cleopatra

History remembers her as a great beauty, but Roman coins show her with a very large, hooked nose and a prominent chin. Her allure was likely more about her voice, her intellect, and her incredible charisma than her actual facial symmetry. If you met her today, you might be surprised by how different she looks from the Hollywood versions played by Elizabeth Taylor or Gal Gadot.

Fox Film Corporation on Wikimedia

18. Maximilien Robespierre

The French revolutionary was known for being "the Incorruptible," and he always kept his hair perfectly powdered even when things got messy. He had a very sharp, pointed face and a stiff posture that people found very dignified during the Enlightenment. Today, his pale, pockmarked skin and his intense, spectacles-wearing gaze wouldn't exactly make him a cover model for a magazine.

Gilles-Louis Chrétien, after Jean-Baptiste Fouquet on Wikimedia

19. Henry VIII (Young)

We usually think of him as a giant, bearded man, but in his youth, Henry was considered the handsomest prince in all of Christendom. He was athletic and tall with golden-red hair. Modern tastes usually lean toward larger features, so his specific facial proportions might look a little pinched to a contemporary observer.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

20. Benjamin Franklin

When he lived in France, Franklin was a total rock star, and women actually wore their hair in a "coiffure à la Franklin" to honor him. He played up his "backwoods" American charm by wearing a fur hat and refusing to wear a formal wig. Even though he was the darling of the Parisian salons, his balding head and spectacles don't quite scream "international symbol of love" anymore.

David Martin on Wikimedia