Parasol History
What is a Parasol?
A parasol is defined as a light usually small umbrella carried as protection from the sun. The word parasol literally means “for sun” in Spanish.
What is the Origin of the Parasol?
Parasols originated in the East Indies about 5,000 years ago. In 3000 B.C., the Egyptians used parasols as a sunshade for sun protection. This was a royal privilege and bearers did the carrying. Around the 1st century B.C., the parasol spread to ancient Rome and Greece.
It took the Italian renaissance in the 16th century to introduce the parasol to European soil. King Louis the XIV soon after brought them to France. The English, ever imitators of French fashion, soon followed suit. The English were still not convinced and not much is recorded until 1787 when Britain manufactured its first batch. In the United States, a parasol appeared on a street corner in Windsor, Connecticut in 1740 carried by a fashionable lady. It had been brought all the way from the West Indies and may have been the first parasol in North America. A century later, no one would have noticed, much less parodied, a lady carrying a sunshade, for wealthy women throughout America and Europe considered parasols an essential part of any well-dressed lady’s wardrobe.
Parasols and the Victorian Period
The parasol is most often thought of with Victorian society in England and the U.S. Perhaps the chief reason for its popularity at the time was the Victorian admiration (or obsession) for a fair complexion. It was more than a sign of beauty; it proved to the world that a woman was a lady, who didn't have to work outdoors like “common” females did.
Bonnets helped protect delicate skin, but after the 1860's smaller hats were fashionable and bonnets were shunned as dowdy accessories for matrons and elderly ladies. Something else was needed to save a pretty face from the rays of the sun -- and that something was the parasol. Made of anything from lace to cotton and silk, they could also be effective against light rain. Not quite as “manly” as umbrellas, they were certainly just as practical.
They were as a much a part of a well-dressed lady’s outfit as were her gloves, hat, shoes and stockings. A fashionable lady carried a different parasol for each outfit. They became popular gifts for men to give their lady. Like the fan and lacy handkerchief, the parasol was both practical and an aid to the subtle art of flirtation.
1900 to 1920
The parasol continued to increase in popularity until the Edwardian era in the early 1900s. Trimmed with a variety of materials from silk tassels to cotton lace, they were made to complement outfits for any occasion.
A change in the social climate doomed the parasol, making it seem first quaint, then outmoded, and finally preposterous. In the 1920's, a tanned complexion replaced pale skin as a status symbol, indicating that the owner didn't have to work and could be around on the beach all day. During that decade when flappers wore rolled stockings and cloche hats, when hems rose and inhibitions fell -- parasols disappeared. The most romantic accessories under the sun were relegated to the attic of history, with wasp waists and high-button shoes.
Parasol Fashion Today
While older women have long used parasols for protective purposes, it has been only recently that young women have seen them as a fashion accessory. While parasols have long been used by middle-aged and elderly women for protective purposes, it is only this year that young women have fully seized upon parasols as a fashion accessory. After remaining out of fashion for about 90 years, parasols had a resurgence around 1990 as many women no longer considered it healthy or wise to be in the sun too long. Now, with warnings about ultraviolet rays and the irreversible damage caused from sun exposure, parasols are again in fashion. Increased awareness about skin cancer also contributed to the renaissance of parasols. Parasols are being carried again in increasing numbers in the U. S., Great Britain, France and especially Japan.
Japanese women have long used umbrellas for sun protection. The Japanese standard of beauty has always favored fair skin (the dark-suntan craze was nothing more than a passing fad among Japanese teenage women), and the number of Japanese women of all ages who worry about sun exposure continues to grow. Black umbrellas complement the retro fashions that are currently in vogue and black looks smarter than white, the traditional parasol color. Once upon a time, parasols were typically made of white or pink lacy fabric that gave an appearance of coolness; by contrast, the “in” color for parasols is jet black. Read more about Japanese Fashion Trends here...
Fashionable parasols are also now coming out in new materials, including Solarweave with UV protection that filters out 97% of UV rays. These parasols are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.
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View our parasol art gallery for more history...
