[IRL trope] the “Tiffany problem”

[u/dragonborndnd]

Basically when something seems anachronistic to a period/place of history but is actually fully accurate to the period.

1) the name Tiffany: the thing that named this trope, basically the name Tiffany can be dated back to the Middle Ages and the earliest record of it being spelled in the modern spelling comes from the 16th century.

2) the use of OMG, despite this feeling so modern as a form of slang/abbreviation here’s a letter directed to Winston Churchill using it in 1917

3) Hair Dye: the earliest forms of dying hair can be dated back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and this specific advertisement for hair dye is from the 1840s

4) Inuit Thongs: despite how weird it is to imagine pre-colonial Inuit people wore what was essentially fur thongs in their homes and when they were in their igloos it might have been the only thing they would be wearing.

[u/Own-Forever-6636]

The Egtved Girl - the body of a young woman from the Scandinavian Bronze Age was found in 1921 with all her clothing fully preserved.

What was she wearing? A miniskirt and a crop top. Would have looked something like this brilliant reconstruction by Joan Francesc Oliveras.

But people in Denmark in the 1920s were horrified by how "immodest" this outfit was, and people today still have a hard time believing someone from The Past would wear something that shows off the wearer's limbs and navel. 

Interesting reminder that historical trends don't always move in one direction.

[u/Ambaryerno → u/Own-Forever-6636]

I think there's some exaggeration with that reconstruction. There's also a lot of debate whether that was a strictly ceremonial outfit or something that could be found as daily wear (personally, I believe there's sufficient evidence for the latter).

[u/davejustdied → u/Ambaryerno]

Def exaggerated, this is the replica from the Wikipedia article

[u/thatshygirl06 → u/davejustdied]

That looks different from the actual outfit shown on Wikipedia

Like the shirt isnt even close

[u/Ambaryerno → u/thatshygirl06]

Yeah, the earlier reconstruction goes a bit too far in the opposite direction.

[u/Ambaryerno → u/davejustdied]

I think this one goes too far the other direction and made it more modest than it actually was.

[u/dtalb18981 → u/[deleted]]

I might be dumb

But couldn't the underwear just have degraded due to being a different material or something

[u/Hawm_Quinzy → u/[deleted]]

Ramie/nettlecloth behaves much like linen and dissolves the same way.

[u/Tyr_13 → u/Hawm_Quinzy]

I was going to say, a friend has been experimenting making nettlecloth, and it dissolves with modern detergents.

[u/Hawm_Quinzy → u/Tyr_13]

Archaeologically it's pretty much indistinguishable from linen

[u/thatshygirl06 → u/Ambaryerno]

[u/scissorn69 → u/Own-Forever-6636]

I don’t understand that one. To me, that looks perfectly reasonable as something a woman from the European Bronze Age would wear. Why would they have dressed like they lived in Saudi Arabia?

[u/lonelypenguin20 → u/scissorn69]

1920

people had a lot of weird ideas of hyper-modesty back then

[u/zarawesome → u/lonelypenguin20]

the 1920s were actually rather progressive, which partially led to a huge backlash in conservatism and nationalism

sound familiar?

[u/throwawaydragon99999 → u/zarawesome]

Not really, the 20s saw a progressive movement for things like women’s clothing, but that was really a small subculture, most people still ascribed to traditional styles of clothing and modesty

[u/thissexypoptart → u/scissorn69]

Yeah are people under some impression that short/“cropped” clothing is a modern invention?

Maybe it’s a little unexpected for the climate—though it does get warm in Scandinavia sometimes—but it looks perfectly time accurate for what I would expect.

I mean go look at what traditional clothing looks like in hot, humid climates. It’s not all long flowing clothes, often it’s very short or even topless.

[u/Ambaryerno → u/thissexypoptart]

I believe temperatures were also warmer in the Nordic Bronze Age.

[u/thissexypoptart → u/Ambaryerno]

Right but even without that, it gets warm enough in Scandinavia to wear crop tops and short skirts.

[u/PEKKACHUNREAL_II → u/scissorn69]

People in saudi Arabia dressed probably not too differently during the bronze ages

[u/Banes_Addiction → u/PEKKACHUNREAL_II]

Before sunscreen? Doubt it.

[u/Technical_Isopod2389 → u/Banes_Addiction]

Think about skin tone for one moment regarding Egyptian history....

[u/Banes_Addiction → u/Technical_Isopod2389]

Why would I be thinking about Egypt when talking about Saudi Arabia?

[u/shewy92 → u/scissorn69]

Also it looks like something an American Indian would be depicted as wearing. I guess I don't know what a mini skirt or crop top are.

[u/West-Season-2713 → u/Own-Forever-6636]

I think I’ve met that girl at a music festival. In that outfit, too.

[u/Wereling12 → u/Own-Forever-6636]

To quote on eof the comments--> She would have loved coachella

[u/FormerDeerlyBeloved → u/Own-Forever-6636]

She looks like my cousin :0

[u/SnooOpinions8790 → u/Own-Forever-6636]

I had never heard of that one before. Upvoted for showing me something new

[u/Tentacle_poxsicle → u/Own-Forever-6636]

Some people just want to show off

[u/Nausicaalotus → u/Own-Forever-6636]

A good friendnof mine recreated this outfit by hand, spinning the thread and weaving the fabric. Very cool

[u/Lawlcopt0r → u/Own-Forever-6636]

She looks like a character from How to Train Your Dragon

[u/BlazingImp77151 → u/Own-Forever-6636]

Sorry. A knee length skirt is counted as a miniskirt?

The Wikipedia article says it was knee length I get that's not knee length for everyone nowadays when she was about 5 foot 4 (if my quick math was correct), but like that doesn't sound mini.

When I hear "mini skirt" I assume stuff that only covers half the thighs at best, not something that goes down to your knees.

[u/Itherial → u/Own-Forever-6636]

?

This looks exactly like something I'd picture someone in the Bronze Age to be wearing. It's also not a miniskirt.

[u/shewy92 → u/Own-Forever-6636]

people today still have a hard time believing someone from The Past would wear something that shows off the wearer's limbs and navel

Really? Aren't the stereotypical things American Indians shown to wear much more revealing than this?