We all are victims of the fashion styles as we are always drawn towards following the latest trends that become the talk of the town. No matter how the trend looks on us, we do not bother about this fact! We just keep on following it religiously. We care less about the fact that whether the style would suit us or not. We simply and blindly follow the trends.
Nonetheless, our forefathers were much more into fashion and they found it their duty to follow the ongoing trends. Thus, they were bound to follow the awful cultural practices as well as the fashion trends that were not only highly dangerous for their own lives. Rather, the trends looked quite absurd and bizarre, to say the least! Most of the time, these fashion trends were responsible for taking the lives of many people.
So, today we are going to go back into the time and check out on the weirdest fashion trends that were dangerous to the core. Hence, without further ado, let’s start now!
Ohaguro in Japan (250 AD — 1870)
In Japan, people are fond of the color Black. Thus, they are used to incorporating the color anywhere they like it to. So, in the past, the women of Japan used to color their teeth black in order to follow the fashion wave. When a woman used to get married, she was obligated to dye her teeth black. There was no option left to her!
The procedure of dying the teeth black is again extremely dangerous. The women used to collect iron filings in a mug of tea and wait until the iron was oxidized and the tea was turned into a dark, black color. After that, a few spices were added into it in order to get rid of the strong flavor. The women in Japan used to drink this mixture which made their teeth black. There was also a myth that this custom was capable of protecting the teeth. However, the practice ended in the 19th Century after living for years successfully!
Neck rings worn by Kayan Women (11th century — today)
Photo – Wikimedia
In Myanmar, the Kayan Women used to wear heavy neck rings made with brass. The women started the practice right from the age of 5 and followed it as they used to get aged. The neck rings weighed a lot, approximately 11 to 12 KGs. So, in this manner, a woman used to go through a lot just to follow an absurd fashion trend.
The only purpose to wear these neck coils was to elongate the neck. However, it never happened and only increased problems for women. The women used to have severe aches in their neck due to the heavyweight of the neck coils. The worst part is that the trend is still being followed.
Foot Binding in China (960 — 1912)
Photo – Wiki
Foot Binding was again one of the weirdest and dangerous fashion trends that women of China used to follow right from the Song Dynasty until 1912. After this period, Foot Binding was officially banned. The women used to bend the bones of their feet in order to fit into the traditional Lotus shoes that were approximately 4 inches long.
The custom started among the age group of 4 and 9 years old girls where they used to cover their feet with bandages on the daily basis for about 2 years in order to achieve the right shape and size so that the feet could fit into the shoes without any difficulty.
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