A Century of Fashion Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hobble skirt

Long skirts were still in fashion during this period and Mrs Berg found the two minute and seven second flight a little breezy to say the least. To save her dignity, she tied her skirt with rope just below the bottom of her knees. When her flight was over, she was seen to "hobble" away until the rope was untied.

It started a fashion trend that would last for years. Some women would even wear a knee length corset underneath, but they were so impeded by taking the short steps that this accessory brought about that it soon became a non-runner. Hobble skirts can still be found today but they are nothing like their earlier counterpart. Pencil skirts and wedding dresses with long narrow skirts are very fashionable, even in the 21st century.

So who was this paragon of virtue, the unheard of Mrs Hart O. Berg of the "hobble" fame? To answer this question, we need to take a look at a company called "Flint and Company". This company managed the European business side of things for the Wright Brothers. The main business representative was called Hart O. Berg. His good lady wife, Edith, bought us the Hobble skirt. Another giant step for mankind in the fashion industry!

Answer: Their skirts flapped up when they danced or ran

This is the most fascinating era imaginable for women's fashions because everything changed so radically from all the previous eras. Out went the long dresses that covered almost every part of the body except the head, constricting corsets, long hair, sensible shoes, long pantaloons and even moral values to a degree.

In came short dresses to just below the knee, ones that flapped up in a breeze, or when dancing those naughty dances. Corsets and long pantaloons were replaced by step-ins, and shorter legged knickers. Off came the long hair that sometimes reached to the floor - to be replaced by short, elegant bobs instead. And those sensible shoes were replaced by daring high heels.

Flappers also drank alcohol freely; smoked seductively (usually with a cigarette holder); wore very heavy make-up, particularly around the eyes; drove vehicles at the breakneck speeds of the times; danced the latest free moving dances with abandon; and even believed in hanky panky. Oh my goodness! In short, those Flappers paved the way for all you ladies today, boop-boop-de-boop.

Answer: Elsa Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli came up with many unique designs and fashions for women during this period, but somehow she has almost disappeared from the pages of fashion history, and it is Coco Chanel whose name we most readily recognise instead.

Some of Elsa's fashions included the Lobster dress. This was a long white evening gown with, of all things, a large painted lobster on the skirt. How revolting. I hate sea food. An interesting fact about the lobster, however, was that Salvador Dali painted it. Then there was the pale blue Tears dress, with carefully designed rips and tears placed in strategic spots. And you thought torn jeans were a new fashion, didn't you?

There was also a grim looking Skeleton dress that incorporated padding on the outfit to emphasise ribs, spine and leg bones. Most peculiar. And hats designed in the shape of shoes. Very odd. Elsa was also responsible for divided skirts, culottes, breeches, those dopey turban hats, wraparound dresses, various perfumes and the wedge shoes which still can be seen around today. The best thing that could be said about her designs, all up, was that Elsa wasn't afraid to push the boundaries. I'm quite certain that if she'd come up with a hat in the shape of a bed pan, women would have worn that as well, regardless of how they looked.

Answer: Shoulders

The big padded shoulders came in during the 1940s, with a bang as loud as those shots that reverberated around the world. This fashion actually doesn't look too bad when one looks back at old films, where changing styles through time are always reflected. Shoulder pads gave women lovely straight shoulder lines which then emphasised small waists even further. With men, it gave them the appearance of muscles and strength. Men's padded jackets are still seen today, but unfortunately some are badly fitting. When that happens, the general effect is that real shoulders can often be seen poking up between padding and neck. An interesting fact about those padded shoulders at that time was that they tended to give women the same body shape, to a degree, as men. This coincided with the move, for many women, from the house to the factory, as they took over most of the jobs that were usually performed by the men now away at war.

Other fashions during this era included the dainty hat tipped over one eye, white dinner jackets for the gents, longer skirts, wider trouser legs, and rather masculine looking evening gowns with all the frippery removed, for women. These were gradually replaced by backless and more feminine evening gowns that emphasised one's curves. Boleros and capes also came on the scene, thankfully for only a short period. Softer and more feminine dresses then made a reappearance for everyday wear. These flowed beautifully, were patterned, and tended to have puffed sleeves. Women now began to wear their hair longer as well, to the shoulder, and curled back off the face - as opposed to the earlier bobbed look which was all the rage in the 1920s.

By the end of this era, sloppy joe jumpers were making an appearance on the scene, as were pleated and fully gathered skirts. Make-up went from an emphasis on the eyes to the lips, where vivid red colour highlighted this part of the face. For some peculiar reason, when this arrived, so did the fashion of giving a false outline to the top lip. This looked really peculiar, and perhaps more than anyone else, is epitomised by Lucille Ball's lips in her various television series. My mother used to wear her lipstick like that too, right into the 1970s. It was a bit embarrassing, but we loved her - extra lip and all. In a way, this fashion would find echo many years later, where women had their lips pumped out like salmon, with botox.

Answer: Poodle skirts

Poodle skirts were exceptionally full skirts, worn over piles of rope petticoats to make the skirts seem even fuller - and with a picture of a poodle appliqued near the hemline. Why a poodle? Who knows. It beats a bulldog I suppose. Eventually other appliques were applied as well, as designers grew more innovative.

More than anything else, these skirts symbolised the birth and development of rock and roll. Girls wore them everywhere, and a dance hall full of whirling twirling girls and poodles was an amazing sight indeed. With the skirts, one usually wore bobby socks and low heeled shoes. These made the frenetic dances of the time less hazardous. The petticoats too provided a degree of modesty, as some of these dances involved girls being swung up into the air by partners strong enough to do so. The boys were most interested in dancing, or standing round and watching the dancing during this era it seems. Well why not? Any red-blooded male would. Off we go then - one, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock! No barking in the back row, thank you.

Answer: The Beatles

This hair style was called the mop top or the Beatles cut usually. Basically all it consisted of was long, uncut locks hanging over the shoulders and into the eyes. Just about every young blood at that time wore one, and even the older gents tended to sedately allow their hair to grow somewhat longer as well. And when the Beatles began shaking those locks during any of their songs, the girls went wild, screaming their silly heads off. The Beatles unfortunately seem to be symbolic of the ushering in of the drug age as well, but that's another story. Everyone followed suit with the shaking of the head as well. No thank you. That would make me as dizzy as could be. Just as an example of the hold this hair style had over boys, younger boys in particular, I knew of one thirteen year old boy, who had to be carried forcibly by his parents into the barber shop to have his locks shorn. Such was his distress, he actually had a convulsion.

That then was the sixties for you. Migraine headaches, dizziness and convulsions - and all started off by a hairstyle. Other fashions from this era included heavy eye makeup, pale lips and pale skin, and false eyelashes for girls; bell bottom trousers, psychedelic, paisley and batik prints on shirts and other clothing for both genders; pretty cheese cloth dresses, mini-skirts (commonly referred to as bum-freezers) and hot pants. Top all this off with drugs and the sexual revolution - and duck for cover.

Answer: Platform shoes

Those darn platform shoes. They were in everywhere. Hardly anyone could be seen without them on. And they were downright dangerous. I got married in the late 1970s, and my husband, in his platform shoes, unexpectedly decided to do something romantic. He swooped me up into his arms and began to carry me down the church stairs. What do you think happened next? One of his heels came off, he tripped, and the pair of us rolled ingloriously down the remainder of the stairs. We finished up with me, lying in a dazed fashion, complete with bridal gown, on top of the idiot. Those shoes were built up higher and higher, sometimes to extreme heights, when this fashion was in. For example, I didn't realise how short he was until our honeymoon night, when he removed his footwear.

Other fashions from this era were the continuing presence of the mini-skirt and those ghastly bell bottomed trousers. These were referred to as flares by that stage, and they were worn with brightly coloured shirts, longer hair of course, the life threatening shoes, and sideburns. My middle-aged boss had the complete outfit and really fancied himself with the ladies. He even began walking differently when he was wearing his flares, so much so that I thought he'd developed a hernia.

Answer: Leg warmers

This was an era that also witnessed the resurgence of the shoulder pad - only this time to a grotesque degree. The band members of "Kiss", for example, could be seen wearing these giant shoulder pads. They were also incorporated, for other men, into power suits. Long hair came back into fashion for men once more during this time - very long hair in fact. Combine this with the pirate shirts and tight pants that were also fashionable at the time, and men began to look more and more like the romantic heroes from the old classic novels. Colin Firth, of the 1995 television series "Pride and Prejudice", is a perfect example of that era which found reflection in the 1980s. Oh Mr Darcy, be mine!

Other fashion adornments from the 1980s included a Tom Selleck type of moustache as worn in his TV series "Magnum P.I." which ran from 1980-88; leggings; bras wore over the top of clothing - a completely stupid fashion - they might as well have walked around with underpants on their heads; untidy hair for girls; make-up for men (sissies!); the gothic look; fishnet gloves; Hussar type jackets worn with baggy pants which were pulled in at the ankles; leotards; mini-skirts again; boots - lots of boots; and those leg warmers. It was a weird era, all in all. You never knew what was going to be coming around the corner at you. To a degree, because it was all so alien, it almost had the effect of making people feel threatened somehow.

Answer: Grunge

Grungies reacted violently against the over-the-top fashions of the previous era. Gone were the padded shoulders, power suits, leotards, leg warmers, untidy hair on girls, face makeup for men, underwear worn as clothing, the gothic look, fishnet and the works. Instead they were replaced by clothing from thrift shops, flannel shirts, faded jeans, and untidy, unwashed hair on men.

Unfortunately, this period also saw the emergence of tattoos on various parts of the body - weird tattoos at that - and body piercings. Oh my goodness, everything, and I do mean everything, was pierced according to a person's desire. The one problem with piercings in the nether regions, however, was the hazardous presence of zippers in the same era. What if a piercing became stuck on a zipper when you were in a hurry? Instant abdominal surgery - or amputation.

From this untidy beginning, fashion became a hotpotch of all fashions from any era. It was rather bewildering in fact. Hippie type outfits; turtle neck jumpers and shirts; chunky shoes; sneakers; overalls (extremely unflattering); flares; mini skirts; sweatpants; tank tops; capri pants; bomber jackets; cargo pants; ponytails or complete baldness for men; and the Rachel or the pixie cut for women. It was all like being in a spin dryer of a century's worth of fashion.

Answer: The unshaven look

Suddenly men everywhere appeared to have forgotten to shave on most days. They arrived at work, or appeared on television and films, with dirty unshaven faces. It was the fashion. One must follow the trends, dontcha know. It also saved a lot of time every morning. While it didn't look too bad on fair-headed men, if you had men with very hairy chests, arms, shoulders and eyebrows, with the unshaven look thrown in, it seemed as though Wookiees had taken over the planet.

Dressy fashions came back into fashion for girls, but these were worn usually with flip-flops, which rather ruined the effect. Ripped jeans re-emerged, as did ponchos, flares and tank tops. Knee high boots worn with trenchcoats from the sixties also came in and out again. Vintage clothing became fashionable there for a while as well. Men wore carpenter jeans, rugby shirts, and baseball caps, under which hairy faces glowered out at the world. Velvet coats also became big, as did waistcoats, hawaiian shirts, ski jackets and sunglasses. The hideous emo look of dark striped shirts and skinny jeans, which only needed a beret to complete the picture, flashed in and out; dreadlocks came and went; and so did the Mexican prison gang shaved head look.

And as each fashion was born, re-born, moved on to another, it always left behind a few die-hards who refused to wear anything but that fashion from then on, no matter what else came along. These were, and are, the time-warp prisoners, forever doomed to remain in their fixed fashion period cells. And what will be next, one wonders? The eras have gone from one particular fashion which could be associated definitely to a specific decade, to a kaleidoscope of fleeting transience which always seems to reflect a kind of desperate grasping at a never ending merry-go-round.