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From insidious murder weapons to blaze-igniting crinolines, clothing has been the cause of death, disease and madness throughout history, by accident and design. Clothing is designed to protect, shield and comfort us, yet lurking amongst seemingly innocuous garments we find hats laced with mercury, frocks laden with arsenic and literally 'drop-dead gorgeous' gowns. Fabulously gory and gruesome, Fashion Victims takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the lethal history of women's, men's and children's dress, in myth and reality. Drawing upon surviving fashion objects and numerous visual and textual sources, encompassing louse-ridden military uniforms, accounts of the fiery deaths of Oscar Wilde's half-sisters and dancer Isadora Duncan's accidental strangulation by an entangled scarf; the book explores how garments have tormented those who made and wore them, and harmed animals and the environment in the process. Vividly chronicling evidence from Greek mythology to the present day, Matthews David puts everyday apparel under the microscope and unpicks the dark side of fashion. Fashion Victims is lavishly illustrated with over 125 images and is a remarkable resource for everyone from scholars and students to fashion enthusiasts.… (more)
User reviews
This is an interesting and fun look at how fashion has endangered our lives. David focuses on mainly the 1800s through the early 1900s, telling stories of dangerous dyes, flammable fabrics, and poisonous methods of
The writing was interesting (not fabulous) but the illustrations are fantastic. This is a beautiful book with glossy pages and huge color prints, photos, and drawings. Without the illustrations, the book would be sort of boring, but instead it ends up being a fascinating read.
Of course, the author doesn't let us off the hook either. The final section gives several examples of our our clothing is still endangering our lives and especially the lives of those who make it.
Hats containing mercury slowly poisoning the wearer, material containing fleas that brought plague.
Even the men and women making these items of clothing were not immune.
Hatters driven "mad"
An altogether fascinating account of the darker side of the clothing industry.
The illustrations and photographs accompanying the text are gory to say the least!
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.