Glamour (presentation)

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"Glamor" redirects here. For other uses, see Glamor (software).
Hedy Lamarr was generally considered to be a glamorous star.
Joan Collins and Sophia Loren - two icons of glamour.
For other meanings, see Glamour (disambiguation). See also Fashion.

Glamour originally was a term applied to a magical-occult spell that was cast on somebody to make them see something the spell-caster wished them to see, when in fact it was not what it seemed to be. In the late 19th century terminology, a non-magical item used to help create a more attractive appearance gradually became known as 'a glamour'.[1] Today, glamour is the impression of attraction or fascination that a particularly luxurious or elegant appearance creates, an impression which is better than the reality. Typically, a person, event, location, technology, or product such as a piece of clothing can be glamorous or add glamour.

Virginia Postrel says that for glamour to be successful nearly always requires sprezzatura - an appearance of effortlessness, and to appear distant - transcending the everyday, to be slightly mysterious and somewhat idealised, but not to the extent it is no longer possible to identify with the person.[1] Glamorous things are neither opaque, hiding all, nor transparent showing everything, but translucent, favourably showing things.[2]

The early Hollywood star system in particular specialised in Hollywood glamour where they systematically glamorised their actors and actresses.[1]

Glamour can be confused with a style, which is adherence to a particular school of fashion, or intrinsic beauty; whereas glamour can be external and deliberate.


A glamour was originally said to be a spell cast by a witch to make somebody see things in a different way.[1]

Late in the 19th century the common meaning shifted to being applied to ordinary objects and jewellery without connotations of supernatural, merely upon the effect that it has on appearance. This is a sense used in this article and to some extent is the way that it was used by the early Hollywood system.

In modern usage glamour is often confused with style or beauty; but they may be considered to be distinct, although glamour may give the appearance of beauty or present as a personal style.


"Glamour doesn't just happen, people don't wake up in the morning glamorous." - Virginia Postrel[1]

An Aston Martin DB5 as seen in Goldfinger. Expensive items are often part of a glamorous lifestyle.

"Glamour is the result of chiaroscuro, the play of light on the landscape of the face, the use of the surroundings through the composition, through the shaft of the hair and creating mysterious shadows in the eyes. In Hollywood, stars as far apart as Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, Rita Hayworth and Dolores del Rio, own and acquire glamor, technology and willingness to refine the beauty of its own... Are indecipherable magic of the cinema, substance of the dreams of a generation and the admiration of the following meeting", -filmmaker Josef von Sternberg, .[3]

Early Hollywood movie stars were often seen as particularly glamorous, this was due to the operation of the early Hollywood system where extensive methods were used to make the stars glamorous. For example photography was done in rooms which had been specially painted to flatter the skin tone of the actors and actresses, and attention was paid to hair and clothes.[1] Notably this was successfully done with:

Art deco is often said to be glamorous[4]


Glamour icons are people that are thought to epitomise glamour, that have an individual style that makes them more attractive.

For example:


A glamour photograph of Michele Merkin.
Main article: Glamour photography

Glamour photography is the photographing of a model with the emphasis on the model and the model's sexuality and allure; with any clothing, fashion, products or environment contained in the image being of minor consideration. Photographers use a combination of cosmetics, lighting and airbrushing techniques to produce the most physically appealing image of the model possible.


Many forms of architecture employ glamorous motifs to enhance the appearance of what may be otherwise mundane buildings.

The Art Deco style is generally considered to be a glamorous one.[4]


Many types of media have been accused of glamorising violence, for example the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick or The Matrix.

The Grand Theft Auto video game series is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records 2009 as the most controversial game series and has often been accused of glamorising violence.[7]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "TED conference Virginia Postrel". 
  2. ^ "The Gilded Age". The New York Times. 2004-10-10. Retrieved 2010-05-03. 
  3. ^ [1]Buena suerte viviendo:Dolores del Río
  4. ^ a b Fulford, Robert (13 September 2003). "Art Deco's glamour: Art Deco borrowed from the style of machines. The Deco artists loved surfaces that glittered, surfaces of glass, silver, steel, lacquer, then chromium and Bakelite". Retrieved 20 November 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f Clout, Laura (2007-11-04). "Vogue names Queen as glamour icon". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2010-05-03. 
  6. ^ a b c " homepage". 
  7. ^ "GTA in The Guinness Book of World Records 2009". Retrieved 20 November 2010. 

Further reading[edit]

  • Joseph Rosa, Phil Patton, Virginia Postrel, and Valerie Steele (2004). Glamour: Fashion, Industrial Design, Architecture. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. ISBN 9780300106404. 
  • Stephen Gundle (2002). "Hollywood Glamour and Mass Consumption in Postwar Italy". In Rudy Koshar. Histories of Leisure. Berg Publishers. pp. 337–360. ISBN 9781859735251. 
  • Réka C. V. Buckley and Stephen Gundle (2000). "Fashion and Glamour". In Nicola White, Nicola Joanne White, and Ian Griffiths. The Fashion Business. Berg Publishers. pp. 37–54. ISBN 9781859733592. 
  • Jeffrey Richards (1984). "Stars". The Age of the Dream Palace. Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-7100-9764-6.