7 Fads Brought To Ridiculous Extremes

"Fads are the kiss of death. When the fad goes away, you go with it." -Conway Twitty

1. Tanning

Via pleasurephoto.wordpress.com

In the early 1900s, tanning became popularized when Dr. Niels Finsen discovered the therapeutic benefits of sunlight. By the 1920's, sporting darker shades of skin became a full blown fad propagated by the likes of Coco Chanel.

And Then...

Via tumblr.com

Tanning has been taken to an illogical extreme. Whatever health benefits are gained from time spent in the sun are seemingly negated by an increased risk of skin cancer. It is not uncommon to see men and women enter tanning salons as perfectly normal looking human beings and 15 minutes later, emerge looking like something out of a Roald Dahl novel.

2. Hipster Fashion

Via tumblr.com

This wasn't the worst thing.

...but this might be.

Via thumbpress.com

"Irony, mustache, cheap beer, yadda." I suppose hipster bashing is pretty much a dead horse. Sorry.

3. Blowouts

Via forum.ea.com

The Blowout (aka Brooklyn Fade, Temple Fade, Low Fade, Douche Crown) came onto the scene innocently enough in the early 2000's. As 'Low Fade' would suggest, the haircut was faded low on the sides and the rest of the hair remained the same length. Not the best hairstyle in the world, but certainly not the worst.

And then this

Via guidofistpump.com

In 2004, the advent of "Growing Up Gotti" blew up the Blowout. As the popularity grew, the size of the Douche Crown grew proportionately. The haircut permeated popular culture so thoroughly that at one point, if you were a male between 18 and 30, you either had a Blowout or made fun of people who had Blowouts. It is safe to say that the haircut became bigger than the man (not literally, but uncomfortably close).

4. Corsets

Via weheartit.com

Since as far back as 2000 BC, corsets have been used to emphasize a curvy figure by slimming the waist and exaggerating the breasts and hips. The popularity of the corset has waxed and waned throughout history, but to this day remains an aesthetically pleasing fashion statement when used in moderation,

Whoops...

Via weheartit.com

Abiding by the maxim, "Everything in moderation, especially moderation," numerous women wear unimaginably tight corsets for unbearably long amounts of time in a quest for the smallest waist. This extreme habit can have disastrous effects including fractured ribs, restricted breathing and circulation and muscular atrophy.

5. Piercings

Via tumblr.com

Ear piercings emerged as early as recorded history and were largely associated with religious ceremonies. Piercing in the US, became a fad among girls in the early 1950's. Due to the dearth of piercing pagodas during this time, young girls would often hold rebellious piercing parties

...yup

Via iglamlife.com

The evolution of piercing in some cases has led to a quadrupling of orifices and a subsequent holier than thou attitude.

6.Breast Implants

Via posh24.com

The first breast augmentation was performed by Vincenz Czerny in the 19th century to repair an asymmetry resulting from a removed tumor. While modern day plastic surgeons may not be as altruistic, breast implants can be an effective way to increase confidence and reduce the trauma of mastectomies.

But Sometimes...

Via buzzfeed.com

If ever there's been a strong argument against the saying, "Bigger is better," it's this GIF.

7. Sagging Your Pants

Via tumblr.com

As far as history is concerned, Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss invented sagging pants. Never before had a pair of jeans/khakis/ sweatpants/etc. sagged and never again would two pairs of pants sag quite so perfectly. It was obvious from this salacious photo that the trend had nowhere to go but down- and down it went.

...

Via tnation.t-nation.com

Somewhere along the line, a misguided portion of society made the awful assumption that there was a positive correlation between sag and swag. Thankfully, this trend has long since reached it's nadir and it appears that the majority of adult males have returned their pants to a respectable position between buttocks and belly button.