Francois Pinet shoes from the 1870s or 1880s.
VINTAGE FASHION TRENDS
Suffering for Fashion Isn't New?
You mean Lady Gaga was not the first person to wear the most uncomfortable shoes in the world?
I guess not, as seen in the newest exhibit at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada. This stylish exhibit of 19th century fashion trends may be thousands of miles away, but it is a lesson that trends always seem to be recycled. Plus, the exhibit, called "Fashion Victims: The Pleasures and Perils of Dress in the 19th Century," is on display until June 2016. Plenty of time to make a visit.
Featuring over 90 artifacts from the Bata Shoe Museum's extensive holdings and augmented by loans from private collections, the exhibit was curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator at the Bata Shoe Museum, and Alison Matthews David, an associate professor at Ryerson Univeristy.
Shown are the dangers of gowns dyed with arsenic to give them that perfect arsenic green hue. The color was terribly popular in the 1800s.
Mauve dyes were developed from toxic coal tar sludge in 1856 to create another popular color. But the dyes often resulted in wearers developing a violent skin reaction known as the "mauve measles."
Beaver hats were hazardous too because many cheaper versions were lined with a substance laced with mercury, which led to the term "Mad Hatter."
The exhibit shows very narrow shoes and boots as well as corsets with a 16-inch waist. Ouch and more ouch.
