A lovely beach umbrella and swimsuit calls for a vacation to Ireland’s beaches.
All that fun in the sun from the popularity of swimming and beach vacations made the suntan fashionable in the 1920s. CoCo Chanel claims she made it trendy for the wealthy to have a tan instead of it being a sign of poverty. Men and women in the 1920s played in the sun with little regard to sun damage. They wore colored glasses to shade their eyes and a sun hat if their hair was unsightly after a swim.
The parasol was a frequent item taken to the beach — or more likely, picked up from a vendor on the beach in the early 1920s. They were fun, fashionable, and trendy. Holding one and posing for the camera was something every young woman had to do. They had little to do with sun protection.
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- 1920s Swimwear and Parasols
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- Paper Parasol
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- 1921 Beachgoers with Parasols
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- 1923 Bathing Beauty Contest – Look at all those Parasols!
Fussy lace parasols of the Victorian and Edwardian age were replaced by the beautiful Oriental style oil or cotton paper parasols with short wood handles. Some had fringe or tassels hanging from the parasol’s tips. Most were round, but others were designed in geometric shapes. Large and small, there were plenty of choices for everyone’s budget.
The Asian or Art Deco parasol designs are works of art. Japanese cherry blossoms, birds, flora and fauna, butterflies, and dragonflies were popular hand-painted designs. As the Art Deco influences infiltrated fashion, the designs changed to abstract arts and geometric prints (harlequin, stripes, triangles). By the end of the decade, matching parasols were sold with summer dresses.
If it wasn’t for their popularity as a seaside souvenir, they would have gone out of fashion before 1920. Instead, they stayed around till the 1930s.
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- Paper Parasol
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- Vintage Cherry Blossom Parasol
Carrying a parasol with in summer while wearing a lovely summer frock was a popular accessory in the 1920s — no swimwear needed.
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- 1924 White Parasol for a White Summer Dress
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- Josephine Dunn goes to a Goes to a Tea Party with a Lace Trim Parasol in the 1920s
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- Mid 1920s Painted Butterfly Parasol
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- Japanese Design Paper Parasol and a sailor dress
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- 1920 French Ladies with Tasseled Parasol
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- Giant Paper Parasol
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- Pinup Photo with Ribbed Silk Parasol
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- 1929 Pink and White Parasol
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- 1922 Pink Rose Applique Parasol
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- 1922 Red Tassel-Tip Parasol
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- 1920s Printed Parasol in a Japanese Fashion Ad
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- 1927 Painted Parasol
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- Beautiful Floral Parasol
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- Miss Fisher (Murder Mysteries) Carrying a Japanese Paper Parasol
Read More
- Women’s 1920s Swimsuits History
- 1920s Glasses and Sunglasses
- Women’s Hairstyles of the 1920s
- 1920s Handbags and Purses
- When to Wear What in the 1920s – A Brief Introduction
Shop 1920s Parasols
My 1920s style parasol
Lace parasols are easy to find, although not as authentic to the 1920s as paper parasols will be. Below are some parasols I’ve picked for a 1920s style outfit:
Debbie Sessions has been teaching fashion history and helping people dress for vintage themed events since 2009. She has turned a hobby into VintageDancer.com with hundreds of well researched articles and hand picked links to vintage inspired clothing online. She aims to make dressing accurately (or not) an affordable option for all. Oh, and she dances too.
