Form Over Function: Impracticality in Fashion, the Rich Gal’s Status Symbol

By Fashion Editor Lucrecia Luna

For generations, we have adorned out bodies in various types of frills, fabric, and finery for a multitude of reasons. For some, the way in which we dress ourselves has simply a functional purpose; think nurses in scrubs, beauty professionals wearing black, police officers wearing… whatever it is that they wear. Then of course we have situations where what we wear is controlled by others and the environment. Whether that be actors in a play - I am currently writing this sat in my dressing room in full clown regalia during a rehearsal break… it is feeling a bit on the nose – or perhaps someone coming from a controlling household or traditional background where they must wear a certain garment. Finally, then, the most common occurrence, people wearing whatever it is they want to wear because they damn well feel like it. This begs the question, if it is a choice, who would choose to impede themselves with the things they wear? What kind of individual would willingly put pieces on their body that could impact their ability to live their daily lives, and in some cases, could physically harm them? Easily answered, the Rich. That, dear readers, is what we shall be discussing today. Why is it that the rich have often felt the need to flash their high status by wearing impractical fashions? 

Let us begin first by stating what I will deem makes clothes “impractical” for today’s article. I am not simply talking about clothes that may be a little inconvenient such as high heels that make our feet sore, low-rise jeans and body-con dresses that shimmy their way around our bodies to show our underwear or tops that just don’t quite sit right over our breasts. Instead, I’m speaking about clothing, accessories, shoes, etc that physically impede or injure the wearer beyond normal measures. Whether it be sandals with platforms so high you need a chaperone to wear them, or corsets strung so tight your bowels just ceased all performance, fashion has had its fair share of deadly trends worn by those of high-status simply to separate themselves from the rest of society. Today I will be taking a historical approach – perhaps I’ll cover more modern lethal fashions at a later date – without further ado, let us delve into it.

Corsets
Arguably the most commonly known of the more dangerous historical fashion staples – corsets have been worn in various forms since the Minoans of Crete in 1000BCE and are still worn today. In their heyday of the 16th to 19th century, corsets were an integral part of every aristocratic wardrobe at one point or another, and not just in womenswear. Popularised by Italian noblewomen in the 16th century and soon spread to the French court, they eventually entering the daily wear of the greater European and British population. Although they were worn across classes, the upper-class women opted for embellished corsets, adorned with beading, golden or silver threads and other embellishments as another means of showing their wealth. The term “strait laced” was coined by the Victorians to lend a certain respectability to the wearers while the women of the working class who either chose to forgo the corset because they had to work and needed their mobility, or simply couldn’t afford them, were bestowed the title of “loose women”, implying their morals were as loose as their garments. 

The most dangerous corset-central trend, however, was tight-lacing. Gaining popularity from the early 19th century, tight lacing involved extreme cinching of the waist using metal eyelets attached to the back of the corset – this invention came from France in 1828 and allowed waists to be restricted down to as small as 17 inches. According to the Royal College of Surgeons of England, daily wearing of corsets often caused indigestion, difficulty breathing, constipation, fainting due to low blood flow and in some cases, even internal bleeding. Not to mention the literal reshaping and permanent bone damage from long term corseting, women’s ribcages were often completely reshaped, and atrophy of the back was an increasingly common result of tight lacing among aristocratic women. 

Crinolines 
Crinolines, or hoop skirts, was another tool used by Victorian women in their obsessive pursuit of a tiny looking waist. A structured petticoat often made from stiff horsehair, though later more commonly whalebone or thin steel, crinolines created a sort of bubble effect under a woman’s skirt, making hips appear large and by extension, making her seem smaller. The larger a crinoline a woman had, the more wealth she would be assumed to hold, therefore obscenely large crinolines were often worn by high society women. This was to the point that women could no longer fit through door frames and gendered chairs had to be created in order to accommodate these behemoth underskirts. Not to mention their weight often cause strain on the wearers back and hip muscles.

Their size, however, was the least of the wearer’s problems, as in the late 19th century the number of crinoline related deaths SKYROCKETED because they had a nasty habit of going up in literal flames. Flame retardant materials were considered less “fashionable” so women often opted not to wear them, this led to a surge in the number of crinoline fires reported. Medical professionals such as the esteemed Florence Nightingale estimated that upwards of 630 women died a year in crinoline-related fire incidents. In 1858, the New York Times claimed that these crinoline fires were claiming the lives of an average of 3 women per week. 

Chopines
Chopines were somewhat of a precursor to the modern high heel, a high flat platform shoe worn by women of the aristocracy, so they’d be elevated form the mud and dirt of the streets beneath them, as well as help provide an illusion of elongated legs. Mainly popular from the 15th-17th centuries, chopines started off at a fairly reasonable height and were adorned with embellishments and gold and silver, but as with all thing’s status began to take over and the shoes became higher and higher. The higher the chopine, the higher your status, women wore the sky-scraping platforms as a means of being literally above others.

Chopines reached heights of up to 30 inches, and thus with their growing height the wearers mobility was severely impeded, and danger was increased. Women were unable to walk without being escorted by at least one but often many men or canes of some form, as they often lost their balance. Wearing these high platform shoes often resulted in great injury for the wearer, and sometimes even lead to death.

Members of the aristocracy proved time and time again throughout history that they will do whatever necessary to deem themselves above the lower classes. Even if that meant grave danger to themselves or those around them. New heights were always reached - sometimes literally - all in the name of fashion. I ask you, my dear readers, what would you be willing to sacrifice for style? Whatever it is, ask a Victorian for their opinion and they will tell you that is simply, not enough.