(music)
hello friends and welcome to another video
no, this isn't a neck brace
this is on purpose
a little while back some of you guys suggested this choker to me
for my wearing ugly stuff for a week series
and while it definitely does qualify as a questionable fashion decision
and its also quite uncomfortable
it got me thinking
how did the choker come so far
so I thought why not skip wearing it for a week and instead
and instead do a brief exploration into the history of the choker necklace
I don't know that I'll be able to explain this
but the choker does have a very long history
the word choker when talking about this kind of necklace
originated in the 1920's
in relation to flappers who were known to rock a choker or two
but this type of tightly fitted necklace worn around the throat has
been in and out of fashion pretty much since the beginning of human civilization
itself
we are at the MET museum in new york right now
checking out some ancient chokers
yes so were
going to see what we can find
around the world and throughout history
jewelry has been believed
to have amuletic powers and religious significance
providing spiritual protection from harm
literal protection from attack
and protection in the afterlife
i mean when you think about places where jewelry is commonly worn
they're all vein-heavy and somewhat vulnerable places
like wrists, necks, chest, head
people wore jewelry (including chokers) for protective reasons
all the way back to some of the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia
one of the earliest known chokers
was found in the burial site
of queen Pu Abi in the ancient Akkadian city of Ur
she was buried with her jewelry so she could
bring their protective powers with her into the afterlife
she had a lot of it
and her chokers are dated as old as 2600 BC
the ancient egyptians wore jewelry in general
to resemble their gods and earn their favor
in particular, they wore layered necklaces and collars made of gold
which represented the skin of their sun god Ra
in bronze age Europe, Celtic noblemen and women also took to dressing like their gods
who were depicted wearing neck rings
they wore these chokers for protective powers
they also look very uncomfortable
almost as uncomfortable as this thing
it almost feels like a headband
oh its tight!
its tight, and it only comes in one size
oh God!
can you loosen this thing?
I think that's the loosest it can go
I can't wear this, I think I'd die
I would take a Celtic neck ring over that so
i think same
are you gonna wear that for a week?
oh yeah
i'm just gonna get really strong neck muscles for a week
some other interesting instances in which
people wore chokers for protection
include noblewomen in the middle ages
who wore chokers with Saint Sebastian pendants on them to ward off the bubonic plague
the middle ages, a tough time for medicine
many different native american tribes wore chokers
made out of the bones of birds
whose spirits they believed would help
ward off all kinds of sicknesses
but the choker would also literally protect the wearer's throat
from attack during battle
so it was a double whammy
so protection was a big reason why people wore chokers
the neck was pretty vulnerable
medicine was pretty bad
whether it was coming from Ra
or bird bones
we could all use some good mojo
at some point, like with all jewelery
chokers became more than just protective amulets
they also became fashion
and over thousands of years
chokers have come in and out of style
with nobles and royals around the world
one of the most iconic, historical chokers to me
is anne boleyn's pearl monogram necklace
like this one im wearing right now
in this painting, shes wearing a few different necklaces
like a lot of choker wearers
shes going for that layered effect
i dont know if people still thought chokers were meant
to protect the neck
but they might have stopped thinking that after her
theres also some really cool illustrations
of jewellery that was worn during the mughal empire in india
both men and women were often dripping in jewels
at least for the paintings
and if you were going to be dripping in jewels
you had to start as high as possible
right at the neck
this is an illustration of the wife of shah jahan
mumtaz mahal
whos death later inspired her husband to build
the famous taj mahal as a tomb for her
chokers were of course also present in
one of the most famously opulent times for aristocrats
late baroque or rococo era france
now this brings us to marie antoinette
who, like anne,
also wore chokers and also lost her head
which partially started this next trend
wherein people started wearing chokers as symbols
during the french revolution
some people wore red ribbons around their neck
to remember those who had lost their heads at the guillotine
during the same time
some british teenagers also adopted
the red ribbon trend
to make fun of the french and their revolution
and we think diss tracks are savage
later, in 19th century france
black ribbons worn around the neck
became a symbol of prostitution
see, edouard monet's olympia
shortly afterwards, also in france
the ballerinas started wearing
similar black ribbon chokers
as depicted in edgar degas' paintings of ballerinas
interestingly, at the time
dancers and prostitutes faced
some of the same social stigmas
another instance in which chokers were worn
to signify allegiance to a movement
was during the great depression in america
where wearing a plain black woven choker or ribbon
could be a signal of secret lesbianism
now those are all examples of very simple chokers
having symbolic meaning
but the extremely intricate, beaded necklaces
of the maasai and zulu people in africa
also carry a hidden meaning
different coloured beads mean different things
and beads are chosen carefully to convey
the status and intention of the wearer
social status, marital status etc
chokers, obviously, were also used
to cover up or disguise neck stuff
that one didnt want others to see
for instance, in germany and austria
in the mid 19th century
women living in the alps
used to wear chokers made of multiple rows of chains
called kropfkette
to hide lumps and swelling around the throat
from a common disease called goitre
one of the most famous choker wearers in history
is rumoured to have worn her chokers
for similar reasons
in 1863
prince edward of england married
princess alexandra of denmark
who frikkin loved chokers
its unconfirmed but
the widely accepted rumour is
that alexandra started wearing chokers to
cover up a childhood scar on her neck
at the time, england was searching for
some new fashion inspiration
as their current queen victoria
had been wearing mourning clothes for years
so when the new princess was seen
wearing army pants and flip flops
i mean chokers
everyone started wearing them too
even her mother in law
queen dress-to-depress victoria
alexandras widesweeping trend of
the late 1800s
lasted through the art nouveau period
at the turn of the century
and into the art deco and flapper age
of the 1920s
and in the 1940s
alexandras chokers, then called dog collar necklaces
came back into fashion amongst young women
so alexandras supposed scar
launched a trend that sold
thousands upon thousands of necklaces
over 80 years
like i said,
army pants and flip flops
after a brief stint in the 40s
chokers didnt really come back until the 60s and the 70s
when chokers were worn by quite a few
male rockstars as an element of
genderbending fashion
mick jagger
jimmy hendrix
elvis
david bowie and
iggy pop
among others all wore them
though in earlier times and
in some parts of the world
chokers have been considered a gender neutral item
in 20th century america
dudes wearing chokers were somewhat subversive
but with the sexual revolution of the 60s
everything was changing
long hair
bell bottoms
and chokers
could be for everyone
especially if you were a rockstar
chokers were once again donned by
male music and pop culture icons in the 90s
when chokers worn by gwen stefani
and posh spice
were also worn by lenny kravitz
prince and
jared leto aka
jordan catalano
so that brings us to basically
when my memory begins
in the 90s
simple dark chokers were
signature of the goth or grunge girl look
of the early 90s
but was more widely adopted
as the decade went on
with everyone from fashion victim ember
to winona ryder
to britney
christina
and princess diana
adopting the trend
and who could forget the iconic
stretchy plastic tattoo chokers
which let you wear what looked like
the popular barbed wire or
tribal band tattoos from the 90s
around your neck
though the choker style stuck around
through the 2000s
think paris hilton and
puka shell necklaces
id say 90s fashion in general
began its resurgence in 2014 and 15
and with it
the choker came back with a vengeance
from the simple plastic
and the ribbon chokers of the 90s
to the tall stacked and luxurious chokers
of victorian england
of course
not to be outdone by the past
weve also created some
interesting chokers of our own
like this incredibly tall choker
this iconic shoelace
and this contraption
which im wearing once again
so that is a very brief
scattered and
somewhat incomplete history
of the choker necklace
i think in recent years
people also associate collar chokers with
bdsm and kink
but from what i can tell
those movements only became mainstream
in the late 20th century
so although there is some connotation
with them now
i dont think thats why queen pu abi
was wearing chokers
im not entirely sure
but i dont think thats why
so thankyou so much for watching
i hope you guys enjoyed that video
let me know in the comments below if
you like this type of history video
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