Umbrellas in the past were used to keep the sun off of the Gentries' skin. Pale faces, light completions, were something that was desirable. Hence, if a lady did have to go out during the sunny parts of the day, her umbrella or parasol was a much needed accessory. We've all seen the pictures of the ladies of old, in their finery strolling down the lane with a parasol firmly held on high to keep the suns rays off of their heads. Gloves were also mandatory so the hands would not show signs of sun either, and the dresses were long, so no worries there. You can see for yourself in this painting of John Singer Sargent, just how covered up the ladies of yore were!
Moving into the modern era, our tastes for what is beautiful has certainly changed and sun kissed skin, lots of skin became the way to look and to feel beautiful. We went from one extreme to the other in a short 100 years.
By Pedro Simões - Flickr
From being totally covered up in the 1880's, to being almost totally uncovered in the 1990's and now to our current time in the 2016's and beyond, we are finding out that uncovering our bodies, so that the sun can "kiss" our skin, was not the brightest of ideas.
New research and just the plain facts coming out of the medical community, points out how much damage the sun can actually do to our skin. Not only does it cause premature aging in our skin, but the rising occurances of skin cancers of all kinds, is just a little disturbing.
But, and here's the real good news, umbrellas are making a beautiful comeback and when I say beautiful I mean BEAUTIFUL!
Gone are the days when umbrellas were strictly used to keep us dry on rainy days. Their utilitarian use was important (especially for those ladies with hair that curls like crazy on those damp days), to keep us dry in the most sever downpours, while going about our regular business. But more and more people are opting to use umbrellas to keep the sun off of their skin (again). Maybe the ladies of old, were onto something.
Today, umbrellas are beautiful to the eye and come in such a variety of colors and shapes. They are again a fashion accessory that should be used often. Just take a look at a couple of these beauties and see if you don't agree with me that they are fantastic to look at and even nicer to use, than those dreary plain black or navy ones that leave nothing to the imagination. Plus many of them fold down to almost nothing, so slipping one into your purse is quite easy to do. No need to be unprepared!
These are just two of the beauties that I'm telling you about! I certainly wouldn't mind keeping my skin free of exposure to the sun's rays under one of these. How about you? Are you willing to take the risk of getting too much sun on your skin and afterwards having problems that need surgery to fix the damage, or would you rather spend sometime under the protection of an umbrella?
They can and still do double duty, because, if it should start to rain, you are protected there too!
Happy Umbrella Day to all!
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I've never been particularly fond of suntanning personally. Sure, I tanned when we went to the beach or when gardening, but I was never one to "lay in the sun" with the intent of getting a tan. I also happen to love umbrellas, or shall I say parasols, so I am content for the style to shift and to embrace umbrellas in fashion again.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, I agree wholeheartedly. A little sun is good for you, but lying out there baking for hours on end is insanity....especially today with the depleted ozone layers.
DeleteI was surprised for a second when I saw your opening picture. Obviously I associate umbrellas with keeping the rain off, but the idea of using a beautiful umbrella, or parasol, to keep the damaging sun rays away from our skin is one that really should catch on, for health's sake. Actually, I really like that idea! I like your two choices, too. Nice!
ReplyDeleteAren't they pretty Susan? I don't know which one I like better and these are just a few of the choices....
DeleteSuch pretty umbrellas! Abby on NCIS loves using a 'parasol'. It's one of her symbols and her fans are sure to duplicate her style.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that, I haven't watched too much TV for over 5 years, so I'm not really up to speed on the current trends on some of those shows, but it makes good sense for our health not to be basking for hours under the glare of the sun. Thank you for your comments Miss Elf!
ReplyDeleteThose are gorgeous umbrellas. I wish I had some time to get out into the sun again. I think parasols are lovely ways to protect oneself, but they aren't too practical when you are on a photo walk and need to use both hands for the camera. Now if they made an umbrella that could hold itself up......
ReplyDelete