9 Strange Things from the Past You Couldn't Imagine Now

[Music] would you ever walk into work with black teeth or how about rocking a miniature portrait of your eye around your neck on the first date believe it or not these are just some of the bizarre things people used to consider fashionable back in the day and you thought Crocs were as bad as it gets just wait until you see some of these heinous creations 9 Krakow's well it looks like hilariously exaggerated Peter Pan shoes were actually a major fashion statement worn by wealthier aristocrat men in Poland England and various parts of Europe known as Krakow shoes they first appeared on the scene during the Middle Ages in the 12th century but they really became popular during the 15th century and while men in particular really loved rocking these bad boys wealthier women sported them as well from time to time these shoes were also referred to as pole Eames meaning shoes in the Polish fashion and yes that hard to miss pointy tip is what made them a hit when it came to these pointy little shoes size definitely mattered basically the longer the tip the higher the wearer's social class was if even if I was rich I'd have to pass on this one 8i portrait jewelry they say that the eyes are the windows to the soul but what does it mean if you wear them all over your body back in the Georgian era during the 18th and 19th centuries little miniature eyes were worn as jewelry the trend started with the Prince of Wales at the time who would later become King George the fourth he was known to have many love affairs and when he fell in love with one woman he sent her a tiny portrait of his I along with a marriage proposal in an attempt to woo her Oh creepy much well she must have been into it because she sent him a portrait of her own eyes too I started a fashion trend known as lovers eyes which became popular in America Western Europe and Russia these eyepieces were pretty small and were often worn on trinkets attached to rings pendants and brooches they were kind of scandalous since only the person wearing it would know whose eyes they were it was also considered quite romantic to wear such jewelry I still say it's creepy but that's just me seven powdered wigs toward the end of the 17th and into the 18th century it seems like everyone in Europe was wearing wigs what's up with that anyway well these crazy large wigs became wildly popular among the people in France after king louis xiv started sporting the look around town while it's likely he used wigs to cover up his balding head this elaborate fashion statement was also a way to show off his immense nobility and since these wigs were often powdered with more pleasant sense like lavender and orange they were also great at masking body odor I mean who wouldn't want to cover their baldness and Bo while looking as cool as a king during this period of time many wealthy men and women loved to express themselves with flamboyant over-the-top looks while men generally died either brown or white wigs some women would even choose colored wigs like light pink or blue well into the 18th century the fellas started dialing down the dramatic wigs to smaller powdered white ones with a little low ponytail tied with a bow you've probably seen a lot of America's Founding Fathers wearing these and paintings hey it's not the worst fashion trend we've ever seen 6 super long fingernails today many people love sporting long creatively decorated nails but they're nothing like Chinese high society is to tote around this tradition of long long nails goes back to ancient times and they were even sported by both wealthier men and women as a way to show they never have to use their hands to do labor sometimes they'd even wear nail protectors so that their precious cargo wouldn't get damaged some would grow their nails up to six inches long and dye them different colors five hoop skirts there was a lot of questionable fashion choices being made during the Victorian era in Europe like corsets worn so tight that women would literally faint it was also the time that hoop skirts became incredibly popular among the ladies in the 1850s and 60s these larger-than-life hoop skirts would have a crazy wide circumference they were actually so big that they could even save some women from drowning at the time this fashion trend was referred to as crinoline mania as the skirts were in fact made of crinoline while hoop skirts were a sign of high fashion they were also really dangerous since the material was super flammable and would catch fire easily talk about hot could sure for Show pings ever wonder what inspired the Spice Girls to rock those platform shoes back in the 90s well maybe it was these things while different parts of the world have been known to wear platform shoes in past centuries the people of Venice took this trend to a whole new level they'd wear sho pins which were typically made of wood and could be as tall as 20 inches in some cases these platform shoes got so tall that Venetian law attempted to regulate their height but both men and women just ignored it as you do when the authorities try to tell you how to dress and like those pointy shoes I mentioned earlier the higher the platform the higher the social status although these shoes were extremely popular in Italy in the 15th 16th and 17th centuries people in Spain Turkey China and Greece were also known to rock these crazy platforms they however all had their own unique twist on the shoe Spain's version for example was a bit simpler and more symmetric but during the 17th century heeled shoes started to gain popularity and shoppings took a backseat for good three arsenic dresses would you risk your life for fashion a lot of women in the 19th century did during the Victorian era clothing manufacturers mainly in the UK France and North America would use toxic dyes to create gorgeous colors for their garments for example arsenic was used to create a beautiful emerald green color arsenic as you may or may not know is an incredibly dangerous poison when it came into contact with the skin it caused a lot of people to develop sores and scabs not to mention a fact that exposure to it could cause nausea vomiting an even impaired vision there was one case of a 19 year old woman who suffered a tragic death after working with the arsenic riddled dye at her job over a period of time and that was just one of the many fatal instances of that time hold on now don't go out and toss all your green shirts and dresses green dye is no longer filled with arsenic so you have nothing to worry about but because of its morbid past those who work with fabrics often consider green dye to be bad luck to wax cones are these ancient Egyptians celebrating someone's birthday because those cones on their heads look awfully familiar all right this fashion statement had nothing to do with birthdays based on archaeological findings these odd head pieces were likely made of wax or fat and were mainly worn by women however men have also been seen wearing them in some paintings these cones weren't just for decoration though you see they melt on people's heads over the course of the day and give their hair or legs some moisture today I think hair conditioner will do just fine one black teeth imagine you're meeting someone at a party for the first time and when they smile at you all you see is a set of black teeth hey to each his own but that'd still be pretty jarring but in places like Japan and England sporting charcoal black teeth was once a big fashion statement in England this trend started during Elizabeth the first rain a period that's known as early Tudor England you see the Queen had an aching sweet tooth she couldn't help but indulge in all kinds of sugary delights but that backfired and her bad little habit ended up rotting her teeth but since so many people looked up to the dear Queen at the time they took her look quite seriously and started to blacken their own teeth so that they look like her Majesties this was also a way for them to prove that they could afford to indulge in sugary treats or at least fake it as for Japan up until the end of the 19th century women there were blackening their teeth by ingesting dye in a practice called ohaooh rule they would drink this dye which was often mixed with cinnamon and cloves for taste once a day every few days this practice was at the peak of its popularity during the Heian period from the 8th to 12th century in japan female aristocrats would sport this dark smile and it was considered a major Beauty symbol and here I was spending tons of money on teeth whitening services all these years which fashion trends are you glad stayed in the past share your thoughts down in the comments please don't forget to give this video a big thumbs up share it with your friends and click Subscribe to always stay on the bright side of life [Music]

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 455,013

Rating: 4.7838435 out of 5

Keywords: fashion trends, fashion of the past, history of fashion, clothes of the past, historic dresses, weird fashion trends, strange fashion trends, black teeth, colored wigs, powdered wigs, platform shoes, wax cones, chopines, hoop skirts, long fingernails, crakows, Peter Pan shoes, eye portrait jewelry, corsets, arsenic dresses

Id: 0gmaR8NamE0

Length: 10min 16sec (616 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 23 2019