Fashions (historic & otherwise) you never understood...

[elvor0]

Flesh tunnels.

Because making huge holes in your ears as a fashion statement has got to be the biggest failing in foresight since the man who stored the cyanide capsules next to the aspirin.

Fun story, was at a festival and saw someone go into a mosh pit with a fucking huge ear plug in. Sounds like a good idea right? Right? Yeah, he lost his ear.

I think they're alright if it's a small one, like the size of a 5p coin, otherwise they're fucking stupid, as not only do they look terrible, it will /never/ heal.

 

[Cry Wolf]

That's a very, very long list. Almost anything restrictive makes no sense to me, see ties for the ultimate current example for men and high heels for women. In the end, any clothes that cause significant discomfort usually end up on the list of shit I don't understand.

 

[BoneDaddy_SK]

I never got crocs. Ugly as sin. Uggs too for that matter. When I first saw those becoming popular I thought, "Since when did Napolean Dynamite become a fashion designer?"

I'm also going to have to agree with the pants-around-your-thighs thing. On no less than three occasions, I've seen a dude walking around in those and all of a sudden his pants just dropped straight down to his ankles in full public view. Honestly, pants or no pants. Don't try to split the difference, just commit to one. If I really wanted to know what kind of boxers you wear, I'd be gay.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I find the current fashions at Big American State University to be pretty baffling to be honest.

Since when are tights/leggings acceptable alternatives to pants? Do girls not realize that stretchy material becomes transparent when it's stretched too thin, and than bending over stretches your only ass-covering too thin? Or do they think I want to know precisely what kind of underwear they're wearing as a walk behind them to class?

When did all the worst trends of the 80s come back into fashion? I constantly see big-hair girls in flash-dance reject costumes walking around campus. And pegging! How on earth do you convince yourself that's cool post-puberty?

And just so the guys don't feel left out, it seems at the gym the latest thing for bros is to cut off the sides of their shirts precisely to the nipple line. They probably shouldn't do that.

big american state university? is there literally a college named that?

pegging? wait...are you sure we have the same definition here? Pegging as far as i know is something that is NOT a fashion statement, but more of a sexual one..

Mullets, especially with rat-tails. I thought we were done with these 20 years ago but now they are back, in the UK at least. Why the fuck would anyone consider a Mullet hairdo to be a good idea?

holy shit do rat tails cause me aggravation, if there was a way to get a career in just going around and cutting those off, i'd die a happy man, i fucking hate those.

And just so the guys don't feel left out, it seems at the gym the latest thing for bros is to cut off the sides of their shirts precisely to the nipple line. They probably shouldn't do that.

I have a bunch of my old shirts i use for gym/casual that have the sleeves cut off, and no i don't do it "to look cool" (and i certainly don't do it to the nipple line, but they are sleeveless) but i do it for the air flow, i'm ALWAYS fucking hot, and it seems like society has deemed it necessary for me to suffer while everyone else likes having the room at fucking 70-80 degrees, so i have to wear as least layers as possible.

 

[Albino Boo]

Looking back in history... as you do... there are plenty of seemingly non-sensical or bewildering fashion trends (I'm talking purely personal aesthetic here), but the one that continues to confuse me is that of the full-bottomed wig (which is still worn by QC's in the UK)... and I thought half-bottomed wigs were bad enough. I struggle to understand how and why it became so prevalent in Europe...

Anyway, how's about you guys?

Whigs started to become fashionable when a c17 French king, who's name escapes me, started wearing one because he was going glad. They where also practical, until modern plumbing became common water was not that safe to wash in. People rarely washed, so cutting the hair short was a way of keeping lace at bay. Being able to afford a Whig became a status symbol.

What I want to see is the return of the codpiece because codpieces are cool.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

And pegging! How on earth do you convince yourself that's cool post-puberty?

Wait, pegging?

I don't think my definiton of that is the same as yours.

Kids today! Get your minds out of the gutter!

Pegging [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tight_rolled_pants].

I often see undergrads with one pant leg rolled halfway up their shin. Undergrads who by all appearances are not about to start break-dancing.

Who are you calling dirty minded? I was totally thinking of pegging as in cribbage.

How dare you question my honour, Sir!

 

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

And pegging! How on earth do you convince yourself that's cool post-puberty?

Can you please explain what this is because all of us take it with a mind in the gutter and I am curious at to what you are talking about.

OT: Sagging pants, Ill jump on that train. Why, no one wants to see that, why the hell is it a fashion.

Actually I heard this story from my ROTC instructor in High School, the sagging pants fashion originated in prisons as a sign that you were "available." So if you sagged your pants it meant that you dropped the soap on purpose, wink wink nudge nudge. I love telling that to people that do sag their pants.

Edit: The question was answered while i was typing the original.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

And just so the guys don't feel left out, it seems at the gym the latest thing for bros is to cut off the sides of their shirts precisely to the nipple line. They probably shouldn't do that.

I have a bunch of my old shirts i use for gym/casual that have the sleeves cut off, and no i don't do it "to look cool" (and i certainly don't do it to the nipple line, but they are sleeveless) but i do it for the air flow, i'm ALWAYS fucking hot, and it seems like society has deemed it necessary for me to suffer while everyone else likes having the room at fucking 70-80 degrees, so i have to wear as least layers as possible.

I've got no problem with cut-off sleeves. That's natural and pragmatic for working out. The guys I'm complaining about conspicuously cut off everything on their shirts outside their nipples. It honestly looks like they've taken measurements to make it work out right. And it really looks terrible.

ah okay, fair enough, i know "the type" you are referring to, just wasn't sure if you were lumping all "cut off's" together.

It is funny, I do wonder if there is a sweat shop somewhere where you can take in your old shirts and they have a very sharp cookie cutter that cuts the shirt material off for maximum nipple exposure without fully showing it.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Flip flops. Vom.


Also, the Elizabethan ruff. It just looks silly.

Captcha: I moustache you why.
Serious.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

And pegging! How on earth do you convince yourself that's cool post-puberty?

Wait, pegging?

I don't think my definiton of that is the same as yours.

Kids today! Get your minds out of the gutter!

Pegging [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tight_rolled_pants].

I often see undergrads with one pant leg rolled halfway up their shin. Undergrads who by all appearances are not about to start break-dancing.

Who are you calling dirty minded? I was totally thinking of pegging as in cribbage.

How dare you question my honour, Sir!

You've got to admit, that's a dirty, dirty looking board.

...

Well, thank you for that. You've just ruined the innocence of Cribbage for me. I've never even played cribbage before, but now I can't because you've spoilt it!

 

[Nexxis]

This hairstyle where the hair on one side of the head is shaved or cut really short and the other side is left long.

Spoiler: Like this

I saw this hair style for a split second in a commercial and thought "Wow, that looks stupid" then I didn't think much of it. Later on, when I went to get my hair done, I told my stylist about it and she told me that it was apparently a new craze going on and that her daughter wanted her hair like that. I think it was started by a celebrity or something. It looks ridiculous to me, and I don't understand why people like it. At the moment, it seems like it's more of a fad that will probably go away as quick as it came.

 

[Jayemsal]

I find the current fashions at Big American State University to be pretty baffling to be honest.

Since when are tights/leggings acceptable alternatives to pants? Do girls not realize that stretchy material becomes transparent when it's stretched too thin, and than bending over stretches your only ass-covering too thin? Or do they think I want to know precisely what kind of underwear they're wearing as a walk behind them to class?

When did all the worst trends of the 80s come back into fashion? I constantly see big-hair girls in flash-dance reject costumes walking around campus. And pegging! How on earth do you convince yourself that's cool post-puberty?

And just so the guys don't feel left out, it seems at the gym the latest thing for bros is to cut off the sides of their shirts precisely to the nipple line. They probably shouldn't do that.

Hey what the hell, dont throw pegging in there with that horrible stuff, pegging is great!

 

[Genocidicles]

Flip flops. They just look like sandals for people who can't be bothered.

 

[Darks63]

The Burnside moustache considering how the man was a military failure idk how his stache became a thing for a bit in facial hair fashion.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

piercings
flesh tunnels
any sort of body deformation
tattoos

It's like saying 'my body isn't beautiful enough so here have some other stuff to look at.' As I see it you shouldn't want to trade a single inch of your skin for something else.

The Burnside moustache considering how the man was a military failure idk how his stache became a thing for a bit in facial hair fashion.

If you're referring to his resignation from the army after the Battle of the Crater, he was exonerated. Both Grant and Lincoln personally requested that he not resign. It was General Meade's fault both as the superior in charge of the battle and because he was a giant racist who ordered Burnside to not deploy the black divisions during the battle.

Actually I heard this story from my ROTC instructor in High School, the sagging pants fashion originated in prisons as a sign that you were "available." So if you sagged your pants it meant that you dropped the soap on purpose, wink wink nudge nudge. I love telling that to people that do sag their pants.

Your ROTC instructor lied to you and now you are spreading misinformation.

 

[Sacman]

Flesh tunnels.

Because making huge holes in your ears as a fashion statement has got to be the biggest failing in foresight since the man who stored the cyanide capsules next to the aspirin.

:O that's nowhere near as bad as forehead donuts...<.<

[img height= 300]http://www.laughoutnews.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/1006__400x600_Donut-Head_041211040351.jpg[/img]

Yeah, that's probably the stupidest thing I've ever seen...<.<

 

[Chromatic Aberration]

My personal interest in fashion starts and ends with me finding clothing with the least amount of hassle involved that does not make me a social outcast just by mere looks. I really do not care much at all what I wear and by conjecture what other people wear, any inherent sillyness aside. That said, there are only a few things that really do irk me a bit and which most have been mentioned so far:

1) Piercings: I really don't get what's supposed to be so beautiful about having slices of metal pierced through your flesh.
2) Medieval men's wear: Sorry but it just looks silly.
3) The baroque-era (I think...) obsession with paleness: white wigs I can kind of get, but the whole powder-thing for aristocratic women? No thanks.

Now for something completely different...

quoted for attention

Say, do you have any sources for detailed descriptions of historic attire? I'm currently trying to write something a bit Diesel-Punky so any good sources would be appreciated.

 

[bananafishtoday]

The enormous hairstyles in the late-18th century that upper class women wore, complete with jewelry, feathers, and other decorations in/around the hair.

I remember an art class where the prof showed us a picture of a totally insane hairstyle like this (complete with taxidermied birds) and had us write a page about what the picture "meant." Many of us wrote about how it was some kind of commentary on beauty, gender roles, etc, a few of us thought it was parodying then-contemporary fashions. Nope. Turned out it was a literal advertisement for a hairdresser.

Something like this, though the pic that was shown was even sillier:



Edit: Actually, thinking about it, may have been wigs/an ad for a wigmaker. But still just as crazy looking.

 

[Arakasi]

List time!
-Caps - I am serious, I can't stand them for the most part. Especailly if they are the flat brimmed type.
-Piercings - Especially the newer types. I don't mind normal earrings.
-Tatoos - Can you seriously expect whatever you tatoo on yourself to appeal for you for the rest of your life? Also, they normally look terrrible.
-Crocs - Seriously, what?
-That stereotypial Australian hat with the corks - Just no.
-Thongs (not the underware, the footware) - Annoying to walk in and ugly!
-Fake glasses - Fuck off hipsers.
-Most moustaches (without beard) - Few can suit them well.
-Basically anything prior to the 1600s that was worn by the higher class.
-Uneven haircuts - Just looks awful.
-Ties - Now, I don't actually hate ties, I don't understand why they still persist other than them being the one opportunity for a man to wear something decorative in formal situations.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Whigs started to become fashionable when a c17 French king, who's name escapes me, started wearing one because he was going glad. They where also practical, until modern plumbing became common water was not that safe to wash in. People rarely washed, so cutting the hair short was a way of keeping lace at bay. Being able to afford a Whig became a status symbol.

If you're British, then your use of the word 'Whig' is a hilarious Freudian slip!

Anyway, I'm aware of the whole bald beneath the wig thing, but why did they have to be full-bottomed?! They get in the way more than anything... half-bottomed wigs are understandable as far as that stuff is concerned. Ah well... James FitzJames 1ere Duc de Berwick still made it look semi-spiffing... >_>

Say, do you have any sources for detailed descriptions of historic attire? I'm currently trying to write something a bit Diesel-Punky so any good sources would be appreciated.

'Fraid not... most I know is just from casual study of the Enlightenment era, though there was a decided shift to the more 'functional' clothing through the C18th, taking wigs, full-bottomed at start, half-bottomed in the middle, and none by the end. Presumably, shampoo was invented some time around the 1780's or something. Same with coats, they got progressively shorter in the front as the century went on... -_-