I have chosen Rihanna to compare to Queen Elizabeth and how she is portrayed in The Spanish Armada Portrait. I decided to compare Rihanna to Elizabeth, as I feel that they are both style icons in their own right; Elizabeth having been an icon for the women of her era, and Rihanna being a current icon for teens of the present day. I also believe that the two of them are very powerful women, but how they portray that is very different from the other.
Clothing:
The way that both Elizabeth and Rihanna style themselves says a lot about them. Elizabeth wears layers of rich fabrics and materials as well as a lot of jewels. Her dresses have very puffy sleeves and big skirts, with a tiny cinched in waist area. Queen Elizabeth was always shown wearing big neck ruffs as well.
Rihanna's clothing is quite a contrast to Elizabeth's. She often wears very little clothing, and when she does cover up a bit more, the style of this clothing is often tight to the skin so that you can see her figure through her clothing.
Even though their clothing styles differ a lot, they still portray a similar message. During the Elizabethan era, puffy sleeves, big skirts and tiny waists were the fashion and it was seen as a wealthy thing; if you wore dresses with big sleeves and skirts, then you were seen as a higher classed citizen of society. In today's society, however, it seems that when people wear little clothing they are labelled with a nasty nickname, unless it is a celebrity that is sporting the minimal clothing. With this in mind, I believe that Rihanna shows her status through her clothing, because by wearing less she is saying more.
Make-up:
Queen Elizabeth has a very pale complexion with a large forehead and very thin eyebrows that almost appear as though they are not there and she has rouged cheeks and lips.
Rihanna's make-up shows a more natural complexion, with slight colour on the cheeks, a darker eye and a pink lip.
In Elizabeth's case make-up was very important at the time, as the paler face you had the wealthier you were deemed to be. For Rihanna and today's society, there is no particular style of make-up that will make people think you are better off than you actually because make-up today is used to allow people to portray themselves in whichever way that they feel comfortable.
Hair:
Queen Elizabeth hair curly red hair and is wearing her hair in an up-do. Elizabethans often wore their hair up, as it was seen to reflect a wealthier society, like the pale face and make-up.
Rihanna's hair is long and a colour of brown through to blonde. She is wearing it down and to the side in the image above, however she changes her hair all the time, like most people in today's society. Like the make-up, today there is no particular hairstyle that will deem which social hierarchy you belong in, people just wear their hair how they please and how they feel most comfortable.
Rihanna's clothing is quite a contrast to Elizabeth's. She often wears very little clothing, and when she does cover up a bit more, the style of this clothing is often tight to the skin so that you can see her figure through her clothing.
Even though their clothing styles differ a lot, they still portray a similar message. During the Elizabethan era, puffy sleeves, big skirts and tiny waists were the fashion and it was seen as a wealthy thing; if you wore dresses with big sleeves and skirts, then you were seen as a higher classed citizen of society. In today's society, however, it seems that when people wear little clothing they are labelled with a nasty nickname, unless it is a celebrity that is sporting the minimal clothing. With this in mind, I believe that Rihanna shows her status through her clothing, because by wearing less she is saying more.
Make-up:
Queen Elizabeth has a very pale complexion with a large forehead and very thin eyebrows that almost appear as though they are not there and she has rouged cheeks and lips.
Rihanna's make-up shows a more natural complexion, with slight colour on the cheeks, a darker eye and a pink lip.
In Elizabeth's case make-up was very important at the time, as the paler face you had the wealthier you were deemed to be. For Rihanna and today's society, there is no particular style of make-up that will make people think you are better off than you actually because make-up today is used to allow people to portray themselves in whichever way that they feel comfortable.
Hair:
Queen Elizabeth hair curly red hair and is wearing her hair in an up-do. Elizabethans often wore their hair up, as it was seen to reflect a wealthier society, like the pale face and make-up.
Rihanna's hair is long and a colour of brown through to blonde. She is wearing it down and to the side in the image above, however she changes her hair all the time, like most people in today's society. Like the make-up, today there is no particular hairstyle that will deem which social hierarchy you belong in, people just wear their hair how they please and how they feel most comfortable.
References:
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Lessons/elizabeth1/armada_portrait.htm
http://www.spillitnow.com/viewtopic.php?p=3534835
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