What Not to Wear (because it will kill you)

I love history, and what I find the most interesting is how people used to live. What they wore, how they interacted, what they ate, their habits and customs. I'm still listening to the 'Into the Wilderness' book series and it takes place in the early 1800s. When the mortality rate was still incredibly high and death was an accepted part of life.

On that cheery note, I am here today to bring a very throw-back version of What Not to Wear, your great-great-great-great grandmother's edition.

I think we can all agree this entire outfit is a fail. From the peach glasses to the pearl and fringe shirt, complete with shoulder pads.

Mercury was used in the making of men's top hats back in the 1700's, and the haberdashers who employed this method paid dearly for their craft. They were the 'mad hatters' that Lewis Carroll brought to life in Alice in Wonderland. They suffered from tremors, erratic behavior, excessive drooling, kidney disease, and hallucinations. Even though doctors were warning people about the dangers of mercury as early as 1757, the process continued until the 1960's when hats were no longer what the cool kids wore. So in a way, by not wearing a hat, Elvis saved a lot of lives!

I'm sure we've all heard about the ancient Chinese custom of foot binding. This cruel status symbol essentially broke a girl's feet and kept them tightly bound so they were never more than 4 inches long! If they were really lucky, their toes would fall off, so the food could be even smaller! Women could barely walk and had to be carried everywhere- because, of course, they were so wealthy they had servants to do their walking for them. I think the equivalent is today's high heels. Have you ever worn a pair for more than a couple hours- torture!! Oh, and want to know the worst part? This continued up until the 20th century- the last factory making shoes for these women was open until 1999!

Then, of course, there were the ballerinas who danced on stages surrounded by gas lights- more than a few went up in flames when their gauzy outfits swept too close to the fire. Or how about as recently as 1999 when two women were electrocuted because the underwire in their bras acted as a conductor!
Is that Victoria's secret- death by fashion? And I can't forget good old Queen Elizabeth I- she used lead-based powder, which become a fad at court, and killed many of her subjects.

Making my stage debut as the starring character. Don't remember who I played, just that I worked really hard to win that audition and poufy purple dress.

In conclusion, maybe think twice before you paint radium on your nails and teeth because it glows in the dark, or use bleach and ammonia to achieve that platinum hair (ala Jean Harlow). Better to have large feet and brown hair, than fall prey to fashion killers!

PS- check out all the above links. The full stories behind these fashion trends is fascinating. 

Happy Monday!

With Love,
Susanne