We hairless humans have been wearing clothing for a long, long time, but exactly when is hard to tell — paintings, statues, or fabrics that give evidence of our garb only appear long after scientists think we started dressing. A paper published by Toups et al. in the journal _Molecular Biology and Evolution_ in 2011 […]
Dzudzuana Cave, human fabric, and skin lice Read More »
We’ve all heard about the toxic use of lead in cosmetics in history: it whitened the skin, which aristocrats from Ancient Roman times well into the 1800s thought was a good look. Of course, it also poisoned the users. The Early Modern employment of “Venetian Ceruse” was particularly popular, and was a combination of lead,
Venetian Ceruse in European Aristocratic Life Read More »
We all know that our society creates ideas about gender, and that what we consider masculine or feminine today are transitive concepts. So it goes with how culture has treated babies’ and children’s clothing. This picture of a young Franklin Delano Roosevelt taken in 1884 is a case in point: he is wearing a white
The Color War of Gender Read More »
This unusual garment is called a “Bishop’s Mantle,” because of its similarity to the robes worn by such clergymen, but if you look closely, you’ll see it’s made up of linked chains — and is actually armor. In fact, it probably was only dubbed a “Bishop’s Mantle” by 19th-century antiquarians, and we might think
It’s pleasant, from where I write this post in my ice-bitten and wintery grey state of Pennsylvania, to look at this lovely plant. Here is _Indigofera tinctoria_ the most important plant to make the dye colored indigo — a color that meant beauty to some, but misery to many others. Indigo is one of
The purple color of this Victorian dress testifies to the discovery of “mauve,” the world’s first synthetic dye. And it was a really, really big deal. The color was produced serendipitously by a brilliant 18-year old named William Henry Perkin in 1856, who didn’t start out his career path to become the millionaire founder
The Discovery of Mauve Read More »
The Carpathian Mountains in Western Ukraine are some of the traditional homelands of the Hutsul peoples. Although their roots extend back hundreds of years, the term “Hutsul” first appears in written sources in 1816, when it was used by outsiders — in fact, the term’s etymology, although uncertain, might derive from the critical words for
If you’re looking at this on your phone, it’s worth a moment to zoom in for this photo, to check out the texture of this finely woven gown. It’s a rare and valuable sample of a type of cloth called “Dhaka muslin,” and in its heyday, sold for vast sums and was esteemed as the
Dhaka Muslin Dress Read More »
This is a set of bone sewing needles found in the Cave of Courbet near Toulouse, France, dating to around 13,000 years ago. Trace the history of the sewing needle and you will trace one of the key technologies that enabled Homo sapiens to migrate around the planet, and to outlast our closest human relatives,
The History of Sewing Read More »
India’s textile production was perhaps the most internationally renowned from the Early Modern period through the Age of Industrialization. Here you see a fantastically detailed embroidered section of a woman’s dress from the 19th century. It is made of cotton muslin and gilded silver wire and — wait for it — beetles’ wings! Fan-cy! Sources:
Details of Indian Textiles Read More »
“Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth” is a common expression that means your family is rich. The origins of this saying go a long way back, and are connected to a tradition of giving silver spoons to infants getting baptized into the Christian faith. Wiktionary traces the first recorded statement to a 1721
Silver Baptismal Gift Tradition Read More »
Modern copy of a Japanese _juunihitoe_ or “twelve layered” kimono worn by aristocratic women from the Heian period (9th-12th centuries). These outfits actually weighed women down because of the amount of fabric involved.
Japanese Juunihitoe Read More »
These are shoes from Roman Britain. Not a lot of support in the soles, eh? (Even considering the decay over centuries.)
Roman Britain Shoes Read More »
Masking women’s faces across history has a common denominator — the practice focuses on how society monitors female sexuality, and shows how often a woman’s place in society was equated with her sexuality. The creepy face mask known as a “Visard” in Early Modern Europe is a case in point. This French painting from 1581
The Visard, an Early Modern Woman’s Facemask Read More »
I cannot imagine how knowledge of this Early Modern European hairstyle has evaded me for so long. It’s absolutely disgusting and I cannot look away, but I suggest really thinking twice before you flip to the second image. I am talking about “Plica Polonica” or the “Polish Plait”. It went by a bunch of different
Here you are looking at the compound microscope developed by Robert Hooke (d 1703), a Renaissance scientist more famous for dabbling in academic fields as disparate as physics and palaeontology than a particular discovery. Nevertheless, his microscope allowed him to illustrate things he included in _Micrographia_, which utterly captivated his British audience. Samuel Pepys the
Victorian Accoutrements: the Mustache Cup and the Welsh Wig Read More »
This shirt dating from 15th-early 16th century northern India contains the entire Qur’an. Check out the picture-like framing, as though the wearer were adorning himself with a book rather than mere cotton. The illustrated rondels that overlay the pectoral muscles, the shoulder-pad-esque details, and the fringes that look like lapels all contribute to a faux-armor.
Talisman Shirt with Qur’an from Early Modern India Read More »
