Fashion is more than just clothing; it reflects the wider spectrum of aesthetics and says a lot about the society we live in. It plays a major role in our lives. This is true not only for the present but also for the past and the upcoming future. While fashion trends are an integral part of society, some can prove to be extremely dangerous and damaging. Let’s look at some fashion trends in history that were detrimental to the followers.
1. Corsets
Corsets are universally known for their infamous use in the Victorian era. The Victorian corset was designed to make the waist look smaller than the hips. They were boned with whalebone, steel, or reed, and the lacing was used to tighten the corset. In the process, it forced the floating ribs down and compressed the stomach. Long-term use of corsets caused permanently deformed ribs due to which internal organs could be punctured or misplaced. It led to lower mortality rates and decreased the life span of females subjected to it. Many women suffered from breathing and digestive problems. It led to miscarriages and rendered some women unable to breastfeed. Corsets claimed many lives for the sake of a facade people put on in the name of “beauty”.
2. Crinoline
While the purpose of corsets was to enhance the bust size and cinch the waist, it was not sufficient to enhance the bottom. For that purpose, they used crinoline, which was a structured and stiff petticoat made of steel in most cases. Due to its diameter, the dress was quite prone to catching fire, getting stuck in machinery, etc, leading to many deaths.
3. Neck Rings
Neck rings were stiff jewelry worn as an ornament around an individual’s neck in many periods by both men and women. They were worn by the Kayan people of Burma to make the illusion of a longer neck. However, they did not elongate the neck but instead lowered the shoulders. Girls as young as the age of 3 wore neck rings, which were replaced by larger ones as they grew older. By the time they became adults, the deformation became permanent.
4. Foot Binding
Footbinding, a traditional Chinese practice, involves the deliberate alteration of the shape and size of young girls' feet through the process of breaking and tightly binding them. This was done in late imperial China to make the feet smaller and in turn more “feminine”. Feet altered by footbinding were known as lotus feet and the shoes made for them were called lotus shoes. This led to broken bones in the feet of girls and mobility issues later in life.
5. Lead Facials
Pale skin was considered beautiful in the Victorian era(and still is). Makeup containing lead as a material was worn by the upper classes for centuries without knowing how harmful it was. This lead. The facial skin is very sensitive and the lead makeup was toxic to the skin due to which many people many people ended up with lead poisoning.
All these trends have had a profound effect on people. People conform and partake in such practices for the sake of "beauty". However, that in itself is ironic because rather than enhancing beauty, they just promote toxic and unrealistic beauty standards, which hurt the people following them. In quite a lot of cases, they leave the fashion victims with scars, contradicting the beauty that they seek to achieve.
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