Fashion trivia

Multiple Choice

Queen Elizabeth I of England set the trend of reddening teeth.

• True

• False

Oh, Lizzie....

By the time that Elizabeth I came around (sixteenth century),
sugar was available at a very high cost, and the she had a
thing for sweets. As a result of this and a whole lot of
neglect, her teeth were black and decaying. Nevertheless,
they sparked a short-lived fashion trend in England:
women purposefully blackened their teeth to prove that they
had enough money to buy sugar.

Multiple Choice

In the Renaissance period, Venetian women typically wore platform shoes up to 50 centimeters tall.

• True

• False

What, really?

In the sixteenth century in Venice, the taller the shoe, the more noble was the lady. The purpose of those shoes, called "ciopine", was to appear taller or perhaps, to walk on the high water without getting dirty mud dresses. Visitors of the time came to the lagoon to admire these "sculptures on pedestals" that moved through the streets of the city and needed to be accompanied by service ladies so as not to fall down.

Multiple Choice

In the early 20th century, hobble skirts were used with the purpose of

• straightening posture and bow legs

• challenging dress norms

• preventing them from blowing in the wind

• slowing women down

As expected

"Hobbling" is a term for tying on an animal's legs together to prevent it from running away. In the early 20th century, the hobble skirt attempted to do the same to women. Designed specifically to restrict women's movement and prevent them from taking large steps, the hobble skirt is certainly symbolic of how women were viewed at the time.

Multiple Choice

Uchikake is a jacket Japanese women wear over their kimono

• on relatives' wedding day

• on the wedding day

• in tea ceremonies

• in the Coming of Age ceremony

Uchikake is used as a jacket over the Japanese bride’s kimono on the wedding day. It’s usually red and designed with floral motifs, lovebirds, and cranes. In Japanese mythology, cranes are thousand-year-old creatures that symbolize longevity, bringing luck to couples. 

Today, most Japanese brides choose the traditional white Japanese uchikake dress because of its pure and elegant beauty.

Multiple Choice

It's illegal to fish in men's pajamas in Chicago.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

In Blythe City, California, you can wear real cowboy boots only if you

• are able to walk on high heels

• own at least four cows

• you are a real cowboy

• never match it with skirts

​You heard that right.

You’ve got to be a real cowboy to own cowboy boots in Blythe city, California. This is the law, period.

How? You may ask.

By owning at least two cows