Being too pale is seen as a sign of something like unhealthiness.In Victorian society it was just the opposite. A tan was the sign of a common laborer, someone of the working lower classes whose job kept them out in the sun. So Victorian ladies of proper society were careful to maintain as fair a complexion as possible, thus the fashion of parasols and wide brimmed hats.
Any dash of extra sun-touched pigmentation was viewed as repulsive. So many folks, endeavoring to emulate the upper crust as is the want of human nature [
], tried to keep themselves as pale as possible. It all got turned around with the dawn of air travel when the upper crust began to spend more winter time in sub-tropic and tropic climes (the jet set), and having a tan year-round became a sign of having money. So we spent 60 some years (give or take a few) baking on sunny beaches to look rich only to find that we're now flocking to doctors in droves to have cancerous lesions removed. So perhaps, this century, the pendulum will swing back to a fairness of complexion again.
neadertal Hey! watch it, CapK!...you know how I feel about that! We discovered it's a matter of preference...
but I want my "h" back, dammit! 
Neandert
hal, thank you!
