12 Bizarre Fashion Trends from History That Will Change How You See the Past

We often hear people say, "Things were better in the past," especially when comparing them to today's fashion trends. But when you explore the styles from previous centuries, you might quickly change your mind. From wearing sweat as a beauty treatment to health risks for a brighter smile, the past has some shocking trends.

Moisturized skin, no matter what.

Noble women of Ancient Rome could afford even the most expensive facial product of that time. And this was the sweat of gladiators. It was collected in bottles, mixed with olive oil, and presented to ladies as a magical elixir that improved skin color. Well, the Romans weren't exactly squeamish.

Two eyebrows are good, but one is better.

Eyebrows are probably the facial feature that has suffered the most to comply with beauty standards across different eras. For example, Ancient Greece introduced the unibrow into the trends, and if a woman didn't have one, she used a special "wig" made of goat hair.

Colorful eyebrows are nice too.

In China, colorful eyebrows came into fashion in the 2nd—3rd centuries. Well, at least this happened during the time of an emperor who ordered his wives to "wear" eyebrows of blue color. To comply with their precious spouse's wishes, women shaved off their natural eyebrows and then draw new ones, using expensive colored ink imported from other countries. This not only gave the emperor aesthetic pleasure, but also demonstrated his wealth to those around him because only very rich people could afford foreign inks.

Foot Binding in China

Foot binding was a deeply rooted tradition in China that lasted for over a millennium. Originating during the Song dynasty, it involved tightly wrapping young girls' feet to alter their shape, resulting in the coveted "three-inch golden lotus"—a term describing ideally bound feet measuring approximately 3 inches (7.5 cm) in length. This practice was initially associated with the upper class but eventually permeated various social strata, becoming a symbol of beauty and status.

Looking like a baby

At the end of the 14th century, in the times of Queen Isabeau of Bavaria, high foreheads and swan necks became highly fashionable. To meet these standards of beauty, ladies shaved off hair on their foreheads and the back of their necks and plucked their eyebrows. The idea behind it was to resemble the head of a baby, which made the women appear pure and innocent.

Gentlemen prefer blondes. The Proto-Renaissance representatives do too.

Thanks to Petrarch and his muse Laura, whom he praised in his poems as a role model of beauty and virtue, blonde hair became fashionable in the 15th century, so women began to dye their locks to make them golden. However, this procedure took several days.

Thus, one of the treatises of the 12th century described the process of hair coloring like this. It was carried out in 2 stages: after applying the first mixture of several components, the head would be covered with leaves for 2 days, then the first mixture would be washed off, and the second one was applied to be removed on the 4th day.

24-inch waist? Too big.

The predecessors of corsets, which were squeezing women's bodies for several centuries, have been known since the Bronze Age. But in Europe, according to different versions, they appeared in the 15th or 16th century. Corsets became especially popular during the reign of Catherine de' Medici. In this era, this item of wardrobe could reduce the waist up to as little as 13 inches (although its main task was to create a maximally flat silhouette without any curves), which had a bad effect on the internal organs.

“Tattoos” in the décolleté area

In the 17th century, female dresses had so bold necklines that even modern fashionistas could find them too revealing. However, the women of that time not only felt fine wearing deep necklines, they also emphasized the veins with blue paint to create the illusion of delicate, thin skin.

Skin as white as snow

The fashion for very white skin reached its peak in England in the 18th century. To make the skin as white as possible, women sometimes used exotic remedies, such as dried horse dung. The most dangerous of all, however, was lead, which was used to make whitewash for the face. However, the highest concentrations of lead could be found in the red paint applied to the lips and cheeks to create contrast.

The key to a beautiful smile is someone else's teeth.

People of the Georgian era did really painful things with their teeth. To give them the shade of noble porcelain, they used a powder, the main component of which could be sulfuric acid. Of course, this powder only ruined their teeth.

Radium-Infused Beauty Products in the Early 20th Century

In the early 1900s, radium was celebrated as a miraculous element, leading to its incorporation into various consumer products, including beauty items. Radium-infused creams and cosmetics were marketed with the promise of rejuvenating the skin and enhancing beauty. However, the radioactive nature of radium posed significant health risks. This trend exemplifies how the allure of novel scientific discoveries can sometimes lead to questionable beauty practices.​

The longer the fingernails, the better

In China, long fingernails were in fashion for several centuries, and the reason for this was quite unusual. Long nails signified that their owner is very wealthy because they don't need to do anything with their hands.

During the Qing dynasty, which ruled the country for almost 300 years (until the beginning of the 20th century), this fashion reached its peak and the nails of some representatives of the upper classes could reach 10 inches in length. However, it wasn't very convenient to wear them, so many people kept their nails long only on the little and ring fingers. In order to keep the nails intact, people wore peculiar "covers" that were made of precious metals and adorned with gems.

If you’re curious to explore more bizarre and surprising beauty trends, check out this article.