The price of looking good sometimes causes harsh pain and discomfort. “Fashion is pain,” as some say, but is it worth dying for? Throughout history, are some questionable fashion trends that have left its wearers disfigured for life, or even dead. Check out this list dangerous and deadly fashion trends. Some of these may shock you.
CORSET
The organ shifting, airway restricting, rib breaking corset is one of the most dangerous pieces of clothing on earth. They come in various designs as some enhance a woman's breast, others are breastless. The latter in particular is known for causing serious damage to the hips and spine. This
CRINOLINE
The Crinoline is an underskirt meant to give the skirt its flare. While the trend wasn't particularly deadly, it did cause significant irritation and bodily restriction. The crinoline is made from a combination of fabrics to include horsehair, cotton, and linen. For women who were allergic to the materials experienced reactions in the form of hives and blistering skin rashes. It also creates a difficult range of motion because of its large shape. The crinoline took up a lot of space, so it was known snag on treats, become entangled in wheels, and causing the wearer to trip, resulting in injury.
LEAD FACE PAINT
Have you ever looked at a 16th-century painting of Queen Elizabeth? Notice how extremely white her face is? This was the most popular beauty trend of its time-- a look achieved through lead face paint. Despite many knowing the toxicity of lead paint, women still had to deal with the consequences if they wanted to uphold the current standard of beauty. The use of lead in face makeup enabled a whole host of terrifying symptoms including nausea, rotting teeth, headaches, confusion, and even death.
FOOT BINDING (LOTUS FEET)
Some would think that wearing spiked heels is the modern equivalent to foot binding, but there is no comparison. In 10th and 11th-century China, Lotus Feet or foot binding was considered feminine, delicate, and the pinnacle of beauty. However, if you have seen the effects of foot-binding, it is anything but. The goal of this fashion trend was the make the foot three inches in length and to achieve this the foot bones were broken and restructured. This resulted in excruciating pain throughout one's life, restricted mobility, deformity, and caused infection or shock which sometimes lead to death. As wild as this sounds, the tradition wasn't outlawed until the early twentieth century.
STIFF HIGH COLLARS
High Collars was a 'men only fashion' trend in the 1800s, and the look was well loved by the ladies. However, all that glitters is not gold, as these detachable high collars accessories were referred to as 'Father Killers' for a reason. The collars were so stiff and tight they were known for cutting off circulation and causing asphyxia. John Cruetzi was a high collar death victim and his obituary reads as follows wrote, “His head dropped over on his chest and then his stiff collar stopped the windpipe and checked the flow of blood through the already contracted veins, causing the death to ensue from asphyxia and apoplexy.” That does not sound like fun.
