Fashion is a complicated world. Youthful women, beautiful clothes, and the whiff of culture and privilege is a heady mix. It’s no surprise that the trends and fads in fashion have had us chasing our tails for eons. But before there was heroin chic and body positivity movements, fashion was shaping our health in a completely different way. Turns out it’s not just the culture of fashion that’s toxic.
Today we’re exploring the deadly fashion trends of centuries past. Industrial waste, poison hats, and columns of fire are on the docket today and it might make you think twice about what threads you decide to rock at your next big social function.
That’s what you're in for today on Impolite Society.
00:00 The World of Fashion: A Toxic Legacy
03:25 Historical Fashion: From TikTok Trends to Deadly Dyes
06:23 Aniline Dyes
19:17 Fiery Hoop Skirts
26:13 Felt Hats and Mercury Poisoning
37:00 The Legacy of Scheele's Green
46:06 Reflecting on the Dangers of Fashion and Industrial Chemicals
48:25 Share the Podcast and Stay Informed
Sources:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/toms-river-excerpt-on-aniline-dye/
https://mollybrown.org/death-by-crinoline/
https://thecowkeeperswish.com/2018/08/06/the-crinoline-fires/
https://www.famsf.org/stories/poisons-part-i-the-mercurial-world-of-felt
https://corrosion-doctors.org/Elements-Toxic/Mercury-mad-hatter.htm
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/05/02/scheeles-green-the-color-of-fake-foliage-and-death/
https://www.jezebel.com/the-arsenic-dress-how-poisonous-green-pigments-terrori-1738374597
Email us your impolite questions at rude@impolitesocietypodcast.com and visit our website for info about the show and your hosts Laura and Rachel.