Southern Belle on the Market

I was curious how the Southern Belle image affected marketing and business and whether the icon appears in promotion. Did you know that the Mattel Company had a Southern Belle Barbie? The company had a  Great Eras Collection that included the belle image also. The Southern Belle Barbie was reproduced several times and reappeared on the market in different versions. There is also a dairy company that is named Southern Belle Dairy. The Southern Belle Dairy is not the only company that uses the belle image to sell their products. Shaw's Southern Belle Frozen Foods, Inc. is another example of popularizing goods with the belle icon. As we can see the belle is still a dominant myth of the American mind. According to the above mentioned companies the belle icon reflects the traditional image of their company that is the reason behind their choice.

Images:
1. http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/doll/southern-belle-barbie-doll-n5009

2. southernbelledairy.com

3.  http://www.sbsoap.com/joomla/

Southern Belle and Amusement Parks

Browsing on the Internet, looking for some exciting material for a new entry to my blog I found that even in Legoland Florida the Southern belle appears. There are several Southern belles portrayed from small Lego pieces all around in the park. This fact also highlights the idea that the Southern belle image is still a dominant icon of American culture. What is more, Legoland Florida is not the only amusement park across the country that is concerned with the iconic belle. In the world-wide known Disneyland parade Southern belles dance along the mainstreet of Disneyland California.The belle's icon reappearing in these amusement parks show an interesting merge of the Civil War era and the 21st century.

Images:
1. micechat.com
2. micechat.com
3. http://www.disneydigest.com/2012/04/06/photo-friday-a-southern-easter/

Southern Belle on the Screen

Even in the 21st century film directors and producers are fascinated by the image of the Southern belle. Concerning the Southern belle's image on the screen, I suggest, we can categorize films into two major types. On the one hand, there are films, like Vampire Diaries, that depict the belle in hoopskirt, set in the Civil War era. These portrayals suggest a nostalgic feeling towards the Southern belle image. The film directors of this category represent the belle in traditional costumes, representing the value system of the Civil War era not only by their appearance but by their manners as well. On the other hand, there are television series like Southern Belles: Louiseville, that adopt a modernized version of the belle. Southern Belles: Louiseville, for instance, adapts the traditional belle image to modern lifestyle. It makes the belle image obtainable even for colored women, like Julie Smith.

Images:
1. celeb-square.com
2. sn.soapnet.go.com

Southern Belle Fashion

As soon as we think about the Southern belle image, stereotypical big hoopskirts and huge hats come into our mind. The Southern belle style still appears on the scene of catwalks and fashion magazines. Though women don't stroll on the streets wearing hoop skirts in their everyday life, yet, we can trace the typical belle image in the fashion world. One of the evidences about the influence of the Southern belle on contemporary fashion is Ralph Lauren's spring collection in 2010. The world-wide known ELLE fashion magazine dedicated its trend riport to the Southern Belle in March 2010. As we see from the photos, the Southern belle image preserved its true feminine character, but altered in several ways. Just like the definition of the Southern belle figure, fashion also altered according to modern times. Huge hats are still very fashionable. As far as colors are concerned, feminine colors are still in dominance. Regarding patterns, light floral patterns and plain textiles are the most popular. A true Southern belle is still faithful to skirts and trousers are neglected from her wardrobe. Besides the strong feminine character, mystique is another feature that appears in her clothing. Sunglasses are perfect accessories of the Southern belle look. What is more, the Oscard Award winner movie, "The Help" inspired many fashion designers to rediscover the Southern belle image of the 1960s. Many fashion houses, such as Rodart or designers like Alberta Ferretti or Gucci reinterpreted of the Southern belle model of the 1960s and dressed up their models inspired by the belle image.
As we can see, the Southern belle image is constantly reinterpreted on the catwalk as well and influences the fashion world also. Though it is adapted to current trends, it preserved the feminine and fragile aristicratic look.

 

Rules of the Southern Belle

Today, I will compare the "do-s and don'ts" of the Southern belle in the antebellum era and recent tendencies. To draw a parallel between the past I used Maryln Schwartz's A Southern Belle Primer. In the 19th century the Southern belle was controlled by a lot of behavior rules. Although recent  rules are adapted to modern lifestyle, the Southern belle's figure is still defined by strict orders. For instance, in the antebellum South young ladies were not allowed to wear pants or trousers, they were obliged to wear a dress that completely covered their wrists and ankles. Covering body parts is still a key issue in dressing up but the belle in the 21st century can wear jeans. Still, jeans must be paired with a nice blouse. Like Southern belles of the past, modern belles care a lot about their appearance. They never go out without a perfect make up, nails manicured and their hair styled properly. In the past, Southern ladies were not allowed to wear white shoes before Easter. As opposed to this, the only criteria regarding shoes is that they need to be season and occasion-appropriate, color-coodinated for the outfit. Accessories are required but on a moderate level, since too much is too tacky. Supporting this assumption, piercings and tatoos are definitely undesired. Concerning modern trends, such as body piercings, cigarette is prohibited for a Southern belle.
The 19th century Southern belle always had to use a delicate tone, proper grammar and use a refined vocabulary. This did not alter by the sequence of time. Southern belles are not allowed to raise their voice, they have to avoid swear words. As far as vocabulary is concerned, modern Southern belles are easily recognizable about overuse of expressions, such as 'bless one's heart', 'precious', 'darling' and 'love'. Furthermore, sexuality and bodily functions are still taboo topics, as a hundred years before. Unlike in the 1800s and early 1900s when speaking to someone non white reflected bad manners, today Southern belles rather focus on etiquette than skin color. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, the image of the Southern belle has been already adapted on an African American woman as well. 
To sum up, we can conclude that the etiquette of the Southern belle has changed by the flow of time. It became altered by changing lifestyle, but still reflects the old traditions of the antebellum South. 

Sources:

Schwartz, Marlyn. "A Southern Belle Primer." Main Street Books. 2006.
Jabour, Anya. "Scarlett's Sisters: Young Women in the Old South." North Carolina UP. 2007.
"Southern Belle Rules." http://brenda-runningwithscissors.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-got-call-couple-of-weeks-ago.html

Southern Belle - The documentary

Today I intend to introduce a hotly debated documentary, broadcasted last year by PBS. The film itself follows three girls' days who are reenacting the everyday life of Southern Belles as taking part in the annual reenactment of Athenaeum Girls' School in Columbia, Tennessee. The girls volunteer not only to dress up, dance and sing like their ancestors, but also to give up their modern rights and for the period of the reenactment camp live according to female rights under the Civil War era. The desire to step out from our modern manners and dresses and the need for the revival of the chivalric past strengthens the idea that the Southern belle's image is still very much alive in the American mind.The aim of the camp is not only to dress up and have fun, but to learn genteel manners and build pride in Southern heritage. For this reason, the girls are given a wide variety of lectures and trainings. However, the intensive historical camp was fiercely attacked by historians. Though the camp is designed to reconstruct Southern ladies' life in the good old days, it teaches false values that contribute to everyday race and gender roles in the 21th century. First and foremost scholars opposed the camp's intention to neglect to incorporate the issue of slavery, since it was a core experience of the Southern belles' everyday life. Since in the film there are no slaves who would dress up the ladies, as it happened before and during the Civil War, one can claim that history is presented in a distorted way. On the other hand, in modern times it would be quite racist to recruit Black boys and girls for a reenactment camp to inact slavery again. It is not surprising, that the documentary provoked many questions in the public's mind.

Sources:
Southern Belle - ITVS : www.itvs.org/films/southern-belle

The Modern Image of the Southern Belle

To be honest, I encountered with the revival of the southern belle image a couple of years ago. Browsing on the internet for another home assignment I found a really fascinating article that catched my attention: http://www.lareecarucker.com/pages/southernbelle.htm . This article not only calls our attention on the reenactment of Natchez, Mississippi, but also on the alteration of the Southern belle's image. The article claims, that the image of the Southern belle is adapted to the 21st century's life. The Southern belle is today a career-minded and independent woman, who traded hoop skirts for T-shirts. What is more, the term is not applicable on white women only, since a true Southern belle mind her manners and treats equally all races and minorities. This way the Southern belle figure became a more inclusive term, depending rather on one's value system and manners than skin colour. Although, the recent belles do not live on plantations, nowadays Southern little girls are still taught to be Southern ladies. They are raised up to be gracious, charming and well-bred. A belle must be proud to come from a good family since the family background is one of the most distinguishing characteristic of a lady.The author of the article also highlights the plasticity of the idea of the Southern belle, since the media  ruins the image a lot. It is not only formed by the mass media but seriously threatened as well. Still, the article ends positively, hoping that the Southern belle image is going to be passed on to the future generation as a cultural heritage.

Works Consulted:
 Rucker, LaReeca. "Southern belle: Refinement Redefined." 20 February 2012. <http://www.lareecarucker.com/pages/southernbelle.htm>.