Forget Botox and expensive couture: the new status symbols for rich and powerful women are their muscular, rock-hard arms.
At 55, Nicole Kidman definitely got the memo when she was caught showing off her extra-buff physique on the cover of Perfect Magazine.
And fans barely noticed Chris Hemsworth getting tougher amid the real talk of Thor: Love and Thunder earlier this month, when Natalie Portman showed off her throbbing biceps as female Thor.
Meanwhile, stylish royals are leading this health-conscious trend, with Kate Middleton, 40, and Queen Letizia of Spain, 49, showing off their toned limbs in tank tops and sleeveless dresses.
Historically, limber and graceful and naturally thin-looking women have been the body’s goals, but an increased interest in fitness and the growing popularity of weightlifting and Pilates training have made the toned body the new size.
At 55, Nicole Kidman definitely got the memo when she was caught showing off her extra-buff physique on the cover of Perfect Magazine.
Stylish royals are leading this health-conscious trend, with Queen Letizia of Spain, 49, sporting daring sleeveless looks on the regular (pictured in Cartuja de Valldemossa earlier this month)
Throughout the 20th century, beauty standards for the feminine form fluctuated between the androgenic and tall girl and the homely, ultra-feminine curvy silhouette.
But muscles weren’t exactly seen as feminine or something that women should aspire to.
Nicole Kidman caused a serious stir with her latest magazine shoot, in which she proudly flexed her ripped biceps and showed off her toned abs while posing in a micro mini skirt and crop top
The Oscar-winning actress and mother of four, who looked decades younger than her 55, took on an incredibly strong stance as she posed for the cover of Perfect magazine — hailing Nicole as “the perfect icon.” .
Angelina Jolie, 47, is another celebrity who likes to praise herself on her arms. Pictured during a family trip to California’s Universal Studios
Even British royalty is doing it, with the Duchess of Cambridge showing off her tight arms at the polo on July 14 in a £1350 Emilia Wickstead dress
The actress stood with fists raised and biceps bent, while also showing off her perfectly chiseled legs during the shoot, posing in a Diesel micro-miniskirt that could be mistaken for a belt, as well as a figure-hugging halterneck shirt from the same brand.
Nicole is the image of confidence in the image, staring into the camera with a noticeable pout as the photographer snapped.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-47542131
The cover photo is one of a series of avant-garde shots taken by photographer Zhong Lin for the third issue of Perfect magazine, celebrating pop culture’s greatest icons.
But decades ago, muscular women were seen as unfeminine and high-profile women did their best to look as soft and lithe as possible.
After World War I, and with women entering the workforce, the fashion was the androgenic “flapper” look, which consisted of a graceful silhouette with graceful features and small to nonexistent curves.
But after World War II, and despite a newfound respect for female power after the war effort, a more feminine look was promoted, with pin-ups a-la Marylin Monroe and Jean Harlow touted as the most desirable look.
Thor actress Tessa Thompson, photographed in Los Angeles last November, can also be proud of her ripped physique.
The OG Arm Queen: Michelle Obama turned tight arms into an enviable thing when she posed in a sleeveless dress in her official portrait as US First Lady in 2009 (pictured in 2015)
Meghan Markle’s friend Serena Williams was the epitome of strength at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament earlier this month
The 1970s brought a new wave of beauty standards, with Farrah Fawcett embodying the ideal body: lean, tanned and effortlessly healthy.
But in the VHS craze of the ’80s, with the likes of Jane Fonda and Cindy Crawford “feeling the burn” and touting exercise as the secret to their good looks, a new generation of women saw working out at home and made fitness trendy.
But the buff look, with well-defined triceps and biceps, was still seen as masculine and tomboy-esque.
Display Caesar, the woman who gave taut arms an enviable look in modern times is none other than the former US first lady, Michelle Obama.
Since she was 44 when her husband Barack took office in 2008, the mother of two made child health a focal point of her time at the White House.
She created the Let’s Move campaign to fight childhood obesity in the US, enlisting the help of big names like Beyoncé to get kids moving, dancing and grooving.
Actress Jessica Biel likes to say she ‘takes fitness very seriously’, and it shows when she bends her arms on Instagram
But her message extended to moms too, something that used her own body and top shape to get the message across.
She proudly posed in a sleeveless dress for her official photo as First Lady in 2009, making her slender upper arms mainstream in the process.
During a skit with the ever-popular late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel in 2013, she even came out swinging in a segment titled “Mum Dancing,” where she showed off her moves.
One of the moves was named “I can still do this dance because my arms are still in shape.”
The former first lady was quite committed to her arms and kept in shape with a relentless workout routine.
Jennifer Garner dared to wear a sleeveless dress at the Adam Project New York Premiere in February and showed off her tight arms
Before splitting from Gerard Pique, Shakira was spotted working out her toned biceps on the Cannes red carpet in May
The mother of two revealed that her training regimen consists of skipping, boxing and weight training, while the Duchess of Cambridge is known for being skilled at tennis, hockey and skiing.
Now, muscular arms are seen as a symbol of health and have become trendy in the highest circles, with Kate Middleton and Queen Letizia showing off their toned triceps during official engagements.
The Duchess of Cambridge delighted fans with her toned physique in a sleeveless Emilia Wickstead during a polo match in July, her toned triceps and biceps garnering as much admiration as the £1,350 dress.
And mother-of-two Letizia has regularly been caught showing off her taut arms, and her limbs earn her the admiration of royal fans around the world.
Actress Kate Hudson, 43, is also a fitness enthusiast and showed off all the well-defined triceps at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party last March, which she attended with her partner Danny Fujikawa.
Tinted arms have also made it to the big screen, with Natalie Portman showing off the arms launching a thousand headlines in a trailer ahead of the release of Thor: Love and Thunder.
Her muscular limbs signaled a shift in attitudes towards female bodies in Hollywood, with the actress noting that she had been asked to “get as big as possible” to play the action-packed role.
This was a stark contrast to her fitness regime for her Oscar-nominated performance in Black Swan, for which the actress was asked to get “as small as possible,” she said. Variety.
She revealed that she had to stick to a high-protein meal plan to fuel her workouts, training 90 minutes to two hours a day, five days a week for a total of ten months to develop the muscular biceps.
Even Chris Hemsworth’s madman couldn’t top the real talking point of Thor: Love and Thunder earlier this month: Natalie Portman’s throbbing biceps as female Thor.
Article Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11138073/How-buff-biceps-new-haves-high-profile-women.html
Christopher Meatto