UNDER MY UMBRELLA

Umbrellas have been around pretty much as long as humans have been able to grab a big leaf and try to keep the rain off their heads. We know they had them in Ancient Egypt and China, and you can see them popping up in art through the ages. By the late 19th century, though, umbrellas and parasols were classic lady’s accessories, with all kinds of interesting resonance.
It’s not surprising that the parasol, particularly, became a status symbol. Elaborate sun or rain shades were the prerogative of all kinds of very important people in the ancient world and other cultures, too. Priests, royals, viziers and more all had a shade and somebody to carry it for them.
What’s intriguing about our Victorian lady’s parasol is that she’s carrying it…and that she looks so good and determined doing it. Fashion plates and illustrations from the time show just about every outdoor costume accompanied by its own matching parasol, which would have been quite an investment in money and effort. Not only that, they show women holding those parasols in very strong and confident poses…especially striding forward, using the parasol almost as a fancy walking-stick.
That’s especially interesting because those fashion drawings were intended for women; they’re sending a clear message about how a woman is supposed to look, and feel, in her outfit. It’s very much the New Woman idea; she’s an independent lady walking through her day and carrying her own parasol, thank you!
Still, though, parasol also lends itself to more demure scenes, and there’s plenty of that too: a miss shyly shielding herself from prying eyes, or peering flirtatiously out from the safety of her shade. Of course, we now know the safety was quite literal: the parasol was the only way you had to protect yourself from a burn in an era before effective sunscreens. Practicality, though, wasn’t the issue for a lot of illustrators; a pretty woman appearing both shy and interested was.
Umbrellas have their own whole set of considerations. Women in the fashion illustrations are very clearly carrying parasols – the items are much too small to be intended as protection against the rain. Umbrellas aren’t really fun and feminine the way a parasol is. Made of sturdy oiled cloth rather than frilly light fabrics, they’re determinedly functional.
Fun isn’t really a consideration with an umbrella, at least not if you’re just trying to walk to work without getting drenched. Unlike parasols, umbrellas usually appear in very practical scenes, ads touting the virtues of a particular model, or as part of a larger display of rain gear. There’s nothing especially flirty about fighting the wind to keep your umbrella right-side-out.
Well, with one notable exception. A gentleman could, in perfect propriety, offer to share his umbrella with a lady on a wet day. Of course, sharing an umbrella requires one to be far closer to her swain than the usual walking arm-in-arm, and pulls the couple into what is essentially a closed space. There’s a reason umbrella scenes were popular in books, and later movies, for so long. You’ve got a perfectly legitimate reason for your romantic leads to be in close quarters with nowhere for all of that chemistry to go. Something’s going to happen!
Now that you mention it, I guess I’m going to have to find a way to send Ella and the Duke out on a rainy day!

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