For many years, suntanned skin symbolized health and sex appeal; a tan first gained status in the 1920s and reached a peak in the 1970s. Movie star Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (1883–1939) was among the first to popularize the suntan when he began appearing in films with gleaming bronzed muscles. His tanned skin became a symbol of his physical fitness. Before this time, creamy white skin had been a mark of high fashion and social status because those with enough money could stay inside, away from the heat of the day, while field laborers were darkened by the sun. In the early twentieth century, however, more and more laborers moved to the cities and began working long hours indoors. Suntanned skin became a distinction available only to the wealthy with enough leisure time and money to travel to a sunny locale during the dreary winter months. Like Fairbanks, fashion designer...