"Mina" Ruched Midi Dress Green This Trendy But Toxic Shade of Green Left Thousands Dead in the Victorian Era Scheele's green was the most fashionable colour for the Victorian elite. Unfortunately the dye combined copper and arsenic and resulted in skin cancer, killing hundreds of textile workers. Did someone say those In the 19th century, fashion could be deadly: womens dresses and flammable fabrics caused fatal fires and everyday clothing often contained toxic substances now considered too dangerous to use. , Hat