Fashion Forward, 1893

Possibly my favourite thing in books is predictions of the future, when their future is your now. It’s a fascinating little insight into the minds of the time, extending on what surrounds them in their present. Sometimes this is strikingly insightful, sometimes it’s just bonkers.

And so here is a rather marvellous, not entirely serious, article from The Strand Magazine, 1893. “Future Dictates of Fashion”, predicted from 1893-1993. What I think it largely shows is that minimalism and simplicity were fairly unimaginable concepts to this particular Victorian. Also, god only knows what they would have made of the actual short skirts that came into fashion long ago themselves now. And the possibility of hat-wearing not being all-but-compulsory anymore.

Interestingly, there is a brief aside on tobacco which just might possibly have been the most ridiculous thing the author was intending.

Apart from that, pretty spot on. I know I was wearing something very similar in 1993. My favourite here would have to be the Mikado-style policeman’s uniform from 1960….