Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present by Alison Matthews David
Final Rating: 4/5 stars
“A head to toe historical tour of the deadly allure of beauty, propriety and “Dame Fashion”
This may be one of those, “careful what you wish for” instances. I have been looking for a book just like this for some time but after reading all the case studies presented in this fascinating work, I might just avoid standing too close to a yard sale table under a hot sun or exploring dusty attics or antique shops… No, I still plan on doing those things, but all thanks to Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present I will have a greater appreciation and respect for the hidden treasures I may uncover or notice from afar. This book will do that, it takes on a museum tour like quality and walks the interested through the annals of the truly dark side of beauty, decorum and “Dame Fashion” to give the reader a head to toe makeover of awareness.
In this book, nine main sections (Death by Fashion Fact and Fiction, Diseased Dress: Germ Warfare, Toxic Techniques: Mercurial Hats, Poisonous Pigments: Arsenical Greens, Dangerous Dyes: A Pretty, Deadly Rainbow, Entangled and Strangled: Caught in the Machine, Inflammatory Fabrics: Flaming Tutus and Combustible Crinolines, Explosive Fakes: Plastic Combs and Artificial Silk and The Afterlife of Fashion Victims) are presented and then further broken down into subsections sharing with the curious harrowing true tales of tragic historic encounters and stark comparisons to our modern times. Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present is meant to be a serious sympathetic examination of the victims and the eras they lived, but it also has an unexpected humorous side with some very bizarre photos of advertisements for different products plus these absurd photos balance out graphic drawings and photographs of the dangers and awful consequences of trends, lack of government regulations and snappy creative marketing from the 18th-mid 20th-centuries centering on England, France and America. In the end, only a few tangents and one section lost this reader’s interest and this is one title that needs to be enjoyed slowly because there is so much to explore in this eye-opening book. In between the bleak stories, photos and comparisons this work is ultimately about education and I for one have learned some new fascinating trivia but also have come away from this title with a deeper respect for these forgotten and ignored sections of history.