Oooh Fashionistas....
From the age 7 ‘till now I’ve been infatuated with Fringe... YES FRINGE & TASSELS!!! Anything that swishes and swoops around the body! I have played with any fringe that ever crossed my path making it into doll clothes, adorning dresses for myself and even decorating lamps!
Ever really wondered where ...why ... and how... fringe came into being? I instantly think of Vegas Showgirls doing the Charleston don’t you? I am fascinated with fringe and started to look into its evolution and found some interesting ways it came into being…….
Back in the beginning of time (300 BC) fringe was a popular and important decorative adornment on clothing of both men and women. Some men would use the fringe of their shawls as a type of signature for contracts. Instead of using a seal to impress their mark on a clay contract, men would lay down their unique fringe.
AND another cool fact......
American Indian clothing used it for shedding rain water from their garments, as well as for decoration, ceremonial purposes, or even as an honor in battle. It also served as handy strips of leather used to sew up a busted moccasin, torn seam, or to tie things together when in the field. ? Wow – a long way from flappers and showgirls!
Then, as prohibition pushed nightlife underground to wild jazz clubs where alcohol and cocaine were the drugs of choice and the party ran all night, a new type of young girls were born - Flappers. Flapper girls wore short flashy dresses influenced by Hollywood fashions, had boyish haircuts, drank alcohol, danced to jazz dance music, smoked cigarettes, drove cars and had disdain for conventional behavior. Flapper girls represented a completely new kind of woman unimaginable before the roaring 1920s.
Today fringe is used in home décor, to embellish handbags, scarves, boots, hats and jackets as a pure fashion trend. I still love the glitzy fringe and look for it at flea markets and vintage stores when I feel like bringing out my inner Flapper!
What is your favorite fringe?
Love & Kisses
Nikki
Great post! I loved costume history when I was in design school. Thanks for sharing this!
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