Killer Style: How Fashion Has Injured, Maimed, and Murdered Through History - Hardcover

Matthews David, Alison; McMahon, Serah-Marie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1771472537 ISBN 13: 9781771472531

Publisher: Owlkids, 2019

Synopsis

The clothes we wear every day keep us comfortable, protect us from the elements, and express our unique style―but could fashion also be fatal? As it turns out, history is full of fashions that have harmed or even killed people. From silhouette-cinching corsets and combustible combs to lethal hair dyes and flammable flannel, this nonfiction book looks back at the times people have suffered pain, injury, and worse, all in the name of style. Historical examples like the tragic “Radium Girl” watchmakers and mercury-poisoned “Mad Hatters,” along with more recent factory accidents, raise discussion of unsafe workplaces―where those who make the clothes are often fashion’s first victims.
Co-authored by a scholar in the history of textiles and dress with the founder of WORN Fashion Journal, this book is equal parts fab and frightening: a stylishly illustrated mash-up of STEAM content, historical anecdotes, and chilling stories. Nonfiction features including sidebars, sources, an index, and a list of further reading will support critical literacy skills and digging deeper with research on this topic.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Alison Matthews-David was trained at Stanford University and investigates the history of textiles and dress. She is an associate professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. This book is based on the research for her adult book Fashion Victims (Bloomsbury, 2015) and its related co-curated exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Her next project sleuths out the links between clothing and crime.

Serah-Marie McMahon founded WORN Fashion Journal and edited The WORN Archive, published by Drawn & Quarterly. She sells and writes about children’s books in Toronto, Ontario.

Gillian Wilson is a Canadian illustrator and printmaker with an affinity for cats and scary feelings. Her work has been featured in Frankie magazine and some of her clients include Today's Parent, Palm Bay Spritz, and Hamilton-based Grain + Grit Brewery.

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-From Horrified Heads to Unlucky Legs, fashion journalist McMahon and fashion scholar David examine trends that proved to be dangerous, if not fatal: exploding celluloid hair combs, flammable pajamas, way-too-high heels, and silicosis in workers who distress blue jeans. The title and cover art accurately indicate the intensity of the gore-enough to interest older elementary readers without inducing nightmares. Occasionally illustrated skulls and line-drawn droplets of blood accompany archival images such as men picking lice from clothing, and a photo of firefighters at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. A concluding page reminds readers "Don't Blame the Victim" and speaks to worker safety, and government's role in reducing risk. The book includes "mad hatters," how green become associated with poison (thank you, arsenic), and "Radium Girls" who are buried in lead caskets. Colorful text boxes appear often, and decorative borders and lines break up blocks of text. The book also includes sources and an index. VERDICT An engrossing choice for stout-hearted readers, whether fashion-forward or not. Suggest to fans of Georgia Bragg's How They Croaked and How They Choked.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TXα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Owlkids
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1771472537
• ISBN 13: 9781771472531
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Wilson Gillian