Illustration: Marzolino (Shutterstock)
Adopting a bizarre fashion because someone famous did it first is as old as time. Back in the 1860s, women from London to Edinburg began limping. It wasn’t rickets, dropsy, or another disease of the pre-industrial age though, it was the “Alexandra Limp.” Alexandra of Denmark, the bride of the Prince of Wales, was an influencer of the time, and when she was struck by a sickness in 1867, she was left with a limp. She kept being famous and stylish though, and showed up at glam occasions with ornate walking sticks. Before long, her fans began copying the look, right down to the way she limped. The style went viral, mostly among the young and rich, who would buy shoes with two different sized heels to make it easier to walk around like a peg-legged pirate. Like most fashion trends, the Alexadra Limp went from nothing to ubiquity and back to nothing pretty quickly—it was all over after a few years.
