Dressed to Excess

穿着过度

If you traveled back in time to the 1700s in Europe, you would laugh when you saw how the aristocracy dressed. Soon you'd realize, though, that the aristocrats of Europe were very serious about their appearance.

如果你回到18世纪的欧洲，当你看到贵族们的穿着时，你一定会笑。不过，你很快就会意识到，欧洲的贵族们对自己的外表非常讲究。

The predominant style in women's attire was enormous dresses. They were often three times larger than the wearer. Ladies even used pads to enlarge the appearance of their hips and shoulders. On the other extreme, the aristocratic women made their waists appear extremely thin.It took several maids stretching fabric and pulling straps in order to get a lady's waist to the proper thinness. These ladies could barely breathe and often fainted.

妇女服装的主要式样是宽大的连衣裙。它们通常比体型大三倍。女士们甚至用卫生巾来扩大臀部和肩膀的外观。另一个极端是，贵族妇女使她们的腰显得非常瘦。这就需要几个女佣拉伸衣服和皮带，以显得腰部的纤细。这些一来，她们几乎不能呼吸，经常晕倒。

Pale skin was also a craze, yet this too was done in excess. One could not simply be pale. Instead, she needed to look as if she had anemia. In order to look paler, ladies actually cut themselves daily, so they would bleed.

苍白的皮肤也是一种狂热，然而这也做得太过火了。一个人看起来面色苍白是不够的，相反，还需要看起来像是贫血一样。为了让自己看起来更苍白，女士们实际上每天都会割伤自己，这样做的目的是放血。

The hairstyles, however, were the hallmark of women's fashion.These stood a meter high on the ladies' heads. The columns of hair were a ridiculous tangle of wigs, jewels, flowers, and even stuffed birds.

然而，发型是女性时尚的标志。她们的头顶有一米高。那一缕头发是一堆可笑的假发、珠宝、鲜花，甚至是鸟类标本。

Men's fashion was similarly absurd. Today it would probably seem very feminine. Reputable men wore wigs of long curly hair. Their shoes had large soles or high heels so that they could walk high above the filth on the streets. Furthermore, just like the ladies, the men wore lipstick and put rouge on their cheeks.

男性时尚也同样荒谬。在今天看来，可能显得很女性化。有名望的人戴着长长的卷发假发，他们的鞋子有大鞋底或高跟，这样他们就可以免于踩踏街上的污秽。而且，就像女士们一样，男士们也涂口红和胭脂。

Their clothes were brightly colored, often purple and pink. They were made from the finest of fabrics and decorated with jewels and lace. The men vied with one another to see who wore the more expensive clothes, for the clothing signified his wealth and status.

他们的衣服颜色鲜艳，通常是紫色和粉红色。她们选用最好的布料，并用珠宝和花边装饰。男人们争着看谁穿的衣服更贵，因为衣服象征着他的财富和地位。

Both men and women spent huge amounts of money and time on how they looked. Though such vanity would seem vulgar today, three hundred years from now, the fashions of our time might also seem completely ridiculous.

男人和女人都花了大量的金钱和时间来打扮自己。尽管这种虚荣心在三百年后的今天会显得庸俗不堪，但我们这个时代的风尚也可能显得完全荒谬可笑。

核心单词表

absurd adj.荒谬的

anemia n. 贫血

aristocracy n. 贵族

aristocrat n. 贵族

attire n. 服装

craze n. 狂热

enlarge vi. 扩大

excess n. 超过

feminine adj.女性的

hallmark n. 特点

pad n. 衬垫

predominant adj.主要的

reputable adj.声誉好的

rouge n. 胭脂

signify v. 表示

strap n. 带子

tangle n. 缠结

vanity n. 虚荣心

vie v. 争夺

vulgar adj.粗俗的

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