I walked into my local butcher recently. They have a quaint little café out the back of the shop where, while waiting for a steak sandwich, I found a book contrastingly different to the surroundings of el butcher. The book is titled Scavullo on Beauty by Francesco Scavullo, and lead me to draw quick parallels to an article I had read recently, suggesting that of all professions in Australia butchers were having the most sex and therefore were the happiest at work – is this secretly because Francesco Scavullo is a butcher’s muse? They wish…*
Perhaps they believe in The Secret and are therefore attracting a ‘mixing bowl’ of striking women into their shop.
I took my steak sandwich and asked to borrow the book.
So it is at this point that I welcome myself to TheVine and welcome YOU to Scavullo on Beauty (1976) and his poignant questions to his subjects, with answers that warmed my heart, rouged my cheeks and reminded me that all our quirks and differences are what make us beautiful… HOT/SEXY/CUTE/CHARMING and ENGAGING… most importantly projected with a lil’ self love!
On the Scavullo website it reads this about the man:
‘Acknowledged to be the dominant photographic influence on American fashion and beauty, Francesco Scavullo has photographed almost every celebrated man, woman and child in the world today. His photographs have graced the covers of magazines such as Rolling Stone, Life, Time, Town & Country, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Harpers & Queen, L'Officiel, Woman and Max, to name a few. Francesco photographed the covers of Cosmopolitan for 30 years. He has shot many movie posters, including A Star is Born with Barbra Streisand. Francesco has also done many album covers. Edgar Winters', They Only Come Out At Night, is the first Rock & Roll cover with full drag make-up. Diana Ross' Diana album shows her with no make-up, wet hair, wet tee shirt, and torn jeans.’
On the front cover of the book it reads:
‘Francesco Scavullo, the world-famous photographer, has shown hundreds of women how to make the most of their own special kinds of beauty. Now he, and some of the most exciting of these women, share the “Scavullo Experience” with you – so that you, too, can make yourself more dynamic, more natural, more beautiful!’
Scavullo suggests that beauty starts with liking yourself… “Beauty must begin with self-confidence that builds up to an attitude of total self-respect…. It’s not letting any of your strengths go to waste. It’s getting in touch with the positive power within you and using it to create a sense of yourself that allows you to care for yourself and others in the most affirmative way…”
Here are some of the images and quotes from the book:
Lauren Hutton
Jerry Hall
“If you’re young, experiment” – says Scavullo on photographer Andrea Portago
“I try to look attractive to both men and women, which is hard because the things women find attractive, men don’t. Men are easier to please than women.” (Cher)
“I think a woman should remain sexually active forever. I don’t know that it makes you beautiful, but it probably clears your sinuses.” (Helen Gurley Brown former editor of Cosmo)
“I try to get my eyes as large and as definite as possible so that I can communicate.” (Diahann Carroll)
Q. Where is life most beautiful? Life is usually the most beautiful when you’re in the car or a plane going to the place where you think life is the most beautiful. (Tuesday Weld)
“All I need is twenty minutes on the bathroom floor with witch-hazel pads on my eyes, and I can conquer the world.” (Diana Vreeland) Ps. I’m definitely trying this.
“I like to indulge myself by sitting up late without having to do anything in the morning.” (Diana Vreeland)
“I think it’s important for people not to be afraid to express themselves… you must trust yourself.” (Gloria Vanderbilt)
“I think the single most difficult thing to do is to diet. The second most difficult thing to do is exercise!” (Barbara Streisand)
Q. What is your personal approach to beauty? An enormous laugh. Frankly, I don’t know. I just think you have to be in good humor all the time.” (Marina Schiano)
“I think vitality is part of beauty, because to be vital means to be curious.” (Elsa Peretti)
“I have a love-hate relationship with one part of my body. I consider my smile my best feature and my mouth my worst feature.” (Mary Tyler Moore)
“The fantasy I most prefer is that I am very attractive.” (Anna Levin)
“Rarely, in a beauty book, do they get into somebody who’s funny looking with a nice heart.” (Anna Levin)
Q. Are you a funny looking person with a nice heart? Yes. But you know, the experience of being photographed was wonderful. My hair was left the way it is – which is ratty. Nobody put a roller in it. Make-up was put on me, but only to try and make me look good. It was not as if I was hired and then turned into somebody else’s idea of beauty. I did not end up looking like Debbie Reynolds or Raquel Welch. I brought hundreds of clothes with me, but I was told I looked prettiest without them, which made me feel wonderful.
Bianca Jagger
Below is what you see when you open to the first page of this copy of the book. The text is dated Feb, 1981 and reads:
"Beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, it emanates from the one who dares to love himself~"
* “Women the world over have lost one of their biggest champions. Lots of men say they're God's gift to women, but no, that's Francesco Scavullo.” - Gini Mascorro
Scavullo has been noted by some as one that only photographed a certain type of woman – a very particular Cosmo woman from the late 60’s onward.
Ironically, these Scavullo images and the words in this book some 40 years on- have captured the essence of what we as a society lack today, contrasting the reputation Scavullo seemed to maniacally battle in his time.
I like him, I like this book, I like the random handwritten quote in it and I think it is important to remind everyone to feel a little beautiful as much as one can… even with a really good steak sandwich in hand.
Mia Muse (NSFW)