Prohibition is often remembered as an American story: speakeasies, gangsters, flappers, and the long shadow of the Volstead Act. But Canada lived its own version, a more quieter, shorter, more pragmatic, and shaped by regional politics rather than national ideology. When you place the two countries side by side, the contrast becomes striking. Prohibition was not one movement.Continue reading “Canada vs. the United States: Two Prohibitions, Two Outcomes”
Category Archives: Beauty
Why Prohibition Failed in Canada + the U.S.: The Anatomy of an Impossible Law
Prohibition did not fail because people suddenly developed a taste for rebellion. It failed because it attempted to legislate morality in a way that ignored human behaviour, economic reality, and the limits of enforcement. Both Canada and the United States discovered the same truth; banning alcohol did not eliminate demand. It simply changed where alcoholContinue reading “Why Prohibition Failed in Canada + the U.S.: The Anatomy of an Impossible Law”
Prohibition and Style: How Canada and the United States Reimagined Fashion + Beauty in the Dry Era
Now that we’ve laid out the political, economic, and social foundations of Prohibition, we can finally turn to how this era reshaped the fashion and beauty industry. Prohibition re-shaped more than nightlife. It re-shaped the aesthetics. When alcohol went underground, glamour followed — slipping into speakeasies, private clubs/speakeasies, and hidden rooms where fashion and beautyContinue reading “Prohibition and Style: How Canada and the United States Reimagined Fashion + Beauty in the Dry Era”
Beauty During the French Revolution
When the French Revolution erupted in 1789, beauty did not simply change, it was weaponized. The elaborate aesthetics of Versailles, once symbolized royal power, became evidence of corruption, excess, and detachment. Beauty had helped build the monarchy’s image, and now it helped dismantle it. In the streets of Paris, powdered wigs, towering poufs, and jewel‑encrustedContinue reading “Beauty During the French Revolution”
Canada vs. the United States: The Great Depression
The Great Depression hit both Canada and the United States with devastating force, but the experience was not identical. The two countries entered the crisis differently, suffered differently, and responded differently. When you place these two countries side by side, the contrast reveals how geography, politics, and economic dependency shaped the fate of millions. 1.Continue reading “Canada vs. the United States: The Great Depression”
What Women Kept on Their Nightstands + Vanity Tables in the 1930s
The 1930s vanity was a small universe of feminine ritual, a curated collection of objects that reflected both the austerity of the Depression and the glamour women still craved. A glass dish of cold cream was almost always present, its thick, velvety texture used nightly to remove makeup and impurities, and to restore softness toContinue reading “What Women Kept on Their Nightstands + Vanity Tables in the 1930s”
