8 Weird Fashions from History ...

Wigs supposedly became popular thanks to the vanity of French king Louis XIII, who was rather self-conscious about his lack of locks. Naturally, where royalty led, everyone followed. Eventually the wigs became more and more extreme, sometimes measuring several feet high. And as if this wasn't enough, the wigs could be decorated with miniature ships, fruit, and all kinds of bizarre objects.

For some reason, 19th-century ladies decided that it would make them look good if they wore enormous hoops under their skirts. These strange historical fashions were known as crinolines, and made them look like those dolls that grannies used to cover up rolls of toilet paper. Crinolines were reportedly rather dangerous as well – one puff of wind and off you went!

We all love makeup, don't we girls – and so did our historical sisters. Unfortunately, their makeup consisted of some pretty dangerous ingredients – like lead. This had the unfortunate effect of causing skin problems, which required more makeup to cover up – and the eventual accumulation of toxic metals killed quite a few women.

You'd think that by the time crinolines came along, women would have learnt from the earlier example of panniers. These can be seen in earlier portraits of Marie Antoinette (until she saw sense, and switched to simpler and more practical clothing). They were narrow, but extremely wide, skirt supports, which made it impossible to sit down or enter a door without turning sideways!

Medieval fashion victims weren't hard to find either. Women loved to wear gigantically tall headdresses, and men opted for shoes that were so long, the ends had to be held up. Quite what was the point of this is difficult to work out – but if you were rich enough to follow the latest fashions, practicality wasn't an issue!

The ruff is definitely one of the weird fashions from history. What was the appeal of tying such a construction around your neck? Of course, as is the case with historical fashions, the ruff became more and more fantastic and oversized – there must have been a lot of neckache around (and sighs of relief when it went out of fashion!).

The corset is one of the few historical fashions that still exists in the modern age, although these days it is worn more for a “sexy” appearance. However, in the past it was worn more to create a tiny waist. For centuries no well-bred lady would have dreamed of leaving off her corset, even though it made breathing and movement difficult.

Strange historical fashions were definitely not confined to women. In the 15th and 16th centuries men got in on the act with the codpiece, a padded item designed to emphasise their masculinity … yes, guess where they wore it.

Seen through modern eyes, there truly are some strange historical fashions. But considering how quickly fashions change now, we can look back at our own history and cringe at the things we wore! What do you think of the weird fashions from history – would you like to try any of them out?

Top Image Source: thefashionspot.com