FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

In The Name of Fashion Trivia Quiz

The strange things we do in the name of fashion! How much do you know about the weird things our predecessors did just to look good?

A multiple-choice quiz by poodog. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
poodog

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
146,726

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Very Difficult

Avg Score
4 / 10

Plays
2515

Last 3 plays: Guest 71 (6/10), Guest 174 (2/10), Guest 120 (5/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Women were once expected to use a form of machinery to go swimming?

True

False

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Which of the following was never used as boning in a corset? Hint

Whalebone

Wool

Wood

Leather

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Sometimes referred to as "ox-muzzles," what were "chopines?" Hint

Corsets

Hats

Neck Ruffs

Footwear

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. One type of depilatory cream, popular during the 1700s was made from vinegar and what other product? Hint

White Lead

Cat Faeces

Sour Milk

Ash

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. In the U.S.A in 1924, the New York Board of Health tried to ban which product? Hint

Hot Wax

Shampoo

Mascara

Lipstick

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. In the 1300s the early form of foundation "ceruse" was sometimes deadly for what reason? Hint

It attracted the sun causing skin cancer

It was made using lead

The pores were blocked causing the wearer to suffocate

It never killed

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. During the 1700s, instead of plucking women used to shave their eyebrows and replace them with false ones made from what? Hint

Leather

Wool

Cat Fur

Mouse Skin

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Which of the following dangerous substances was not a popular blusher in the 1700s? Hint

Cyanide

Brimstone

Red Lead

Mercury

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. In ancient Egypt, glossy black hair was the height of fashion. Which of the following was once used as a hair dye? Hint

Onion Juice

Ground Ox Hooves

Coal

Cat's Wombs

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Melanesian women up until the 1900s were reported to occasionally wear what strange item as earrings? Hint

Small Dogs

Birds

Elephant Tusks

Ears

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Most Recent Scores

Oct 23 2024 : Guest 71: 6/10
Oct 01 2024 : Guest 174: 2/10
Oct 01 2024 : Guest 120: 5/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Women were once expected to use a form of machinery to go swimming?

Answer: True

"Bathing Machines" were wheeled cabins which surrounded a woman until she was safely in the water! Beaches were often separated into men's and women's sections. Swimwear consisted of drawers, dresses, hats and capes! Ahhh, the good old 1870s!

2. Which of the following was never used as boning in a corset?

Answer: Wool

The corset which lasted for centuries, until its decline in the 1900s was made from all sorts of things, including whalebone, to achieve the perfect "wasp-waist." The perfect waist size was once considered to be a hand-span! During the 1700s, wealthy fashionistas even went as far as having their bottom ribs removed!

3. Sometimes referred to as "ox-muzzles," what were "chopines?"

Answer: Footwear

Enormously high platform shoes, which were popular, especially in Venice in the seventeenth century, women had to be helped by servants just to balance in. The higher the chopine, the more wealthy the wearer. Those boots weren't made for walking!

4. One type of depilatory cream, popular during the 1700s was made from vinegar and what other product?

Answer: Cat Faeces

It was dried then powdered before being mixed with vinegar. Bet that smelled good...you would hope you would never need to wax your upper lip!

5. In the U.S.A in 1924, the New York Board of Health tried to ban which product?

Answer: Lipstick

Apparently there was little concern for the women wearers, the ban was to save the poor men from being poisoned when kissing their women!

6. In the 1300s the early form of foundation "ceruse" was sometimes deadly for what reason?

Answer: It was made using lead

Ceruse was a paste made of vinegar, egg white and white lead. The lead ate away at the skin and eventually leaked into the body, which could be fatal. It has been said that by the end of her reign, Elizabeth I had to wear ceruse half an inch thick to cover the corrosion it had caused to her face.

7. During the 1700s, instead of plucking women used to shave their eyebrows and replace them with false ones made from what?

Answer: Mouse Skin

Unfortunately, their glue recipe wasn't quite up to scratch, meaning pieces of mouse skin tended to fall off the faces of wealthy women at all the wrong times (not that I think there is ever a good time for wearing mouse skin!).

8. Which of the following dangerous substances was not a popular blusher in the 1700s?

Answer: Cyanide

These caused teeth to fall out and bad breath. Not all of them were reliable either... one turned yellow from the smell of cloves, while another would turn black if exposed to sulphur in the air from coal fires!

9. In ancient Egypt, glossy black hair was the height of fashion. Which of the following was once used as a hair dye?

Answer: Cat's Wombs

They were also said to use such things as leeches and the blood of black cows.

10. Melanesian women up until the 1900s were reported to occasionally wear what strange item as earrings?

Answer: Small Dogs

Strange but true? It makes you wonder just what our descendents will have to say about our surgically implanting plastic lumps in our chests, having fat sucked from our stomachs, piercing holes in our tongues, nipples and genitals and other modern trends, maybe some of the things our ancestors did weren't so bad after all! And all in the name of fashion!

Source: Author poodog

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ozzz2002 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.