I stumbled upon this collection of antique beauty queen photographs. Unfortunately, they do not date them, but I would guess around the late 1920s based on their hair and makeup. I thought it would be kind of interesting to take a look at previous standards of beauty compared to today.

It is really striking to see how the faces of these women tended to be more soft and round. (Miss Argentina, for example, I would call zaftig.) Strangely, I look at Miss America’s round face and her bow lips and think of Zooey Deschanel, a little bit. Am I crazy?

Anyway, for the sake of comparison, here is Miss America 2009, Katie Stam:

Well she is also beautiful, but there’s definitely more spray tanning and teeth whitening going on in 2009, that’s for sure. What do you guys think?

If you were making a “most beautiful” list, who would you put on it?

Feel free to discuss this story or anything else in the open thread! Regular posting will resume next week.