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How Thong Underwear Came To Be And 6 More Fashion Facts (PHOTOS)

Hint: Sisqo had nothing to do with it.
By 

Fashion Editor, The Huffington Post

Do you ever wonder how thong underwear came to be invented? Or why men's shirts button on one side, while women's button on the other?

Scroll through our list of interesting (and somewhat bizarre) fashion facts, and let us know if you have any others to add in the comments section below!

  1. Although you may be inclined to think that most old clothes are vintage, an item can only be considered vintage if it was made between 1920 to 1960. If it was made after that date, it's considered retro. (source)

  • Did you know that a man was responsible for the invention of the thong? Former New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was angry because the city's nude dancers were exposing too much skin, so the thong was created to provide them with a little more coverage --and it was no coincidence that it was just before the Big Apple hosted the World's Fair. (source).

    • thong

  • Ever wonder why men's shirts have buttons on the right side while women's shirts button on the left? Men's buttons are on the right because historically, men have always dressed themselves (and most people tend to be right-handed). Women, on the other hand, would often rely on maids to dress them in the Victorian era, making it easier for the servant if buttons were on the left side of the garment. (source)

  • At the end of the 15th century, Charles VIII of France tried to find comfortable shoes to fit his deformed feet (he had six toes on one foot). Since he couldn't find anything that worked, he had shoes designed with a square toe, which quickly gained popularity. (source)

  • Cuff links came to into existence in the 19th century because men wore shirts with starched collars and cuffs. Since the shirts were so stiff, manufacturers thought that a sleeve fastener would be easier to push through the material than a button. The solution provided was a metal chain or link to fasten the cuffs, and the cuff-link was born. (source)

    • frank sinatra

  • Buttons were not added to sleeves for functionality! Rather, the French military commander Napoleon Bonaparte requested that buttons be attached to jacket sleeves to prevent his troops from wiping their noses on their jackets. (source)

  • Platform shoes were originally created to keep dirt away from the feet and didn't come into fashion until 14th-century Venice. At that time, they became extremely ornate and dangerously high -- some even measured as high as 30 inches. (source)

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