How to Become Lovelier After 40 (1958)
Thompson Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Library,
Raymond Carver/Tess Gallagher collection
RA778 .H68 1958
"The beautiful woman after forty is almost never 'pretty'....physical beauty is the least important thing."
How to Become Lovelier After 40 is a pocket manual on how to change your attitude towards aging and age gracefully. The topics range from preventing boredom, cultivating facial expressions, getting proper sleep, wearing flattering make-up, dieting, and more. The sections feature many images of women, some obviously younger than 40. The book is written by Joe Bonono, who writes that he has "dealt with beautiful women all my life. I have taught them to be more beautiful." According to the booklet, "beautiful" and "lovely" women over the age of 40 should smile when they don't feel like it, use make-up only as "a delicate glow," and shouldn't drink as much liquid. It is a litany of sexist messaging full of contradictions that women of all ages are exposed to by the media, and the advice harkens back to the impossible expectations of "accomplished women" in the 19th century.