Crinolines

Crinoline: Fashion's Most Magnificent Disaster is about a fashion which died a natural death more than 100 years ago, and was itself responsible for the deaths of thousands - literally fashion victims! This beautifully packaged volume also comes in a slip cover and includes a 3-D viewer. A comprehensive history of the development of crinolines, this wholly unique and engaging volume weaves together contemporary accounts, 3-D photographs, cartoons and drawings from the excitable Victorian press to tell the story of Fashion's Most Magnificent Disaster. Originally a name for the stiff horse hair fabric used to add volume to women's dresses, Crinoline eventually became a blanket term for the ivory, wood, or wire structures that gave Victorian gowns their famously exaggerated proportions. Crinolines are still around today, but while they may be used to add a playful lift to the designs of fashion luminaries such as Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen and Yohji Yamamoto, few might be aware that this enduring fashion item harbors a dark and gruesome secret. Coming into vogue in France around 1856, this outrageous style would quickly come to dominate women's fashion for over a decade. However, due to their flammable materials and overwhelming dimensions which made them likely to bump into nearby candles and fireplaces, this fashion craze soon became a nightmare. It's estimated that by the mid-1860s, crinolines had caused thousands of fire-related deaths and had been blamed for the financial ruin of countless families. The rise and fall of crinolines also happened to perfectly coincide with the advent of stereoscopy, a method for creating the illusion of three-dimensional depth in two-dimensional photographs with the use of specially made viewing glasses. This book documents both of these Victorian crazes in brilliant detail, allowing readers to gaze upon some of the world's first true fashion victims in stunning 3-D.

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