Most of us have suffered for fashion at some point, whether it is a blister from a new pair of shoes, an uncomfortable suit or a dress that is impossible to sit down in. Compared with previous generations, though,we have had it easy.
Throughout history, some of the world’s most fashionable people unknowingly surrounded themselves with substances that could poison them, burn them alive or leave them permanently disfigured.
The more expensive the clothing, the greater the danger often became. Fashion has always reflected wealth and status, but unfortunately it has also reflected humanity’s willingness to ignore warning signs in the pursuit of beauty.
Few colours have enjoyed a rise to fame quite like emerald-green, which became hugely fashionable across Europe during the 19th century.
Ladies wore dazzling green ballgowns, children’s toys were painted green, and wallpaper, artificial flowers, gloves and hats all embraced the vibrant new shade.
There was just one problem: many of these products contained arsenic.
Chemists had discovered that combining copper with arsenic created an exceptionally bright pigment known as Scheele’s Green, later followed by Paris Green. The colours were unlike anything people had seen before, and they quickly became symbols of wealth and sophistication. Few people questioned whether they were safe.
Although arsenic was already well known as a poison, manufacturers insisted the tiny amounts used in dyes posed little risk. Many doctors disagreed, while dressmakers handling arsenic fabrics reported mysterious illnesses and factory workers suffered chronic health problems.
Some women developed painful skin irritations after wearing fashionable green gowns and in damp conditions, arsenic pigments could even release toxic vapours.
Wallpaper containing arsenic became particularly controversial because families unknowingly lived for years surrounded by poisonous pigments.
Although historians still debate exactly how many illnesses were directly caused by arsenic fashion, there is no doubt the materials exposed countless people to dangerous chemicals. Eventually, public concern grew too loud to ignore and fashion moved on.
The phrase “mad as a hatter” did not appear by accident. For centuries, hat makers used mercury nitrate during the production of felt hats, because the chemical helped separate animal fur fibres and create smooth, durable felt.
Workers handled mercury day after day, and the effects were devastating. Long-term exposure damaged the nervous system, and many hat makers developed tremors, memory problems, mood swings and slurred speech.
Some experienced hallucinations and severe personality changes. The condition became so common that it entered popular language.
Lewis Carroll’s eccentric Mad Hatter may have been fictional, but the occupational disease behind the character was tragically real; for consumers wearing the finished hats, however, the risk was far lower than it was for the workers making them.
Today, clothing is manufactured to strict fire safety standards, but for much of history no such protections existed.
During the Victorian era, huge crinoline dresses became enormously fashionable. Supported by steel hoops, they created dramatic bell-shaped skirts that could stretch several feet across. They were spectacular, but they were also terrifyingly flammable.
Many dresses were made from lightweight cotton or muslin, while homes were heated by open fires, rooms were illuminated by candles and theatres were lined with gas lamps.
A single spark could ignite an enormous skirt within seconds, while the air trapped beneath crinolines often acted like a chimney, feeding the flames. Some women died before help could reach them, and historians estimate that thousands of fatal clothing fires occurred during the height of crinoline fashion.
Newspapers regularly reported horrific accidents, yet the style remained popular for years. Even royalty could not escape fashion’s dangers, and several high-profile women suffered fatal burns after their dresses caught fire.
One of the most famous was Archduchess Mathilde of Austria, who died in 1867 after attempting to hide from her father while smoking. Her voluminous dress brushed against a flame and quickly ignited, and despite desperate efforts to save her, she died from severe burns. Stories like hers shocked Europe, and gradually fashion began favouring narrower skirts that were less hazardous.
For centuries, pale skin represented wealth because a woman with fair skin appeared sheltered from outdoor labour. To achieve the fashionable look, many turned to cosmetics containing lead.
Ancient Romans used lead-based makeup, and Renaissance women embraced similar products. Perhaps the most famous example was Queen Elizabeth I, whose distinctive white complexion became one of her defining features. Many historians believe her cosmetics contained large amounts of white lead.
Repeated use damaged skin, causing blemishes that users then attempted to conceal with even more makeup. The cycle became self-perpetuating, and lead poisoning can also affect the brain, kidneys and nervous system. Yet the pursuit of flawless skin continued for centuries, with fashion sometimes adapting to the very problems it had created.
Fashionable patches known as beauty spots became hugely popular during the 17th and 18th centuries. Made from silk or velvet and applied to the face, these tiny decorative shapes looked playful, but in many cases they served a practical purpose: heavy lead makeup frequently damaged skin, while small scars from illnesses such as smallpox were common. Beauty patches helped conceal blemishes while adding a touch of elegance.
At the end of the 19th century, a new material promised to revolutionise fashion: celluloid, one of the world’s first plastics. Cheap, lightweight and easy to mould, it allowed manufacturers to produce combs, hairpins, collars and decorative accessories that looked like expensive ivory or tortoiseshell at a fraction of the cost.
It seemed like the perfect invention, but there was one serious flaw: celluloid was highly flammable. Under the right conditions, it could ignite with alarming speed.
Hair combs left too close to a fire or exposed to intense heat occasionally caught alight, while factories producing celluloid products experienced devastating fires because the material burned so fiercely.
The early 20th century saw another remarkable chapter in fashion history. After the discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie, the element became associated with modern science and good health.
Manufacturers rushed to include it in everyday products, from creams, face powders and toothpaste to soap and hair treatments.
Some beauty companies even claimed their radioactive cosmetics could rejuvenate the skin and restore youthful energy. Consumers had little reason to doubt them, as the dangers of radiation were not yet fully understood.
Within a few decades, however, the horrifying health effects became impossible to ignore. One of the most tragic stories from this period involved the young factory workers known today as the Radium Girls, whose job was to paint luminous watch dials using radium-based paint.
To create a fine point on their brushes, many were instructed to shape the bristles with their lips between strokes, meaning that day after day they unknowingly swallowed tiny amounts of radioactive material. The consequences were devastating, with many developing severe illnesses including bone disease and cancer, and their legal battles transformed workplace safety laws.
Many radioactive products disappeared from the market as scientific understanding improved.
Few garments have attracted as many myths as the corset, which popular culture often portrays as causing Victorian women to faint daily because they laced themselves into impossibly tight waists. The reality is more complicated.
Most women wore corsets that fitted properly and provided support rather than extreme compression. However, some fashion-conscious individuals did practise “tight-lacing”, gradually reducing their waist measurements over many years.
Doctors debated whether this could affect breathing, digestion and posture. Although sensational claims about removed ribs and constant collapse have largely been exaggerated, extremely tight corseting certainly carried health risks for those who pursued the fashion to extremes.
As with many trends, moderation and everyday reality differed greatly from the dramatic stories.
Long before plastics became widespread, luxury accessories often relied on rare natural materials. Combs were carved from ivory, hair ornaments used genuine tortoiseshell and fans featured exotic feathers; the rarer the material, the more desirable it became.
Fashion drove demand for elephant ivory, sea turtles and countless bird species hunted for their feathers. By the late 19th century, conservationists were already warning that some animals faced extinction because of fashion, proving that looking glamorous sometimes came with a hidden environmental price.
Nowhere was this more visible than in hats. By the late 19th century, fashionable headwear had become astonishingly elaborate, with some designs featuring entire birds while others displayed wings, feathers or exotic plumes.
The demand became so intense that millions of birds were killed each year to satisfy the fashion industry. Species such as egrets were hunted in huge numbers, often during nesting season when their breeding feathers were at their finest.
The slaughter shocked early conservationists, and public campaigns eventually led to changes in both consumer attitudes and wildlife protection laws. Fashion had helped inspire one of the world’s earliest environmental movements.
Fortunately, the modern fashion industry operates very differently, with strict regulations governing everything from textile dyes to cosmetics and children’s clothing.
Manufacturers must meet safety standards before products reach consumers. Fire-resistant fabrics, ingredient testing and chemical restrictions have dramatically reduced many of the risks that once accompanied everyday fashion.
That does not mean fashion is entirely free from controversy, as debates continue around sustainability, environmental pollution and the use of certain manufacturing chemicals.
But compared with previous centuries, shoppers can feel far more confident that the clothes they wear will not poison them or burst into flames…
Image credits – Getty: Alesmunt, PATSTOCK, Campwillowlake, ilbusca, Gwengoat, Photos.com, retrofuture, clu
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