The Breck Girls

Ever hear of the Breck Girls? Am I getting too old or do you remember Breck Shampoo advertised in many women’s magazines, usually on the back cover of Glamour, Seventeen, Ladies Home Journal, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar?

It was created in 1930 by John Breck, who believed “every woman was different,” and placed ads displaying a unique face every month. The first chosen was family, friends, employees, and even strangers on the street. In 1936 Breck’s son, Edward took over the management and hired artist, Charles Gates Sheldon, who preferred to draw lovely women, instead of clicking still photos. His first portraits were done in pastels with a soft focus that included halos, light, and color surrounding them.

They were stunning in their beauty and in their romantic portrayals.

In 1957 Ralph William Williams succeeded Sheldon and chose professional women until 1972 when Kim Basinger, prior to her acting career, won her chance and walked in for the shoot with her gorgeous mother, Ann.

The artist and his assistants gaped at them both, and for the first time in the company’s history, a pair of faces graced the back covers, and women were thrilled with the change.

The ads became bolder, and other groups followed, including single portraits of Cybill Shepherd, Farrah Fawcett, Cheryl Tiegs, and Brooke Shields, among others.

But beauty and makeup changed over time. The artificial look of the thirties through fifties with pencil-thin eyebrows, darker lipsticks, and glistening rouge across the cheeks morphed to more natural looks while still remaining feminine.

I used to wait for next month’s Seventeen, and later, Ladies Home Journal, before flipping to the back cover and studying the newest face. Oh, this one was gorgeous, I thought, while figuring how I could make my hair look that.

I never came close.

In 1990 Breck sold out to the Dial Corporation that was bought by Henkel, who licensed it to Dollar Tree and produced it for institutional use. It was a long winding trail, and along the way the Breck Girls got lost in the numbers.

Sad, I thought, until I learned that the Smithsonian Museum of American History had collected them all. Like Fonzie’s jacket and Dorothy’s ruby slippers, we can still view the loveliest of twentieth century American women.