57
votes
When and why did having long hair become associated with women, and short hair with men?
The First World War is often identified as a turning point in men's hair length.
Prior to the war, both men and women commonly kept long hair, at least in western societies (and the Far East). This ...
- 96.9k
41
votes
What was the 1970s name for skinny jeans?
In the 1970's there were 3 basic poles of jeans in the USA:
Levis, Wranglers, and "Designer".
If you wanted to wear fully tight jeans, you were probably wearing "Designer jeans". ...
- 115k
38
votes
When and why did having long hair become associated with women, and short hair with men?
It's obvious that having short or long hair is an identity sign for men and women respectively, more or less worldwide.
No, it's not obvious, especially not in history.
You may be mistaking a ...
- 2,232
27
votes
Accepted
Did the Roman legions wear this type of boots?
These boots are in the calceus style. As such they are quite spot on and accurate for a Roman soldier in colder climates. But not unlike the caligae we stereotypically associate with a legionaire's ...
- 80.2k
25
votes
Accepted
Did medieval people wear collars with a castellated hem?
The basic form of this garment is like the gugel, a hood that protects the head and also covers the shoulders. The precursors for these are Roman paenula or Alpine Kotze made from various types of ...
- 80.2k
23
votes
How common was smoking in first half of the 20th century?
It certainly meshes up with my memory of the way things were in the early 70's. But my memory may be exaggerated too. (I was anti-smoking way before it was cool.)
It wasn't true that everyone smoked ...
- 115k
20
votes
Accepted
How common was smoking in first half of the 20th century?
By the 1970s, smoking in the USA was starting to come down from its peak in the early 1960s.
(Note that this is slightly deceptive in the early years of the 20th century, when cigarettes were ...
- 358
15
votes
How common was smoking in first half of the 20th century?
Yes, most men smoked
For men born in USA between 1900 and 1930, about 80+% of them had been smoking at some point; and during 1920-1950 ~70% of them were current smokers.[1] This matches other ...
- 1,313
15
votes
Accepted
Did Continental Army officers wear wigs or keep their hair white like their British Army counterparts?
It's important to note here a key distinction between British (army) officers and Continental officers.
The former, overwhelmingly, had purchased their commissions into a specific regiment; and were ...
- 71.3k
15
votes
What was the 1970s name for skinny jeans?
This is from Wikipedia, showing Elvis Presley wearing drainpipes: Slim-fit pants/The 1950s.
Elvis Presley wearing drainpipe jeans. In the 1950s; the waist was higher than on modern skinny jeans.
The ...
- 7,831
13
votes
Did medieval people wear collars with a castellated hem?
The hood and the 'distinctive castellated margin' mentioned by the OP are really two separate features, so this answer will focus on the decorative hem, which was called dagging.
A very informative ...
- 37.2k
12
votes
How common was smoking in first half of the 20th century?
Be careful using movies as research for the commonality of smoking in the early 20th century. Film stars were paid by various elements of the tobacco industry to be seen smoking and paid to smoke in ...
- 121
12
votes
Accepted
Did unmarried Spartan women have longer hair than men?
SHORT ANSWER
Most likely yes when compared to men under 20 or maybe 30 years old. The available evidence suggests that young males had short hair and young females long hair, while mature males ...
- 107k
12
votes
Accepted
Is the story about Mussolini and Oliver Hardy apocryphal?
SHORT ANSWER
The story isn't true. It most likely stems from an inaccurate account by the English writer A. N. Wilson. It is also possible that Wilson's version has been 'blended' with a piece of ...
- 107k
11
votes
Did anyone interweave blue and red threads in order to give the illusion of purple cloth before purple dye became cheap?
Speaking as a lazy crochet artist and textile enthusiast, most people have pointed out the dye aspects regarding purple colors very well.
Meanwhile, I'll just point out that weaving blue and red ...
- 464
9
votes
Accepted
When, where, why did clean shaving for men become the norm?
Shaving was hard before the invention of metal knives.
I regret I do not now recall the name of the book but I read in one book about Ancient Egypt, which had pictures to prove it, that in very ...
- 5,611
9
votes
When, where, why did clean shaving for men become the norm?
As you said fashion for beards comes in and out, periodically. One of the earliest available detailed records is indeed Alexander. He not only introduced shaving in the army but also introduced this ...
- 38.3k
8
votes
Has there been any culture where men typically have longer hair than women?
Hasidic Jews.
Nicholas I in 1851 forbid the practice of women shaving their heads (remember that Hasidic men do not cut their hair, so their hair is longer). hat tip to user6591 for correcting my ...
MCW♦
- 31.7k
8
votes
How common was smoking in first half of the 20th century?
First of all, I want to remark that people in the first half of 20-s century knew about health risks of smoking. I don't think any new discoveries were made in this area in the second half of the ...
- 38.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Is there historical evidence on what might have been a maximum hair length for males in 1st century Judea?
There is no clear source about the maximum length of hair known to me, but it's possible to glean information from some related topics.
The Mishnah (redacted c. 200 in Roman Palestine), based on ...
- 332
7
votes
Accepted
Can you name a battle in 14th C (?) in which many knight got killed because of pointed shoes?
The story is from Robert Walser's account (1908) of the Battle of Sempach (1386):
Fine noblemen drowned in their hundreds; no, they were drownded in the
nearby Lake of Sempach; they were drownded ...
- 37.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Did women in ancient Rome wear corsets, and if so, what were they made of?
I suspect the short answer to this is that we do not know for sure. The reason for this is that the evidence we have for what the romans wore is not their actual physical clothes as over the period of ...
- 466
7
votes
What was the 1970s name for skinny jeans?
After doing more research, and reading the responses, I believe I've come to two reasonable conclusions:
1: There are simply many names for it depending on time and location, following no other ...
- 429
6
votes
Accepted
"Hat Hair" in History
"Hat hair" was a universal affliction when all men wore hats. Sometimes they don't bother to fix it up after taking off the hat, even when taking a photograph, and so you end up with photos like this:
...
- 14.4k
6
votes
Lenin Jacket Picture: What's the story?
Was it published? If so, where? When did it start circulating on the internet?
The earliest source I could find is from a story published in roll.sohu.com. It's a story about the lifestyle of the ...
- 1,983
6
votes
Accepted
How were small swords worn in the 18th century?
Normally a sword is worn from a sash or belt worn across the shoulder, known as a baldric. The scabbard is attached to the belt by a contraption of strings and leather known as a frog. In some cases ...
- 37.7k
6
votes
Did anyone interweave blue and red threads in order to give the illusion of purple cloth before purple dye became cheap?
Short answer — frame challenge:
Of course 'someone' did that, perhaps quite early on, we can quite safely assume. Although hard evidence for that is scarce and presented here only with one concrete ...
- 80.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Did the Sturmabteilung uniform look ridiculous in terms of German fashion in the 1920s?
It is currently still unclear to which extent and from what angle "any ridicule" might have come. Of course there was some ridicule towards those uniformed men, and of course that ridicule ...
- 80.2k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the earliest history of Middle Eastern women wearing veils for modesty while in public?
Still waiting for a more complete answer, but embarrassed that the book referenced is on my computer.
Neither wives of seigniors nor [widows] nor [Assyrian women], who go out on the street [may have] ...
- 233
6
votes
Does the leather strap often depicted on a Pith helmets serve a purpose, or is it purely cosmetic?
It's a chinstrap. It was used mainly for decorative purposes, but also to keep the helmet on the head when riding horses or in strong winds.
I never wore a pith helmet, but a peaked cap. The chinstrap ...
- 19.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible