Fashion Faux Pas

Overview

From the ancient Egyptians pioneering smelling good (a heady mix of fat and perfume plonked on your head, so that it would gradually melt throughout the day and make you smell all lovely and fragrant), to Coco Chanel turning fashion for women on its head, this show brings you the Horrible History of looking good. Featuring some of fashion's greatest innovations, pioneers, and victims, we look at how the way people have dressed has had an impact on their lives. We visit ancient Rome, where wearing a cumbersome five-metre toga was the law and elsewhere, while in 'Viking Eye for the Saxon Guy' some marauding Vikings take time out of their busy pillaging schedule to give Dave the smelly Saxon some tips on looking good, and smelling a little bit better. We visit Henry VIII, who is having online beef with the Holy Roman Emperor over (literally) dressing to kill, as they argue over who's the best armour maker. Other royals featured include Elizabeth I (who is busy making her courtiers look exactly like her), and King Louis XV who, along with some of his courtiers, has dressed as a hedge for a fancy dress party, so that he can hide from his wife. Also, the Macaronis discover that their outrageous stylings aren't fashionable any more, the Victorians advise us on how to properly dress for mourning, and we look at some of the least practical shoes ever.