By now, most of us have seen the guide to dressing for the office by creator Jools Lebron that has gone viral on TikTok and beyond. “See how I do my makeup for work? Very demure, very mindful,” she says. “I don’t look like a clown when I go to work.”
While there remains something to be said about a more dramatic look, it's true that a “very presentable” but still “cutesy” outfit is seldom a bad choice. But is this really such a new trend? We’ve found some portraits of fashionable women from our collection that prove the demure, mindful look is nothing new. Take a look below to see some high necklines, understated cosmetics, and just a few cutesy accessories, with not a clown in sight.
Robert-Jacques Lefèvre, Portrait of a Woman Holding a Pencil and a Drawing Book, c. 1808, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Joan Palevsky, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez, Indian Woman with Marigold (Mujer indígena con cempasúchil), 1876, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Beauty Walking on a Snowy Day, 19th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Felix Juda, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Francesco Pietro Bissolo (attributed to), Portrait of a Young Woman, c. 1500, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Anna Bing Arnold, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Georges de la Tour, The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame, c. 1638–40, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of The Ahmanson Foundation, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
John Bell, Fashion Plate, 'Walking Dress, for 'La Belle Assemblée', November 1, 1824, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Labiner, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Julian Alden Weir, Portrait of Mrs. Robert Walter Weir, c. 1885, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of M.R. Schweitzer, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
James J. Shannon, Portrait of a Young Woman, 1889, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of a Young Woman with a White Coif, 1541, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch Collection, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Thomas Sully, Portrait of the Misses Mary and Emily McEuen, 1823, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr. in honor of the museum's 40th anniversary, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
John Hesselius, Portrait of Elizabeth Chew Smith, 1762, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Cecile and Fred Bartman in memory of Nelly and Bernard Citron, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Preparing to Take a Stroll: The Wife of a Nobleman of the Meiji Period, 1888, June, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Herbert R. Cole Collection, photo © Museum Associates / LACMA
Charles Loring Elliott, Portrait of a Lady, 1836, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Sandra and Jacob Y. Terner in honor of the museum's 25th anniversary, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
John Wesley Jarvis, Portrait of Rachel Van der Beek, c. 1807–12, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold S. Kirkeby, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
John Bell, Fashion Plate, 'Morning Dress and Promenade Costume' for 'Lady's Magazine', December 31, 1822, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Labiner, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Louis-Léopold Boilly, Portrait of a Lady, c. 1800, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross in honor of the museum's 25th anniversary, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
John Singer Sargent, Portrait of Mrs. Edward L. Davis and Her Son, Livingston Davis, 1890, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Frances and Armand Hammer Purchase Fund, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Unknown, Portrait of 2 Unidentified Women, c. 1850, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Jack Shear, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA