Things that the fashionistas of the past chased after, and today it causes bewilderment

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When choosing clothes, we are always forced to find a compromise between convenience and beauty. However, in the old days for the people of the upper class, such a question did not exist - the wealth of the outfit was above all. Sometimes the whimsical paths of fashion trends reached the point of absurdity, but this also had a special meaning. Some elements in clothes were specially created uncomfortable so that others would understand: this person was not created for physical labor.

Pulleins - shoes with long toes

This type of footwear appeared in the East and was brought by the crusaders to Europe around the 12th-13th centuries. Long-nosed shoes came into fashion a little later, after the wife of the English king Richard II, Anna, was paid an official visit by a delegation of the Polish nobility. It was from foreign guests that the royal fashionistas spied on this style and gave it the appropriate name: “souliers a la poulaine” - “shoes in Polish fashion”, or, in short, “pulleins”. Very quickly, the know began to "measure their noses" and compete, who has the longer. Because of the status thing, disputes even began to arise, after which the King of England Edward IV was forced to regulate this issue. He passed a law in which he accurately correlated the length of the bullet's nose with the position of a person at court.

From a technical point of view, such a nose, of course, created a lot of inconvenience. They sewed shoes for the nobility from soft materials - velvet and thin leather, so the capricious element could not stand upright on its own. A whalebone was inserted into the long tip or stuffed with something, giving it a curved shape. Sometimes the ends were attached to the belt with thin chains, which, in turn, also made it possible to flaunt fine trim and high cost.

Mantua dress (or grand pannier)

It is believed that this type of dress is the most gigantic that a person has ever put on. The width of the monster skirts exceeded two meters, and in order to maintain their special shape, entire engineering structures were created. If we remember how much all this multi-layered luxury was supposed to weigh, we can only sympathize with the "weaker sex" at official receptions.

The purpose of such excess was, of course, firstly, to make an impression, and secondly, to prevent someone from inadvertently violating the spatial boundary near a noble lady. For seamstresses, such a "wide field for activity" allowed them to demonstrate in all their glory the graceful embroidery and beauty of expensive fabric. Tent dresses were put on for at least two hours, and the help of several maids was required, because many elements had to be correctly put on, laced up and straightened: a corset, a crinoline of a special design, several layers of petticoats and, finally, the dress itself.

This fashion did not last very long - less than a hundred years. Most of the surviving examples date from the end of the 18th century, but today the giant dresses are real pearls of museums, because in the quality of decoration they are comparable to the best works of art of their era.

Collar Raf

At first, as often happens, this piece of clothing served practical purposes. It is believed that a noble Spanish woman first came up with lace around her neck when she wanted to hide age-related changes or just tried to drape an ugly part of her body. It happened around the end of the 16th century. Then the usual mechanism turned on: "who is more" - after all, lace in those days was incredibly expensive, so many people liked the idea of showing their wealth in this way. Within a few decades, the collar diameter reaches 30 cm, and this item of clothing is jokingly called a "millstone" or "wheel".

But it was with this monster that the court mods mastered starch. Dutchwoman Dangen van Pless at the court of Queen Elizabeth I introduced this product into use and invented a curling iron for collars, which she taught noble ladies in paid courses. The stiffness of the collar was such that the man was forced to keep his head very straight (which also emphasized his nobility). True, it was not so easy for the court dandy to look down, but this was usually not required. But the high cost of the collar contributed to the development of culture at the table: in order not to stain precious clothes with sauce, the Spaniards were the first in Europe to introduce forks. Previously, the oriental novelty did not want to take root in any way.

Wealth Secrets in Chinese

The idea of making physical labor impossible for oneself was fully realized by the Chinese nobility, and in ways that Europeans would never have reached. Thus, members of the imperial family grew their fingernails to gigantic proportions. As a result, these people found themselves hostages of their servants, without whom they could not even eat, not even dress.

Bandaged feet of girls from noble families became another sign of their time for China. The reduced foot size as a result did not allow girls to run, walk quickly and do any useful work (except for embroidery and sewing, probably), but it gave a chance to successfully get married, because these were the standards of beauty that reigned then.