Fashion victims: the dangers of dress past and present

Description

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.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 entangled scarf; the book explores how garments have tormented those who made and wore them, and harmed animals and the environment in the process. Introduction: Death by Fashion in Fact and FictionChapter 1. Diseased Dress: Germ WarfareChapter 2. Toxic Techniques: Mercurial HatsChapter 3. Poisonous Pigments: Arsenical GreensChapter 4. Dangerous Dyes: A Pretty, Deadly RainbowChapter 5. Entangled and Strangled: Caught in the MachineChapter 6. Inflammatory Fabrics: Flaming Tutus and Combustible CrinolinesChapter 7. Explosive Fakes: Plastic Combs and Artificial SilkConclusion: The Afterlife of Fashion VictimsBibliographyIndex