In 1914, the hobble skirt was all the rage. To eyes used to seeing women's bodies enveloped in yards of fabric, these skirts were a shocking reminder that women had ankles, legs, and derrières. While ...

On Oct. 21, 1910, the live musical comedy “The White Hen” opened at Petaluma’s Hill Opera House, setting off a new fashion craze in town. The fashion foray was led by the traveling theater company’s ...

In spite of all that bra-burning of the `60s, emancipated females in this penultimate decade of the 20th Century are displaying some quaintly old-fashioned curves. The bustle is back. Leading the way ...

Aug. 24, 1912: Los Angeles Police Lt. John L. Butler of the traffic squad declares war on “hobble skirts,” with hemlines so snug that they allow women to take steps of only 8 mincing inches as they ...

You might have wasted some serious energy and emotion lamenting the fashion trends of this past year (like teddy bear shoes or the whole gorgeous gothic thing), but believe me when I tell you that ...

SIR – I was amused to read that Rebecca Hall, the actress starring in the BBC/HBO period drama Parade’s End, attributes the origin of the “hobble” skirt to a desire for “fetishisation of the female by ...

The term “fashion victim” conjures up images of people shopping till they drop, of clothes mavens obsessed with the latest looks and labels. But sometimes the phrase is literal. The new book “Fashion ...