10 Things You May Not Have Known About Fashion
There are so many trends and styles in fashion today sometimes it can be hard to keep up! It has been like this for centuries. Ever since the earliest times, people have been conjuring up interesting and creative ideas for individuals to express themselves. Some ideas have caught on and endured, some (thankfully in some cases!) have not. Here are ten things about fashion you may not have known, and if you are into quirky and fun facts, this list is for you!
1. For all the hoopla made about Fashion Week, the average fashion show is only about 10 minutes long.
2. The skirt is the second oldest piece of clothing, after the loin cloth.
3. In the 18th century, both men and women held their hair in place with pomade made from beef fat.
4. Early last century if a woman wore her hair short, she was considered to be an unfaithful wife.
5. Women in the 18th century used to shave off their natural eyebrows and wear mouse fur eyebrows instead.
6. In the 1940’s women would wear turbans to hide their greasy hair.
7. Vintage clothing refers to clothing made between 20 and 100 years ago, and retro refers to recently made clothing that is designed to resemble the style of another period.
8. Women’s nominal clothing sizes have increased in physical size over the years in a phenomenon known as ‘vanity sizing’. A size 8 (about a size 14 in Australia) dress with a 32 inch bust in 1967 is now considered a size 0 (about a size 4) today. And standard women’s clothes are designed to fit women between 5’4 and 5’8 tall. This explains so much!
9. A person’s social rank and profession in the Medieval Ages was represented by the colour of their clothing. The nobility wore red, peasants wore brown and grey, and merchants, bankers, and gentry wore green. In Rome, purple clothing was exclusively reserved for emperors and magistrates. It was once taboo to wear black unless one was in mourning. Victorian widows were expected to wear black mourning clothes for two years after their husband’s deaths.
And the best is left to last….
10. Men’s shirts now have buttons on the sleeves because Napoleon ordered his troops to have buttons on their sleeves so they wouldn’t wipe their noses on their uniforms!
