HANDBAGS, fur hooded parkas, heavy necklaces and killer heels are all bad for women's health, says the British Chiropractic Association. They affect posture and promote back ache. Skinny jeans restrict circulation. In Australia a woman wore a pair that were so snug she had to be cut out of them.
But fashion has always been dangerous. Victorian corsets were tied so tight they caused indigestion, constipation, difficulty in breathing, internal bleeding and could lead to miscarriage. The Mad Hatter was not just a figment of Lewis Carrol's imagination because hatters became poisoned from the mercury used in making felt for hats.
The white foundation make-up of Elizabethan times contained poisonous lead, dancer Isadora Duncan was strangled by her fashionably long scarf when it caught in the wheels of an open topped sports car, and 18th century wigs became infested with lice.
And that's before we get to crinolines. To be fair, they had their uses: a flirtatious lady could hide a young lover beneath it if surprised by their father or husband but they also had a habit of catching fire, particularly if the young lover was smoking a pipe at the time. They were also susceptible to high winds but had the inbuilt safeguard of acting like a parachute.
By comparison, I should imagine today's ladies are quite happy with the occasional risk of skinny jeans and a fur-lined hoody. Besides, skinny jeans are far more attractive than a crinoline.
But fashion has always been dangerous. Victorian corsets were tied so tight they caused indigestion, constipation, difficulty in breathing, internal bleeding and could lead to miscarriage. The Mad Hatter was not just a figment of Lewis Carrol's imagination because hatters became poisoned from the mercury used in making felt for hats.
The white foundation make-up of Elizabethan times contained poisonous lead, dancer Isadora Duncan was strangled by her fashionably long scarf when it caught in the wheels of an open topped sports car, and 18th century wigs became infested with lice.
And that's before we get to crinolines. To be fair, they had their uses: a flirtatious lady could hide a young lover beneath it if surprised by their father or husband but they also had a habit of catching fire, particularly if the young lover was smoking a pipe at the time. They were also susceptible to high winds but had the inbuilt safeguard of acting like a parachute.
By comparison, I should imagine today's ladies are quite happy with the occasional risk of skinny jeans and a fur-lined hoody. Besides, skinny jeans are far more attractive than a crinoline.
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