Getting out of the noonday sun
I am a firm believer in the efficacy of a pretty parasol, and for years now have been almost single-handedly determined to bring them back in fashion – if only for their practical use. Even my mum uses one. The day I wore this outfit I was meeting her one very hot day in a local park; I was amused to find she was carrying her own blue umbrella. Like mother, like daughter.
Hand-coloured etching of an English walking dress by an unknown artist, for Rudolph Ackerman's ‘Repository of Arts’, 1812. Image from ‘The Fine Art of Fashion’ by Julian Robinson, Bay Books, Australia. When I first started using a parasol, I was about 20, and on holiday in Queensland. It was a lovely cream sunshade made from Battenburg lace – you can find them easily on eBay these days – but I picked it up in a gift shop at the Pacific Fair shopping centre for a tidy sum. I still have it in fact, though it’s a trifle water-stained. At the time it accessorised a fabulous cream shell top and wide-legged pants that were micro-pleated in the Fortuny style, and I wore my hair in a bob. I thought I looked bohemian – my conservative friends would undoubtedly have used the term ‘outlandish’.
I thought I looked bohemian – my conservative friends would have used the term ‘outlandish’…
Hand-coloured fashion photograph by Talbot of the actresses Mlle De Gonet and Mlle Alice Guerra in dresses by Drecoll, for ‘Les Mode’, 1913. Image, Ibid.
I found the pink umbrella above about three years ago, in a charity shop, by employing one of my friend Rapunzel’s old adages: “always look up”. Hanging from the ceiling by their handles were two parasols. Almost breathless with delight, I asked to see both of them. They were both so bright and frivolous I was sure they must be props from an old costume department somewhere.
It did not take me long to decide which I would buy: they were each $35, but I couldn't possibly pass over black pom-poms! The other umbrella was blue and beige, and not nearly as pretty; I would leave it for some other lucky prospector, who would think they had struck gold.
Centuries ago, women used parasols to protect their complexions from the sun – brown skin indicated one was a member of the lower orders, doomed to toil the fields. Then Coco Chanel burst onto the scene sporting a tan, and ever since parasols have been out of fashion. But I feel the cool breeze of a change.
Pochoir fashion print by Jean Saudé of a dress by Martial et Armand, published in ‘Luxe de Paris’, 1913. Image, Ibid.Over the past few summers I have seen more and more women in Melbourne using sun umbrellas, and never more so than during these past few blazing hot weeks. We pass one another in the city streets and smile with superiority: we’ve discovered the secret to beating the scorching heat, and carry our own shade with us. Not to mention reducing the threat of skin cancer.
I’ve collected a few images of vintage parasols here. Italian Vogue’s images below must be from some time in the 90s; unfortunately I don’t have clothing credits so I can’t tell whether the umbrella is vintage. However, what’s important to note is that the shoot has been styled with a romantic, vintage theme. It is certainly lovely to look at, but few people dress like this in public (not even me!). What I would love to find are images of sunshades worn by thoroughly modern women.
Ellen Von Unwerth, Italian Vogue.
…we’ve discovered the secret to beating the scorching heat, and carry our own shade with us.
This article from British Vogue is also from the 90s, I believe, with some modern examples of parasols. I particularly love the yellow one on bottom left. Sadly, it would not afford much protection from the sun, see-through as it is.
From British Vogue.
An excerpt from the article above:
The parasol, that most charming of accessories, has emerged after decades of neglect as this summer’s frivolous plaything. Since the twenties, the bottle of sun oil has been the skin’s only fashionable protection: now the new pursuit of the lightest, safest of tans has brought the flirtatious parasol back to the catwalks…
Although it is officially autumn now (my favourite season) there may be a few more hot days to come, so put up your umbrellas ladies. It is past time parasols had their day in the sun!