The Images That Make Us: Trad Wives And Conservative Beauty

In our column, The Images That Make Us, writer, founder and CEO of MTArt Agency, Marine Tanguy, responds to a visual creative and cultural moment, unwrapping its importance in how it shapes us as individuals. Next up: trad wives and conservative beauty.

It feels that over the last few months my social media feeds and the glossy pictures in magazines are filled with tips on how to emulate the look of a trad wife: the rise of conservative beauty, as the Financial Times and Dazed explain. I remember watching the inauguration of president Trump and seeing such similar aesthetics of the women surrounding him: white, blonde, skinny and dressed conservatively. Gone seem to be the days of visual diversity and body positivity.

Visually, conservative beauty is a return to the 1960s commercials depicting our traditional genders. Trad wives (one of the most popular hashtags on TikTok right now) reinforce an aesthetic that is expected of feminine beauty – the ideal wife, mother and a ‘nice’ girl. Such aesthetics also support the current program of the far right: a good wife producing multiple (white) children – and not too challenging (forget the codes of Lean In!). These values are hidden under a light pink dress, long hair with beach waves, pearls, natural makeup and hair slicked into low claw clips.

Before you scream internally as this happens to be your current way of dressing, please don’t. I am guilty of it too. It’s hard to escape a full wave of aesthetics.

 

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What is really interesting here is the link between our appearances and our current geopolitics and macro-economics. Let me explain:

Back in 1926, economist George Taylor observed that women’s skirts tended to be shorter during prosperous economic times, while hemlines dropped during periods of economic downturn. His theory suggested that the length of women’s skirts could be used as a predictor of economic health. Taylor’s observations were based on the fashion trends of the early 20th century.

For example, the Roaring Twenties, a period of economic boom, saw the rise of flapper dresses with shorter hemlines. In contrast, the Great Depression of the 1930s brought longer skirts and more conservative styles. Fast forward to 2025, maxi skirts and long dresses are back in. We want to look romantic, soft, natural and loving as opposed to daring, opinionated and risky. A direct signal to all women that we are safer within our traditional gender role at a time when female entrepreneurs are supported less, and the percentage of VC money going to female entrepreneurs has significantly decreased.

 

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Feminism has always struggled with aesthetics. When Kim Kardashian was rising, despite building a very large business empire, feminists struggled to endorse her as she was so entangled with the objectification of our gender. Feminists have historically questioned the pressure for women to appear beautiful and adhere to cultural norms, rejecting beauty trends, makeup and expectations of body hair removal.

“Feminist scholars largely and historically have viewed women’s ‘beauty work’ as oppressive tools of the patriarchy designed to metaphorically bind women and restrict their social progress,” says Mycah L. Harrold, assistant professor of marketing at Anderson College of Business and Computing.

Here’s where it gets tricky: according to Dr Tatum, there’s also a long tradition in conservatism of women wanting to avoid being ‘too made up’. This tradition doesn’t stem from a rejection of beauty standards, like it does for feminists, but rather from a desire to keep up with the gender stereotype of women as homemakers. 

Add a bit of Frenchness and I feel the entire French culture that I inherited is built on the principle that I should spend a lot of time (and money) to look like someone I never did in the first place. It’s hard to shake. 

 

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But don’t feel guilty if, like me, you find yourself stuck in the middle of this. It’s hard to escape the thousands of images we are confronted with daily – all reminding us that our social integration depends on these visual codes. It’s especially difficult at a time when we are more economically precarious and at more risk politically. 

And yet, we must question this norm, especially those who, like me, are privileged enough to do so. Discussions around gender – particularly about women’s leadership, access to reproductive healthcare and body control – dominated 2024 and 2025. “The repealing of women’s rights goes hand in hand with discussions over what is ‘acceptable’ for a woman, and that includes their appearance,” says Dr Tatum. “Women’s bodies are often a battleground”.

If you wish to emulate the look of the trad wife, do so with full understanding of what this look stood for in the 1950s, legally and financially, for that very same woman. The image tends to be more seductive than the reality.