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Members List:
Queen:
Doris Charleta
Members:
Pat
Sarah
Teresa
Faye
Laura
Jami
Martha
Dorothy
Alice
Dean
Julia
Mary .jpg)
History of Parasols
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History of Parasols
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. 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. 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. The parasol is most often thought of with Victorian society in England and the U.S. Perhaps the chief reason for it’s popularity at the time was the Victorian admiration (or obsession) for a fair complexion. It was more than a sign of beauty, it showed the world that a woman was a lady and didn’t have to work outdoors. 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. Parasols continued to increase in popularity until the Edwardian era in the early 1900s.
Parasols For 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. 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. Increased awareness about skin cancer contributed to the renaissance of parasols. Parasols are being carried again in increasing numbers in the U. S., Great Britain, France and especially Japan. Parasols are now coming out in new materials (Solarweave)including fabrics with UV protection that filter out 97% of UV rays.
