Very few things are as socially objective or as quickly
evolving as fashion and trends. What is considered chic, cool or elegant
varies to an insane degree, depending on time and place. What you end up
with is an endless history of fascinating fashion choices – mainstream,
underground, beautiful, hideous and some just downright confusing. Here
are some of the more outrageous fashion trends we’ve seen in recent history.
being crazy and cutting edge, this is one we can’t wrap our heads around,
so to speak. This temporary body modification was pioneered in Canada and
became a sensationalized fetish trend in the Japanese underground scene. Dedicated bagel heads undergo a two hour saline drip into their forehead to
achieve the look, for results that last a mere 24 hours, until the body absorbs
the solution. At this point, no negative side effects have been reported
(besides looking like you have a bagel embedded under your face skin)
and while there is no proof or real speculation of this, we believe it may have
been inspired by a particularly disturbing Halloween episode of The Simpsons.
franglais speakers,) bold fashion choices are not just a trend, but a way of
life. Inspired by French decadence and style, the so-called Gentlemen of the Bakongo are based in the slums of the French Congo and wear their flamboyant, designer
suits as a sign of their religion of elegance. Sapeurs abide by a strict
code of honour, nobility and morality which includes shunning violence – “A Sapeur does not shed blood. Your clothes do all the fighting for you, otherwise you are not fit to be called a Sapeur.” The men of the SAPE have been embraced as local celebrities, often being paid
to attend parties and weddings, and have recently been featured in the Solange
Knowles video for Losing You.
for the gander”? Well, friends, it might be fair to say this has been
proven wrong in the case of meggings. To clarify, meggings = male leggings, and
it is possible that they originated as an act of revenge from the fashion gods
against all women who used tights and leggings for evil (a.k.a. in lieu of real
pants. If you’re not sure if you’re one of those women please seek guidance
here.) While we do give props to men daring enough to try to pull them off, we urge
you not to put them on in the first place.
When you think of footwear fetishists and enthusiasts, one
generally thinks of a Carrie Bradshaw-esque closet full of Manolos and
Louboutins. Not so with this all-male sub culture of Mexican tribal
dancers. They don elaborately embellished boots with elongated toes
curled up to five feet. Originating in Matehuala, Mexico, the boots rose in
popularity alongside a genre of music called “tribal guarachero” which has
been described as “a mixture of Pre-Columbian and African sounds mixed with fast cumbia bass and electro-house beats.” Mexican Pointy Boots are typically worn by dance troupes at competitions,
parties and weddings and were the subject of a short documentary by Vice.
fashion, we should have also mentioned that it tends to be cyclical. That is to
say, we don’t always forget our mistakes. What was once considered a
decade of fashion face-palming is now creeping back into what is hip. We’ve seen a resurgence of the good, bad, and the ugly of 80’s fashion, including bushy brows, shoulder pads, and Day-glo (thanks a lot for this
one, LMFAO.) Anyone who has seen a hypercolour t-shirt on a hot day knows this
isn’t all good news. What is good news is that in no time, we’ll
have moved on to channeling some other decade’s hits and misses (fingers
crossed for hoop skirts and pantaloons!).
RIB 2 
