Early Fashion books & Plates

[Ray McCarthy]

http://www.theguardian.com/books/ga...selfies-the-first-book-of-fashion-in-pictures

Will Hose/Leggings/Tights become fashion again for men? (Certainly still was fashion in Georgian Era). I see very skinny stretch jeans are now on sale in Pennies and Tesco for men.

Also BBC R4 talked this morning about 1790s fashion plates (B&W engravings) replacing dressed dolls to distribute new Fashion and how though UK at war with France, people copying French fashion.

 

[Dave]

I say bring back wide brimmed hats and short hair for men only! Also, stop women wearing those masculine stiletto heels!

 

[Ray McCarthy]

and short hair for men only

I think Military service introduced the idea of short hair?

stop women wearing those masculine stiletto heels!

ANY stiletto heels are bad for back and floors ... Though are there feminine and masculine versions?

I was listening to program that had a description of Chinese female feet binding. I hadn't realised how horrific the actual start of the process was*. Nor indeed that it [allegedly] started as a fashion because some Emperor's Concubine had it done. It became part of a process to condition women to be subservient, though originally to make foot narrower and shorter (they really could only walk on their heels).

High heels were originally purely for males, for riding, but more like cowboy boot heels, not stiletto.

[* EDIT: Just checked, the BBC R4 description was more detailed than Wikipedia and more horrific]

 

[Dave]

Men had stilettos in the 1600's before women did. Much earlier than that, then I don't think there was enough surplus income to buy fashionable clothes. Short hair was for the apprentice boys first, who then joined up into Cromwell's army (think Roundheads) but women started wearing shorter hair too. Woman also began wearing more masculine clothes such as ruffs and pointed doublets. Men had previously worn feathers and been 'peacocks' until that time. There is a lot of literature about the transvestism of the Early Modern England period.

As for foot binding, I didn't actually realise that they broke the bones in the child's foot until I watched that Marco Polo TV series. Yes, truly horrific! Similar thing with the brass neck rings for the Kayan women in Myanmar.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I didn't actually realise that they broke the bones in the child's foo

Sometimes sliced out part lengthwise to make the foot suitably narrow... the description was gruesome.

 

[steelyglint]

I once sold a plaster cast of a Golden Lily foot. The cast was made by a British doctor in the 1870s. It went complete with an appropriate 'shoe' and other such items. Definitely a horrific practice, but somebody still thought it was worth over £700.

The chap I sold it for was very pleased about that. Next he asked me to sell a copy of the 1901 first paperback issue of 'Dracula'. That went for £620.

Two wrongs may not make a right, but apparently two horrors make over £1,300.

.