Wild Style

As the office of several busy board certified plastic surgeons, the doctors and staff of We Know Beauty  have seen just about everything when it came to beauty trends. Every now and then we see something unfamiliar. Just not very often.

So, earlier today we stumbled over a blog post on the site Bustle that got us thinking about that. While some of the post's "7 Insane Beauty Trends" were eye-catching, there was nothing really truly startling there.

After all, when haven't there been some pretty strange beauty trends -- and pretty odd beauties -- making their mark in the world of popular culture? Right now, all-around superstar Lady Gaga is probably the best known example of far out looks that are deemed beautiful. However, a look back in time will show that the woman who brought us "Poker Face" is only the latest manifestation of a long-running trend.

Indeed, some of the women who have been considered at the forefront of beauty might make modern viewers wonder if they were looking at the "before" in a plastic surgery before and after picture. Actress and comedian Mae West, for example, electrified and scandalized the early cinema while being almost matronly to modern eyes -- it was her approach to sexuality, remarkably frank for the early 1930s, that made her such a sensation. Classic era stars like Joan Crawford and Bette Davis had a famously odd and even unearthly aura to them, especially as they matured from ingenues into grande dames.

Moreover, the wacky styles of the 1960s, as exemplified by some of the era's most adventuresome models and designers and movies like "Blow-Up," make some of the things going on now seem pretty tame. Even having said that, though, we know that both the best plastic surgeons -- and even some of the also rans -- are going to be surprised by whatever comes up next in the world of beauty and fashion.