Simulacrum

Simulacrum (pronounced sim-yuh-ley-kruhm)

(1) A slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance; a physical image or representation of a deity, person, or thing.

(2) An effigy, image, or representation; a thing which has the appearance or form of another thing, but not its true qualities; a thing which simulates another thing; an imitation, a semblance; a thing which has a similarity to the appearance or form of another thing, but not its true qualities

(3) Used loosely, any representational image of something (a nod to the Latin source).

1590–1600: A learned borrowing of the Latin simulācrum (likeness, image) and a dissimilation of simulaclom, the construct being simulā(re) (to pretend, to imitate), + -crum (the instrumental suffix which was a variant of -culum, from the primitive Indo-European –tlom (a suffix forming instrument nouns).  The Latin simulāre was the present active infinitive of simulō (to represent, simulate) from similis (similar to; alike), ultimately from the primitive Indo-European sem- (one; together).  In English, the idea was always of “something having the mere appearance of another”, hence the conveyed notion of a “a specious imitation”, the predominant sense early in the nineteenth century while later it would be applied to works or art (most notably in portraiture) judged, “blatant flattery”.  In English, simulacrum replaced the late fourteenth century semulacre which had come from the Old French simulacre.  As well as the English simulacrum, the descendents from the Latin simulācrum include the French simulacre, the Spanish simulacro and the Polish symulakrum.  Simulacrum is a noun and simulacral is an adjective; the noun plural is simulacrums or simulacra (a learned borrowing from Latin simulācra).  Although neither is listed, by lexicographers, in the world of art criticism, simulacrally would be a tempting adverb and simulacrumism an obvious noun.  The comparative is more simulacral, the suplerative most simulacral.

Simulacrum had an untroubled etymology didn’t cause a problem until French post-structuralists found a way to add layers of complication.  The sociologist & philosopher Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) wrote a typically dense paper (The Precession of Simulacra (1981)) explaining simulacra were “…something that replaces reality with its representation… Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal.... It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real.” and his examples ranged from Disneyland to the Watergate scandal.  One can see his point but it seems only to state the obvious and wicked types like Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Joseph Goebbels (1897-1975; Nazi propaganda minister 1933-1945) said it in fewer words.  To be fair, Baudrillard’s point was more about the consequences of simulacra than the process of their creation and the social, political and economic implication of states or (more to the point) corporations attaining the means to “replace” reality with a constructed representation were profound.  The idea has become more relevant (and certainly more discussed) in the post-fake news world in which clear distinctions between that which is real and its imitations have become blurred and there’s an understanding that through many channels of distribution, increasingly, audiences are coming to assume nothing is real.

Mannerist but not quite surrealist: Advertising for the 1961 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe (left) with graphical art by Art Fitzpatrick (1919–2015) & Van Kaufman (1918-1995) and a (real) 1961 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe (right) fitted with Pontiac's much admired 8-lug wheels, their exposed centres actually the brake drum to which the rim (in the true sense of the word) directly was bolted.

The work of Fitzpatrick & Kaufman is the best remembered of the 1960s advertising by the US auto industry and their finest creations were those for General Motors’ (GM) Pontiac Motor Division (PMD).  The pair rendered memorable images but certainly took some artistic licence and created what were even then admired as simulacrums rather than taken too literally.  While PMD’s “Year of the Wide-Track” (introduced in 1959) is remembered as a slogan, it wasn’t just advertising shtick, the decision taken to increase the track of Pontiacs by 5 inches (127 mm) because the 1958 frames were used for the much wider 1959 bodies, rushed into production because the sleek new Chryslers had rendered the old look frumpy and suddenly old-fashioned.  It certainly enhanced the look but the engineering was sound, the wider stance also genuinely improved handling.  Just to make sure people got the message about the “wide” in the “Wide Track” theme, their artwork deliberately exaggerated the width of the cars they depicted and while it was the era of “longer, lower, wider” (and PMD certainly did their bit in that), things never got quite that wide.  Had they been, the experience of driving would have felt something like steering an aircraft carrier's flight deck.

1908 Cadillac Model S: The standard 56 inch (1422 mm) track (left) and the 61 inch (1549 mm) "wide track" (right), the more "sure-footed" stance designed for rutted rural roads.  

Pontiac made much of the “Year of the Wide Track” and it worked so well “wide track” would be an advertising hook for much of the 1960s although the idea wasn’t new, Cadillac in 1908 offering a wide track option for their Model S.  While the four cylinder Cadillacs were coming to be offered with increasingly large and elaborate coachwork, to increase the appeal of the single cylinder, 98 cubic inch (1.6 litre) Model S for rural buyers, there was the option of a 61 inch (1549 mm) track, 5 inches (127 mm) wider than standard.  The extra width was designed exactly to match the ruts in the roads of the rural Southwest, cut by generations of horse-drawn wagons.  Though a thoughtful gesture, times were changing and the 1908 Model S would prove the last single cylinder Cadillac, the corporation the next season standardizing the line around the Model Thirty which upon release would use the 226 cubic inch (3.7 litre) four-cylinder engine although in a harbinger of the 1950s and 1960s, it would be enlarged to 255 cubic inches (4.2 litre) for 1910, 286 cubic inches (4.7 litres) for 1911-1912 and finally 366 cubic inches (6.0 litres) for 1914.  For 1915, there was another glimpse of Cadillac’s path in the twentieth century with the introduction of the Model 51, fitted with the company’s first V8 with a displacement of 314 cubic inches (5.1 litres).  As the photographs suggest, nor was there anything new in the luxurious tufted leather upholstery Detroit in the 1970s came to adore, the style of seating used in the early (“brass era”), up-market automobiles taken straight from gentlemen’s clubs.

Fitzpatrick & Kaufman’s graphic art for the 1967 Pontiac Catalina Convertible advertising campaign.  One irony in the pair being contracted by PMD is that for most of the 1960s, Pontiacs were distinguished by some of the industry’s more imaginative and dramatic styling ventures and needed the artists' simulacral tricks less than some other manufacturers (and the Chryslers of the era come to mind, the solid basic engineering below cloaked sometimes in truly bizarre or just dull  bodywork).

This advertisement from 1961 hints also at something often not understood about what was later acknowledged as the golden era for both the US auto industry and their advertising agencies.  Although the big V8 cars of the post-war years are now remembered mostly for the collectable, high-powered, high value survivors with large displacement and induction systems using sometimes two four-barrel or three two-barrel carburetors, such things were a tiny fraction of total production and most V8 engines were tuned for a compromise between power (actually, more to the point for most: torque) and economy, a modest single two barrel sitting atop most and after the brief but sharp recession of 1958, even the Lincoln Continental, aimed at the upper income demographic, was reconfigured thus in a bid to reduce the prodigious thirst of the 430 cubic inch (7.0 litre) MEL (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) V8.  Happily for country and oil industry, the good times returned and by 1963 the big Lincolns were again guzzling gas four barrels at a time (the MEL in 1966 even enlarged to a 462 (7.6)) although there was the courtesy of the engineering trick of off-centering slightly the carburetor’s location so the primary two throats (the other two activated only under heavy throttle load) sat directly in the centre for optimal smoothness of operation.  Despite today’s historical focus on the displacement, horsepower and burning rubber of the era, there was then much advertising copy about (claimed) fuel economy, though while then as now, YMMV (your mileage may vary), the advertising standards of the day didn’t demand such a disclaimer.

Portrait of Oliver Cromwell (1650), oil on canvas by Samuel Cooper (1609-1672).

Even if it’s something ephemeral, politicians are often sensitive about representations of their image but concerns are heightened when it’s a portrait which, often somewhere hung on public view, will long outlive them.  Although in the modern age the proliferation and accessibility of the of the photographic record has meant portraits no longer enjoy an exclusivity in the depiction of history, there’s still something about a portrait which conveys, however misleadingly, a certain authority.  That’s not to suggest the classic representational portraits have always been wholly authentic, a good many of those of the good and great acknowledged to have been painted by “sympathetic” artists known for their subtleties in rendering their subjects variously more slender, youthful or hirsute as the raw material required.  Probably few were like Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658; Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 1653-1658) who told Samuel Cooper to paint him “warts and all”.  The artist obliged.

Randolph Churchill (1932), oil on canvas by Philip de László (left) and Randolph Churchill’s official campaign photograph (1935, right).

There have been artists for whom a certain fork of the simulacrum has provided a long a lucrative career.  Philip Alexius László de Lombos (1869–1937 and known professionally as Philip de László) was a UK-based Hungarian painter who was renowned for his sympathetic portraiture of royalty, the aristocracy and anyone else able to afford his fee (which for a time-consuming large, full-length works could be as much as 3000 guineas).  His reputation as a painter suffered after his death because he was dismissed by some as a “shameless flatterer” but in more recent years he’s been re-evaluated and there’s now much admiration for his eye and technical prowess, indeed, some have noted he deserves to be regarded more highly than many of those who sat for him.  His portrait of Randolph Churchill (1911-1968) (1932, left) has, rather waspishly, been described by some authors as something of an idealized simulacrum and the reaction of the journalist Alan Brien (1925-2008) was typical.  He met Churchill only in when his dissolute habits had inflicted their ravages and remarked that the contrast was startling, “…as if Dorian Gray had changed places with his picture for one day of the year.”  Although infamously obnoxious, on this occasion Churchill responded with good humor, replying “Yes, it is hard to believe that was me, isn’t it?  I was a joli garçon (pretty boy) in those days.”  That may have been true for as his official photograph for the 1935 Wavertree by-election (where he stood as an “Independent Conservative” on a platform of rearmament and opposition to Indian Home Rule) suggests, the artist may have been true to his subject.  Neither portrait now photograph seems to have helped politically and his loss at Wavertree was one of several he would suffer in his attempts to be elected to the House of Commons.

Portrait of Gina Rinehart (née Hancock, b 1954) by Western Aranda artist Vincent Namatjira (b 1983), National Gallery of Australia (NGA) (left) and photograph of Gina Rinehart (right).

While some simulacrums can flatter to deceive, others are simply unflattering.  That was what Gina Rinehard (described habitually as “Australia’s richest woman”) felt about two (definitely unauthorized) portraits of which are on exhibition at the NGA.  Accordingly, she asked they be removed from view and “permanently disposed of”, presumably with the same fiery finality with which bonfires consumed portraits of Theodore Roosevelt (TR, 1858–1919; US president 1901-1909) and Winston Churchill (1875-1965; UK prime-minister 1940-1945 & 1951-1955), both works despised by their subjects.  Unfortunately for Ms Reinhart, her attempted to save the nation from having to look at what she clearly considered bad art created only what is in law known as the “Streisand effect”, named after an attempt in 2003 by the singer Barbra Streisand (b 1942) to suppress publication of a photograph showing her cliff-top residence in Malibu, taken originally to document erosion of the California coast.  All that did was generate a sudden interest in the previously obscure photograph and ensure it went viral, overnight reaching an audience of millions as it spread around the web.  Ms Reinhart’s attempt had a similar consequence: while relatively few had attended Mr Namatjira’s solo Australia in Colour exhibition at the NGA and publicity had been minimal, the interest generated by the story saw the “offending image” printed in newspapers, appear on television news bulletins (they’re still a thing with a big audience) and of course on many websites.  The “Streisand effect” is regarded as an example “reverse psychology”, the attempt to conceal something making it seem sought by those who would otherwise not have been interested or bothered to look.  People should be careful in what they wish for.

Side by side: Portraits of Barak Obama (2011) and Donald Trump (2018), both oil on canvas by Sarah A Boardman, on permanent display, Gallery of Presidents, Third Floor, Rotunda, State Capitol Building, Denver, Colorado.

In March 2025 it was reported Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021 and since 2025) was not best pleased with a portrait of him hanging in Colorado’s State Capitol; he damned the work as “purposefully distorted” and demanded Governor Jared Polis (b 1975; governor (Democratic) of Colorado since 2019) immediately take it down.  In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all the other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.  The artist also did President Obama and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older.  In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one, but many people from Colorado have called and written to complain. In fact, they are actually angry about it!  I am speaking on their behalf to the radical left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak on crime, in particular with respect to Tren de Aragua, which practically took over Aurora (Don’t worry, we saved it!), to take it down. Jared should be ashamed of himself!”

At the unveiling in 2019 it was well-received by the Republicans assembled.  If Fox News had an art critic (the Lord forbid), she would have approved but presumably that would now be withdrawn and denials issued it was ever conferred.  

Intriguingly, it was one of Mr Trump’s political fellow-travellers (Kevin Grantham (b 1970; state senator (Republican, Colorado) 2011-2019) who had in 2018 stated a GoFundMe page to raise the funds needed to commission the work, the US$10,000 pledged, it is claimed, within “a few hours”.  Ms Boardman’s painting mush have received the approval of the Colorado Senate Republicans because it was them who in 2019 hosted what was described as the “non-partisan unveiling event” when first the work was displayed hanging next to one of Mr Trump’s first presidential predecessor (Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017), another of Ms Boardman’s commissions.  Whether or not it’s of relevance in the matter of now controversial portrait may be a matter for professional critics to ponder but on her website the artist notes she has “…always been passionate about painting portraits, being particularly intrigued by the depth and character found deeper in her subjects… believing the ultimate challenge is to capture the personality, character and soul of an individual in a two-dimensional format...”  Her preferred models “…are carefully chosen for their enigmatic personality and uniqueness...” and she admits some of her favorite subjects those “whose faces show the tracks of real life.”

Variations on a theme of simulacra: Four AI (artificial intelligence) generated images of Lindsay Lohan by Stable Diffusion.  The car depicted (centre right) is a Mercedes-Benz SL (R107, 1971-1989), identifiable as a post-1972 North American model because of the disfiguring bumper bar. 

So a simulacrum is a likeness of something which is recognizably of the subject (maybe with the odd hint) and not of necessity “good” or “bad”; just not exactly realistic.  Of course with techniques of lighting or angles, even an unaltered photograph can similarly mislead but the word is used usually of art or behavior such as “a simulacrum or pleasure” or “a ghastly simulacrum of a smile”.  In film and biography of course, the simulacrum is almost obligatory and the more controversial the subject, the more simulacral things are likely to be: anyone reading AJP Taylor’s study (1972) of the life of Lord Beaverbrook (Maxwell Aitken, 1879-1964) would be forgiven for wondering how anyone could have said a bad word about the old chap.  All that means there’s no useful antonym of simulacrum because one really isn’t needed (there's replica, duplicate etc but the sense is different) while the synonyms are many, the choice of which should be dictated by the meaning one wishes to denote and they include: dissimilarity, unlikeness, archetype, clone, counterfeit, effigy, ersatz, facsimile, forgery, image, impersonation, impression, imprint, likeness, portrait, representation, similarity, simulation, emulation, fake, faux & study.  Simulacrum remains a little unusual in that while technically it’s a neutral descriptor, it’s almost always used with a sense of the negative or positive.

Trapezoid

Trapezoid (pronounced trap-uh-zoid)

(1) In British English, a quadrilateral plane figure having no parallel sides.

(2) In US English, a quadrilateral plane figure having two parallel and two non-parallel sides.

(3) In anatomy, a small bone in the wrist that is situated near the base of the index finger and that articulates with the second metacarpal, trapezium, capitate, and scaphoid bones.

1706: From the New Latin trapezoīdēs, from the Late Greek trapezoeidḗs (trapezium-like in shape), coined by the mathematician Euclid (4^th-3^rd century BC) from trapeze (literally “table”) + -oeides (shaped).  Originally it described a quadrilateral figure a quadrilateral figure having only two sides parallel, the purists insisting that describes a trapezium.  The terms trapezium and trapezoid have swapped meanings in North America compared with the rest of the world.  Trapezoid & trapezium are nouns, trapezoidal is an adjective; the noun plural is trapezoids or trapeziums depending on one's definition.

The trapezoid’s different definitions

Of all the squabbles in the world, one of the most improbably enduring concerns the definition of what constitutes a trapezoid.  Disagreements between mathematicians are of course not unusual and those involving the efficacy of this or that proof of some arcane have lasted sometimes centuries but differences over the definition of something basic are rare.  They do however happen.  It was once the case that in the UK the value of a billion was held to be a million millions, on the logical basis that a million was a thousand thousands.  The Americans decided that was silly because a number expressing a million millions was (at the time) of use only to cosmologists and argued, no less logically that to set a billion at a thousand millions would make it genuinely useful.  In the end, thankfully, the US view prevailed.

An irregular quadrilateral in the UK, a trapezium in the US (left); a trapezium in the UK, a trapezoid in the US (right).

But it seems strange there could be differences over what makes a trapezoid, a flat 2D shape with four straight sides.  Classically, it had one pair of parallel sides (usually the top and bottom); the parallel called the bases, the non-parallel the legs (the distance from one base to another is known as the altitude).  The faction which holds a trapezoid has only one pair of parallel sides (meaning they can never be parallelograms) adheres to what’s known as the exclusive definition.  The others (now in the majority) believe trapezoids have at least one pair of parallel sides, so they can be a special type of parallelogram and this is known as the inclusive definition which encompasses the “taxonomy of quadrilaterals” (an ordered group category of quadrilaterals (four-sided shapes)).  In the US and Canada a quadrilateral shape with at least one pair of parallel sides is known as a trapezoid. This is what is called a trapezium outside those countries but fortunately, mathematicians everywhere agree there are three main types of trapezoids:

(1) The right trapezoid (a shape with a pair of right angles).
(2) Isosceles trapezoid (a shape in which the non-parallel sides have the same length).
(3) Scalene trapezoid (a shape where all four sides are of unequal length).

Peugeot 504 with the original “trapezoid” headlamp lens (left), the four-lamp arrangement used in the US, Australia (after 1973) and some export markets (centre) and the single light adopted for the “poverty spec” & later utility models (right).

The Peugeot 504 in one form or another was in production for almost half a century, lasting from 1968 until 2006 although the mainstream (non-utility) models were discontinued in France in 1983.  A machine of extraordinary virtue which was refined enough for European roads yet sufficiently robust successfully to endure the harsh conditions often found in the former colonies of the old French Empire, it also gained an admiring audience in rural Australia where distances were vast, roads often rough and mechanics sometimes hard to find.  Among cars using a conventional suspension (no hydraulics, air bellows or other exotica), only Jaguar’s equally remarkable XJ6 (another debutante from 1968) could match its ride quality.  The 504’s headlights were often described as trapezoid but that was never true (on either side of the Atlantic) because not only were no two sides parallel, the outer was actually curved.  At most they could be could be thought trapezoidish or trapezoidesque but some were not even that.  As a means to assist in producing low-cost variants, some were made with a single, circular lamp instead cost-saving measure while versions with four (smaller) units were offered in some markets.  In the US this was to satisfy laws introduced as an industry-protection measure while in Australia it was to assist in meeting the local content rules which offered taxation advantages for the assembly plants although the change was popular with rural buyers used to frequently broken lights on their unsealed roads, the round units cheap and available at every petrol (gas) station or country store.

A woman wearing a chador contemplates placing a bid on Mr Ahmadinejad's then 34 year old Peugeot 504, Abadan, Iran, February 2011.

In November 2010, it was announced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (b 1956; president of the Islamic Republic or Iran 2005-2013) would be auctioning his 1977 Peugeot 504 to raise money for a charity dedicated to providing affordable housing for low-income families.  With low mileage and said to be in immaculate condition, there was much interest and what proved to be the most expensive 504 ever made was sold in March 2011 to the highest bidder for US$2.5 million.  The 504's engine and suspension were used in later models of the Paykan, the long running (1966-2015) Iranian version of the Rootes Group's Arrow (the best known version of which was the Hillman Hunter (1967-1979)).  The transplant came about because in 1978 Peugeot-Talbot took control of Chrysler's European operations, the US corporation having in 1967 absorbed Rootes Group.

A metallic gray Peugeot 504.

Another infamous Peugeot 504 owner was Archbishop Paul Marcinkus (1922–2006; president of the Institute for the Works of Religion (the "Vatican Bank") 1971-1989) who had a metallic gray one with a “lovely leather interior”.  The archbishop was gay which was nothing unusual among the bishops and cardinals in the Vatican (indeed it’s probably unusual not to be gay in such circles) but even in that colourful milieu his sexual appetite was considered “in the upper range” and his fondness for Swiss Guards was both well known and the subject of some mirth among the Curia; often the archbishop would "lend" his Peugeot to his favourite Swiss Guards to use on their expeditions for this and that.  Highlights of the archbishop’s life included (1) being for a time ensconced behind the Vatican walls and protected by diplomatic immunity to ensure he’d not have to face interrogation from the various authorities interested in matters related to certain transactions at the Vatican Bank, (2) being associated with Italian banker Roberto Calvi (1920–1982), chairman of the bank Banco Ambrosiano (which collapsed in 1982) and known as Banchiere di Dio (God's Banker); found hanged from the scaffolding under London's Blackfriars Bridge) and (3) being accused of complicity in the murder of Pope John Paul I (1912–1978; pope August-September 1978).  There’s no compelling evidence the 33 day pontificate of JPI ended with his murder and nor is there anything but “a bit of circumstantial” suggest Marcinkus may have been involved.  Most historians concluded JPI died from natural causes and the marvellous conspiracy theory hinges on the suggestion the pope was planning to institute reforms in the Vatican Bank which had been linked to financial corruption involving the Banco Ambrosiano and the Propaganda Due (P2) Masonic Lodge.

Archbishop Marcinkus (far left) & Paul VI (1897-1978; pope 1963-1978, centre left) meet US Baptist preacher & civil rights activist Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr (1929–1968, centre right) & US Baptist preacher & civil rights activist Reverend Ralph Abernathy Sr (1926–1990, far right), the Vatican, 18 November 1964.  The US delegation was on the Rome leg of a European tour.

Even by the standards of the cult, the P2 Masonic Lodge was secretive which was understandable given how deeply it was involved in political corruption, financial irregularities and organized crime and finally it was banned in 1981 after the extent of its criminality became just too much for elements within the Italian state to continue the protection for years provided.  Founded in 1945, P2 originally was just another Masonic lodge under the Grand Orient of Italy but it came under the control of businessman and fascist Licio Gelli (1919–2015) who became Venerable Master and transformed it into a kind of shadow state.  In the manner Masons have practiced for centuries, P2 infiltrated institutions and recruited influential figures including politicians (including then media figure Silvio Berlusconi (1936-2023; prime minister of Italy 1994-1995, 2001-2006 & 2008-2011), military officers, judges, journalists and businessmen, most with some degree of fascist sympathy.  Essentially, P2’s agenda was a kind of “MIGA” (Make Italy Great Again) program and in the way these things are done, their plan for a latter day Il Risorgimento (Resurgence, the nineteenth century movement which culminated in the unification of Italy (1961)) their project, although presented as a “Plan for Democratic Rebirth” was actually a plot to undermine democracy and take control of the government.  P2 deeply was implicated in the scandals swirling around the Vatican Bank and the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano in 1982 and when finally investigated, almost a thousand officials and others were found to have ties to the cult; the prime minister, Arnaldo Forlani (1925–2023; Prime Minister of Italy 1980-1981), was compelled to resign although at the time of his death he was both the oldest living and longest-lived Italian prime minister so there was that.  As the scandal unfolded, Venerable Master Licio Gelli was expelled from the Masons (presumably because he’d committed the unforgivable sin of “being caught”) and arrested, triggering years of court cases, escapes from custody, hiding in other countries and pleading not guilty.  In the Italian way, despite receiving long sentences he spent very little time in prison and by 2003 seemed content P2 had in a way succeeded because the “democratic rebirth plan” was “being implemented by Silvio Berlusconi”.

Peugeot 504 Coupé: The early headlamp treatment (1969-1974, left) and the later (1974-1983, centre).  The 2018 Peugeot E-Legend concept car (right).

The rather lovely 504 coupé & cabriolet (1969-1983) both eschewed the trapezoidesque, the early versions using four lamps sometimes described a “quartic” but, being rectangles with rounded ends, they’re actually closer to what mathematicians call a “stadium”.  Later models used essentially the same internals but were mounted behind a single lens in a shape called a “rounded rectangle”.  Although not quintessentially “French” like the classic Citroëns (DS, GS, SM, CX), the 504 coupé & cabriolet were elegant and capable and it's sad the French industry has in recent decades produced nothing to match them.  Peugeot’s designers however seem aware of the appeal and in 2018 displayed their E-Legend concept car, an attractive take on the 504 coupé’s lines.  Nothing like it ever reached production and the range remained dreary and predictable.

Variations of the trapezoid are widely used shapes for handbags.  Noted handbag fan Lindsay Lohan (in brunette, blonde and red) demonstrates some of the interpretations.

Neon

Neon (pronounced nee-on)

In chemistry, a rare, colorless, odorless gaseous element; an inert gas (the second in the noble group) occurring in trace amounts in the atmosphere.  It glows reddish orange when electricity passes through it, as in a tube in an electric neon light, hence the industrial use in illuminated signs & lights although it’s used also in refrigeration because of the helpfully low melting & boiling points.

(2) A neon lamp, tube or device, in the singular or collectively; made of or formed by a neon lamp or lamps.

(3) A sign or advertising display formed from (or emulating) neon lamps.

(4) Of, relating to, or characteristic of an urban area brightly lit during hours of darkness and often associated with popular forms of entertainment.

(5) As in the phrase “in neon”, or “in neon lights”, adding emphasis to something (sometimes used derisively).

(6) Any of a range of bright, lurid colors, used particularly in fashion (lipsticks, nail polish etc) and as hair color products.

(7) As neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi), a freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes, native to the Amazon basin in South America.  Because of its vivid coloring and robustness, the neon tetra is one of the most popular tropical fish in home aquariums.

1898: From the Ancient Greek νέον (néon), neuter of νέος (néos) (new; young), from the earlier νέϝος (néwos), from the Proto-Hellenic newos, from the primitive Indo-European néwos.  From the same source, English (and other languages gained the prefix –neo which was often used to form clade or taxonomic names indicating more recent branching than a morphologically or otherwise similar group.  The prefix neo- was from the Ancient Greek prefix νεο- (neo-), from νέος (néos) (new, young).  In organic chemistry it (1) had the specific technical meaning “having a structure, similar to that of neopentane, in which each hydrogen atom of a methyl group has been replaced by an alkyl group” and (2) a newly-discovered or synthesized variant of an existing compound.  The synonyms (in the sense of something new) were ceno- & nov-, the less used antonym paleo-.  Many words have been prefixed with neo- and not exclusively to indicate something wholly novel but increasingly to describe a revival or new variation of something including (1) in architecture: neo-classical, neo-gothic etc, (2) in economics: neo-liberal, neo-Keynesian etc, (3) in politics: neo-Nazi, neo-conservative, neo-fascist etc and (4) in religion: neo-evangelicalism, neo-Hasidism etc.  In chemistry, the meaning is quite specific but in general use the synonyms include blazing, brilliant, glowing, lambent, luminous, radiant, shining, vivid, flashing, glitzy, glossy, razzle-dazzle, effulgent & gleaming.  Neon is a noun & adjective; the noun plural is neons.

Sohio “Neon Patrol” in action, Cleveland, Ohio, July 1938.  Technicians from the Neon Patrol would travel between the company’s retail outlets, servicing the neon signage and effecting repairs when required.  The truck is an International D-15 with a special body.  The D Series (1937-1939) was a range of light, medium & heavy-duty trucks, easily distinguished from the more rectilinear C Series (1934-1936) by the curvilinear lines and the two-piece V-shaped windshield.  The line was replaced by the K (1940-1946) & KB Series (1947-1950).

The Standard Oil Company (Ohio) was a US petroleum company which operated between 1870-1987 and Sohio was one of a number of separate entities created in 1911 after the Standard Oil corporate trust (1882-1911) was broken up.  Standard Oil and British Petroleum (BP) in the 1960s entered into an intriguing (and tax-friendly) arrangement whereby BP gradually would increase its stake in Standard Oil, culminating eventually in acquisition.  Sohio as a corporate identity ceased operations in 1987 but BP continued to sell gas (petrol) under the brand until 1991, the name formally retired when the branding on the last Sohio gas station was replaced with BP signage.

Neon

Symbol: Ne.
Atomic number: 10.
Atomic weight: 20.1797.
Valency: 0.
Density: 0.899 90 kg/m³ / 0.9002 gm/liter at 0°C & 760 mm pressure.
Melting point: –248.59°C.
Boiling point: –246.08°C.

Neon nail-polish in 5-pack by Casey's Toys (part-number 52123) @ Aus$9.99.

Although in the United States it’s possible for citizens (in some cases children) lawfully to possess military-grade firearms and some truly impressive ordinance, in other fields the government is punctilious in providing people protection.  In 2012, Douglas Schoon (b 1954), Creative Nail Design (CND)’s chief scientific advisor, explained that in the US, the manufacture of neon nail-polish was unlawful, although, in what seemed a quirk of the law, the products remain lawful to wear.  However, that apparent anomaly isn’t actually strange or unique to neon nail-polish and reflects a regulatory environment where the need is to certify the safety of both the components and the processes used in the manufacturing process.  There are no concerns about the safety of the finished product, the skin and nails anyway a most effective barrier and the nature and volume of fumes breathed in by consumers “doing their nails” would substantively be identical to that of other nail-polishes.

Coffin-shaped nails in neon-green.  These are actually "press-on nails".

Neon polishes are prohibited simply because the colorants have never been officially registered with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).  Mr Schoon explained that “…what determines whether a color is neon is the chemical composition, just as it is with blues and greens”, adding that that any manufacturer could submit neon shades to the FDA, but it’s a costly and time-consuming process which is why many of the lurid shades available in the US, technically, are not neons.  Registration is only the first step in securing FDA approval and few small-scale manufacturers have the resources to go through a process from which others would gain equal benefit.  Imported neon polishes appear on many shelves but it’s not known if unlawful, small-scale manufacturing is being undertaken somewhere in the US.

Lindsay Lohan (b 1986, left) in neon outfits and singer-songwriter Billie Eilish (b 2001, right) with neon highlights.  Ms Eilish also went blonde, the result thought most pleasing.

As an adjective used of colors, neon refers to the quality of brightness rather than the red-orange colour which is the particular property of neon gas under electrical stimulation.  Thus, a “neon color” (or simply “neon”) is anything bright, lurid and used in clothing, accessories & enhancements (lipsticks, nail polish etc) or hair color products.

"Neon" advertising displays, Piccadilly Square, London, 1967.

Neon was discovered in 1898 by British chemists Sir William Ramsay (1852–1916) and Morris Travers (1872–1961) while working in their London laboratory during a series of experiments which also uncovered krypton & xenon, the other two residual rare inert elements remaining in dry air after nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon dioxide are removed.  In normal conditions a colorless, odorless & inert monatomic gas, it has about two-thirds the density of air and is noted for its emission in the spectrum of bright red when exposed to electrical current.  Although one of the known universe’s most common elements (fifth behind hydrogen, helium, oxygen and carbon), it’s rare on Earth, existing only in trace amounts in the atmosphere, attributable to it being highly volatile and thus never forming compounds which assume any solidity.

It needs thus to be extracted from air by an industrial process so is relatively expensive, its industrial uses limited to some specialized applications in refrigeration (by virtue of its low melting & boiling points) and the famous “neon lights” most associated with advertising and signage, the first of which was released in 1913, the term “neon sign” dating from 1927.  The distinctive bright red (tending to orange) light distinguished the first neon signs (created with curved neon-tubes) and in the narrow technical sense these are the only true “neon-lights” because tubes which generate other colors are made using either other noble gases or are instances of fluorescent lighting.  In hidden use, neon is also a component of various electrical devices including vacuum & wave tubes, current indicators and lightning arresters.

Tokyo after dark: less pink, more blue.

For decades, pink was the dominant color in the night-time Tokyo streetscape but in the twenty-first century observers began noting a shift to something darker.  The change is attributed not to the nation’s post 1989 slump in economic growth (the so-called “lost decade” of the 1990s apparently never having ended) but the development in 1993 by Japanese-American engineer Shuji Nakamura (b 1954) of a high-efficiency blue LED (light emitting diode) using gallium nitride (GaN) as the semiconductor material.  While green and red LEDs had for decades been in use, blue had proved elusive because the industry lacked a material suitable (and sufficiently cheap) to use at scale.  Nakamura san’s work built on earlier research by Japanese physicists Isamu Akasaki (1929–2021) and Japanese physicist Hiroshi Amano (b 1960) and what the three did was make possible both blue and white LEDs, the latter enabled by combining the blue with phosphors.  In 2014, the three were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda in Limelight (left) and 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak in Sublime (right). 

Lurid neon hues began to fade from the roads after being banished from the automotive color charts in the mid 1970s and while it can be debated if that was an aesthetic loss, it certainly made the option lists less linguistically interesting.  Like other manufacturers, Chrysler had some history in the coining of fanciful names for colors dating from the psychedelic era of the late 1960s when the choices included Plum Crazy, In-Violet, Tor Red, Limelight, Sub Lime, Sassy Grass, Panther Pink, Moulin Rouge, Top Banana, Lemon Twist & Citron Yella.  Although it may be an industry myth, the story told is that Plum Crazy & In-Violet (lurid shades of purple) were late additions because the killjoy board refused to sign-off on Statutory Grape.  Plymouth called their lime green Limelight while Dodge used Sub Lime.  That the colors vanished during the 1970s was not because of changing tastes but in response to environmental & public health legislation which banned the use of lead in automotive paints; without the additive, production of the bright colours was prohibitively expensive.  Advances in chemistry meant that by the twenty-first century brightness could be achieved without the addition of lead so Dodge revived psychedelia for a new generation although Sub Lime became Sublime.  There was still a price to be paid however, Sublime, Red Octane, Sinamon Stick and Go Mango all costing an additional US$395 while the less vivid shades listed at US$95.  The resurrected "neon look" proved popular although only within the high-performance niche, most of the market preferring more "dignified" tones such as black, white, silver and many variations of gray although there's still the odd malcontent who orders blue or red.

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT in Sublime (code FB).  Literalists should note this is NOT what Greta Thunberg (b 2003) meant when she spoke of "green vehicles".

There was of course once a time when the term “green vehicle” had a simple, unambiguous meaning but were a driver to contest a parking ticket, the outcome might depend on how a court would apply the “Vagliano rule”, established by the House of Lords in Bank of England v Vagliano Bros (1891) AC 107.  The Vagliano rule is a principle of statutory interpretation and holds that when interpreting a statute, courts should start by considering the natural meaning of the words in the statute itself, without referring to previous case law or historical background, unless the language is ambiguous.  The rule is of such significance because it prioritizes the literal and ordinary meaning of words over any interpretation which could be derived if other factors are allowed to intrude.

In his judgment, Lord Herschell (Farrer Herschell, 1837–1899; Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1886 & 1892-1895) wrote: “I think the proper course is, in the first instance, to examine the language of the statute and to ask what is its natural meaning, uninfluenced by any considerations derived from the previous state of the law, and not to start with inquiring how the law previously stood, and then, having ascertained that, to see whether the statute will bear an interpretation which is in accordance with it. If the statute is clear, its provisions must prevail, whatever the previous law may have been. If the statute is ambiguous, then, and only then, may the history of the law be referred to.”  Whether in the 2020s a judge would be persuaded “Green Vehicle” should for this purpose be read-down to permit gas-guzzling V8s (simply on the basis of being painted a certain color), to occupy parking spots allocated exclusively to the machines of which Ms Thunberg would approve may be doubtful but any driver will always be able to find a lawyer willing to run the case.

Lipstick

Lipstick (pronounced lip-stik)

(1) A crayon-like oil-based cosmetic used in coloring the lips, usually in a tubular container.  Lip-gloss & lip-liner (hyphenated and not) are the companion products whereas lip balm is a non-cosmetic product to prevent drying & cracking of the skin.

(2) As “lipstick tree”, the shrub Bixa orellana, native to Mexico and northern South America.  The common name is derived from (1) the arils (tissue surrounding the seed) being the orange-red colourant annatto and (2) the texture & consistency of the arils recalling that of commercially manufactured lipstick.

(3) In slang, the canine penis.

(4) In certain LGBTQQIAAOP circles, as “lipstick lesbian”, a lesbian who displays traditional, conventional feminine characteristics (opposed to a “butch lesbian”).  Some guides to such things note (1) the term can be a slur if used in the wrong context and (2) in some sub-groups a “lipstick lesbian” is one attracted to “other feminine women”, as opposed to a “femme” (a feminine lesbian attracted to butch lesbians).  The alternative to “lipstick lesbian” is “doily dyke” but both alliterative forms should be used with care because in most contexts they are probably now at least microaggressions.

(5) In economics, as “lipstick effect”, a theory which suggests that during economic downturns, consumers display a greater propensity to purchase low cost luxury goods (such as premium lipsticks).

(6) To apply lipstick to; to paint with lipstick.

1875-1880: A coining in US English, the construct being lip + stick.  Lip was from the Middle English lippe, from the Old English lippa & lippe (lip; one of the two sides of the mouth), from the Proto-West Germanic lippjō (lip), from the Proto-Germanic lepjan & lepô, from the primitive Indo-European leb- (to hang loosely, droop, sag).  The Germanic forms were the source also of the Old Frisian lippa & West Frisian lippe, the Middle Dutch lippe, the Dutch lip, the Old High German lefs, the German Lippe & Lefze, the Swedish läpp, the Norwegian leppe and the Danish læbe.  However, some etymologists have questioned the Indo-European origin of the western European forms and the Latin labium, though it’s said they agree the Latin and Germanic words “probably are in some way related” and the Latin may be a substratum word.  The French lippe was an Old French borrowing from a Germanic source.  Stick was from the Middle English stikke (stick, rod, twig), from the Old English sticca (twig or slender branch from a tree or shrub (also “rod, peg, spoon”), from the Proto-West Germanic stikkō, from the Proto-Germanic stikkô (pierce, prick), from the primitive Indo-European verb stig, steyg & teyg- (to pierce, prick, be sharp).  It was cognate with the Old Norse stik, the Middle Dutch stecke & stec, the Old High German stehho, the German Stecken (stick, staff), the Saterland Frisian Stikke (stick) and the West Flemish stik (stick).  The word stick was applied to many long, slender objects closely or vaguely resembling twigs or sticks including by the early eighteenth century candles, dynamite by 1869, cigarettes by 1919 (the slang later extended to “death sticks” & “cancer sticks).  The first known use of “lipstick” in advertizing was in 1877 (although some sources claim this was really a “lip balm” and lipstick (in the modern understanding) didn’t appear for another three years.  “Liquid lipstick” was first sold in 1938 and by the mid 1960s variations of the substance in a variety of liquid and semi-solid forms was available in pots, palettes and novel applicators.  Lipstick is a noun & verb and lipsticking & lipsticked are verbs; the noun plural is lipsticks.

Dior Rouge Lipstick #999.

In economics, the “lipstick effect” is a theory which suggests there is an identifiable phenomenon in consumer behavior in which there’s an increased propensity to purchase small, affordable luxury goods (“designer lipsticks” the classic example) during economic downturns as an alternative to buying larger, more expensive items.  The idea is that as a consumer’s disposable income contracts, the lure of luxury goods remains so although the purchase of the $4000 handbag may be deferred, the $50 lipstick may immediately be chosen, an indulgence which to some extent satisfies the yearning.  The theory is not part of mainstream economics and has been criticized for being substantially impressionistic although more reliable data such as the volume of chocolate sold by supermarkets had been mapped against aggregate economic indicators and this does suggest sales of non-essential items can increase during periods of general austerity.

Beauty Bakerie Lip Whip Matte Liquid Lipstick in Mon Cheri.

The phrase “put lipstick on a pig” is a clipped version of “even if you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig” and it means that cosmetically altering something in the hope of making it seem more appealing than it is doesn’t alter its fundamental characteristics and flaws.  It’s a saying in the vein of “you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear”, “you can’t polish a turd”, “mutton dressed as lamb” & “old wine in a new bottle” and is often used of products which have been updated in a way which superficially makes them appear “improved” while leaving them functionally unchanged; it’s often used of cars and political platforms, both products which have often relied on spin and advertising to disguise the essential ugliness beneath the surface.  It’s been part of American political rhetoric for decades and usually passes unnoticed but did stir a brief controversy when Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017) used: “You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig.” as part of his critique of the “change” theme in the campaign of John McCain (1936–2018), his Republican Party opponent in the 2008 presidential election.  The reason Mr Obama’s use attracted was that earlier, Sarah Palin (b 1964) had said during her acceptance speech as Mr McCain’s running mate: “You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?  Lipstick.”  It turned out to be the best line of their lackluster campaign.  Because of her well-publicized speech and the fact Ms Palin was the only one of the four candidates on that year’s ticket actually to wear lipstick (as far as is known), it was immediately picked up as a potentially misogynistic slur.  However, the outrage lasted barely one news cycle as the fact-checkers were activated to comb the records, revealing Mr McCain the previous year had used it when deriding the abortive healthcare proposal developed by the equally doomed crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013) while installed as FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States).

Lindsay Lohan in applying red lipstick (left) and smoking a "stick" (right), from a photo-shoot by Terry Richardson (b 1965) for Love Magazine, Spring/Summer Edition, 2012.

Use turned out to be a long “across the aisle” thing. Thomas Harkin (b 1939; US senator (Democratic-Iowa) 1985-2015) applying it in 1989 to George HW Bush’s (George XLI, 1924-2018; US president 1989-1993) plan to send military aid to the El Salvador government and Ann Richards (1933–2006; governor (Democratic) of Texas 1991-1995) in 1992 added a flourish when she said of the administration’s call for the Democratic-controlled congress to move on a constitutional amendment to force the government to keep a balanced budget: “This is not another one of those deals where you put lipstick on a hog and call it a princess.”  The line received much attention and she added a new variation in 1990 when criticizing the administration for using warships to protect oil tankers in the Middle East (which she labeled a “hidden subsidy for foreign oil”): “You can put lipstick on a hog and call it Monique, but it is still a pig.”  At least in Texas, that may have achieved some resonance because in her failed 1994 gubernatorial race against George W Bush (George XLIII, b 1946; US president 2001-2009), her campaign used the slogan “Call it Monique” as a way of disparage her opponent’s proposals.  The use of “Monique” was apparently random; as far as is known there was no “Monique problem” in the White House of George XLI in the way there was a “Jennifer with a ‘J’ problem”. Commendably, Governor Richards did stick to the theme, unlike Mr Obama in 2008 who couldn’t resist a further metaphor in case his audience was too dim to understand the first, adding: “You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called ‘change’.  It's still going to stink.”  That was laboring the point by gilding the lily.

Sarah Palin and Barack Obama, 2008.  Sarah Palin was wasted in politics and was a natural for Fox News and such.

Helpfully, the industry has defined the math of "perfect lips" and even more helpfully (for imperfect women), a lip pencil can be used to apply lip liner to make one's shape tend towards the perfect, providing the definition lines within which lipstick can be applied.  When using a lip pencil, a pencil sharpener is an essential accessory.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl.

People have been expressing the idea in different ways for at least centuries.  In 1732 the English physician and lay-preacher Thomas Fuller (1654–1734) published Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; wise sentences and witty saying, ancient and modern, foreign and British which included “A hog in armour is still but a hog.”  The English antiquary & lexicographer Francis Grose (circa 1725-1791) included an entry for “hog in armour” in his A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785) which he explained was “an awkward or mean looking man or woman, finely dressed.”  So, something like “mutton dressed as lamb”, a put-down rendered more cutting still by what used to be called the Fleet Street tabloids coining “mutton dressed as hogget”, a classic example of what used to be called bitchiness, a genuine red top speciality.  Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher (with all that implies) and although most of his prodigious writing was concerned with defending his sect against the encroachments of liberal & pragmatic theology and ritual, he did publish odd secular work including The Salt-Cellars (1887), a compendium of proverbs in which he noted: “A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog” meant “Circumstances do not alter a man’s nature, nor even his manners.”

Dior Addict Lip Gloss Glow Oil in 007 Raspberry.

But it was pigs & lipstick which became the most common form but apparently only after the mid 1980s although the incongruity of the juxtaposition of pigs and lipstick had appealed earlier appealed to some.  In 1926 the “colorful” journalist Charles Lummis (1859-1928) had a piece in the Los Angeles Times which included: “Most of us know as much of history as a pig does of lipsticks.” but the first known appearance of the modern phrase is thought to have been in the Washington Post in 1985, quoting a San Francisco radio host who suggested plans for renovating Candlestick Park (instead of building a new downtown stadium for the Giants “…would be like putting lipstick on a pig.”  After that it’s never gone away, an anti-abortionist in 1992 quoted as saying of legislative amendments of which he did not approve: “You don't want to put lipstick on a pig” and Rick Santorum (b 1958; US senator (Republican-Pennsylvania 1995-2007) added spelled it out, telling the chamber legislative reforms to government subsidies for southern peanut and sugar farmers were the lipstick while the pig was the subsidy programme itself.  In 1998, the often lachrymose Republican John Boehner (b 1949; Speaker of the US House of Representatives 2011-2015), apparently while dry-eyed, bemoaned what he called a “rudderless Republican congress”: "When there's no agenda and there's no real direction, what happens is you really can't have a message; you can put lipstick on a pig all day long, but it's still a pig.”

Lipstick, lip gloss, lip liner & lip balm

Lipstick is primarily for style, there to add color (and they are produced in just about every shade imaginable) but it also protects and to some extent hydrates the lips, indeed, some have additives for just this purpose.  The texture can be creamy, matte, satin, or glossy and lipsticks have included glitter and even a swelling agent for those who want a plumper-lipped look although it applied with some expertise, even an unadulterated lipstick can provide the visual effect of greater fullness. 

Lip Gloss can be used either as a stand-alone product or as a finisher over lipstick, somewhat analogous with a “clear coat” over paint, providing a “varnishing” effect.  What lip gloss does is add shine and often a hit of color to the lips.  As the name implies, the texture is glossy and although usually lightweight, the finish can be sticky, models often applying lip gloss sever times during a photo-shoot to ensure the luster is constant.  They’re mostly sheer or translucent, though some have shimmer or glitter added, thus they can produce a (sort-of) natural, shiny look or add visual depth to lipstick.

Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Color in Uncensored.

Lip Liners (applied with a lip pencil) are a maintenance tool.  What a lip liner does is define the edge of the lips, providing a protective barrier which prevents feathering or bleeding of lip color (ie from a lip stick or lip gloss.  Almost always matte, lip liners are essentially pencils for the lips and their use requires the same firm consistency in application that an artist adopts when putting graphite to paper.  Specialists caution it does take practice to master the art and their golden rule is “less is more”: begin with several light applications until technique is honed and arcs can be described in one go.  Done well, a lip liner can be outline the lips, fill them in for longer-lasting color and to a remarkable extent, change the appearance of their shape.

Lip Balm is only incidentally a beauty aid; they’re used to moisturize, soothe, and protects lips from dryness or chapping so are used by those playing sport, sailing rock-climbing and such.  Most are creamy and waxy, designed to endure for several hours of outdoor use (and often include a sunscreen) although some intended for those in indoor, dry-air environments (such as air-conditioned offices) are lightweight and glossy; aimed at the female market these are often flavored (mandarin, cherry, strawberry etc).  The indoor variety typically are transparent or lightly tinted and while some can be used as a base under other products, not all lipsticks or lip glosses are suitable; it depends on the composition.

Cultural practices mean “lipstick” is associated mostly with shades of red although (depending on the manufacturer) just about any color is available including some which sparkle.  Goths and emos of course like black and purple but a few manufacturers do have white in their range but it doesn’t suit everyone or every occasion.  Apart from looking remarkably like one's recent application of zinc cream just prior to spending time in the summer sun, to use white lipstick requires more than the usual attention to the surrounding colors (outfit, hair, skin tone, eyeliner et al).  Paired with dyed gray hair, white-framed spectacles or the right clothing it can work but the most dramatic contrast is of course available to those with dark skin who should probably use white lipstick as a stand-alone highlight, however tempting may be the accessories.

The "Lipstick Mark": 1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, with Lipstick and White Luxury Group in Lipstick Red with White Normande grain vinyl roof in Landau style (left) and white on white (right).

The Ford Motor Company’s Lincoln Continental Mark IV (1971-1976) was a classic “land yacht”, a class of car which was a feature of the US motoring scene of the 1960s & 1970s; it was an exemplar of the “personal luxury car”, a subset of the breed.  Although an exercise in packaging of wonderous inefficiency which today seems remarkable, the Mark IV was a great success for the corporation and was highly profitable because it was built on the same platform as the Ford Thunderbird with which it shared both a mechanical specification and a substantial part of the structure with only some panels, interior fittings and additional bits & pieces distinguishing the two.  The pair was among the industry’s most profitable lines and in 1976, Lincoln released the first of its “designer” series Mark IV’s, “trim & appearance” packages which included touches from the associated designers (Bill Blass, Cartier, Givenchy & Pucci) and to ensure those watching knew just which design house’s bling a buyer had chosen, the C-Pillar “opera window” (a much-loved affectation of the age) was etched with the signature of the relevant designer.  More profitable even than the standard line, of the 56,110 Mark IVs produced in 1976, 12,906 were one or other of the designer editions.

Extract from 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV brochure.

As well as the “branded” designer edition cars, beginning in 1973, Lincoln made available its LGO (Luxury Group Option), trim package which offered a color-coordinated exterior, vinyl roof, and interior with the color mix changed each season.  The Lipstick and White Luxury Group first appeared on the Continental Mark IV option list for the 1975 range but in its first season, externally, the cars exclusively were white, the choice for the “White Normande grain” (code LW) vinyl roof between a full covering of the optional “Landau” style which spread only over the rear section; there was also an alternative vinyl called “Cayman” (designed to resemble the skin of the tropical American crocodilian which is similar to an alligator).  The red was limited to the interior, the accent stripes across the button-tufted white leather upholstery (code DN), the cut-pile carpets and other fittings such as the dashboard, steering wheel and highlights on the doors.  In 1975 the package listed at US$400 but it was an era of high inflation and by 1976 this had risen to US$477; in the same season Ford offered a similar “Lipstick Luxury Group” on the Thunderbird which was listed at US$337-546 depending on the configuration.  It’s the 1976 editions which are most memorable because of the choice of red paint and for maximum effect red vinyl side moldings could be added for those who thought the ensemble otherwise too subtle.  Just how many were built (an often quoted number is 1250) isn’t known but while most seem to have opted for white paint, it’s the red ones which are most associated with the option and the shade appears closest to Dior's lipstick #744 (Party Red). 

1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, Lipstick Edition.

So a 1976 Continental Mark IV with the Lipstick and White Luxury Group (known among the Lincoln cognoscenti as “The Lipstick Mark”) could be painted White (code 9D) with optional red pinstripes (code 3) or Lipstick Red (code 2U) with optional white pinstripes (code 2) and either could be paired with the red or white vinyl roof coverings.  In the brochure, like the side moldings, the custom pin stripes were “recommended”.  All that meant from the outside one’s Lipstick Mark could appear either as a typical “white on white” land yacht of the era or really make a lipstickesque statement in red & white or all red; it was a matter of what one wanted from life.  Such a splash did the Continental’s visual choices make in 1975 that for many buyers, the significant feature of four wheel disk brakes probably passed unnoticed and it's not known if Ford ever attempted (al la the Bill Blass, Cartier, Givenchy & Pucci associations) to partner with Dior or any other cosmetics house for the Lipstick edition.

1993 Rolls-Royce Corniche IV in "Ferrari Red" (“red, on red, on red”).

The Lipstick Marks must have made an impression but there was a least one person who would have found them understated because in 1991 Rolls-Royce issued a work-order (WO) for a Corniche IV Convertible (by the 1990s even Rolls-Royce no longer called such things DHCs (drophead coupé)) ordered by a customer in Switzerland who had specified a number of what the factory called “production deviations and special features”.  Stating the obvious, the theme clearly was “red” and the WO specified everything was to be finished in what was described as “Ferrari Red 9520120” and it certainly appears to emulate the Italian factory’s famous Rosso Corsa (racing red).  There may have been technical reasons why a timber like rosewood wasn’t used but the effect was achieved with the WO instruction: “Veneer to be birdseye maple to match Ferrari Red” although there must be something different about the leather used for steering wheels because the WO included the proviso: “Steering wheel to be in red hide dyed to match Ferrari Red if possible.  Otherwise St James Red”.

These days, high-end manufacturers all run “bespoke” divisions which exist to accommodate just about any billionaire’s whim within what physics and engineering permit but by the standards of the early 1990s, this “Ferrari red” Corniche was an exceptional build; the closest matches in the Dior lipstick color chart are #999 Velvet and #080 Red Smile (#754 Pandore being slightly more subdued).  The industry term used to describe the color scheme of convertibles is “paint, on upholstery, on roof”.  Between 1971-1995, the factory produced 6823 Corniches (including the equivalent Bentley model), of which 244 were the Corniche IV (1992-1995) and while not a few were “black, on black, on black” or “white, on white, on white” (the latter in the 1960s & 1970s also a favorite among Cadillac owners), this “red, on red, on red” one truly is unique, a genuine “one-of-one”.

In a promotion, the Tussy Lip Stick Company offered three 1967 Mustangs as prizes for contest winners, each finished in a shade of pink which matched the lip sticks Racy Pink, Shimmery Racy Pink Frosted & Defroster.  Defroster sounds particularly ominous but to set minds at rest, Tussy helpfully decoded the pink portfolio thus:

Racy Pink: "A pale pink".

Racy Pink Frosted: "Shimmers with pearl". 

Defroster: "Pours on melting beige lights when you wear it alone, or as a convertible top to another lip color".

The fate of the cars is unknown but nerds might note the three prizes were 1967 models while the model (as in the Mustang) in the advertisement is from the 1966 range.  That's because the advertising copy had to be made available before the embargo had been lifted on photographs of the 1967 range.  The men on Madison Avenue presumably dismissed the suggestion of what might now be thought "deceptive and misleading" content with the familiar "she'll never know".