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How to dress like a gentleman- A guide on the history of the gentlmans umbrella. Dress like a true gent
UMBRELLAS
HISTORY
As sword of the City, as tent, shield, lance and voucher of character, the gentlemen’s umbrella
merits a respect denied the cheap and shoddy substitutes that have flooded the world’s boutiques
in recent decades.
The history of the umbrella is an exalted one.Over thousands of years, as its use spread through
the Orient, it hob-nobbed with the high and mighty. The Golden Umbrella was the symbol of royalty
in Burma, where the title of the ruler of Ava was Lord of the Twenty-Four Umbrellas. The Buddha
rated one of seven tiers. In China, retinues of umbrella-bearers attended the progress of mandarins.
This clearly evolved out of the umbrella’s relationship with the burning sun-even the word we use for
it derives from the Latin umbraculum, meaning a shady place –and when it finally reached Europe
late in the 16th century, it was as a sunshade. At that time the sword was the yardstick of the gentle
man and it was only after the wearing of swords was discouraged that the umbrella made its début
in the grasp of an English gentleman.
The gentleman was philanthropist Jonas Hanway, who in 1756 unfurled upon the streets of London
a canopy of oiled cloth fastened over whalebone ribs. Hanway was ridiculed for his pains, and
lambasted by the sedan-chair men, for whom rain-showers were a prime source of trade, but by the
beginning of the 19th century the umbrella was an accepted part of polite society. We learn from
Jane Austin that to be “equipped properly” for the resort town of Bath in 1818 entailed the
acquisition of an umbrella.
The umbrella also caught the fancy of army officers, who took to using it to protect their splendid
uniforms in bad weather. More remarkably, they also took to going into battle brandishing umbrellas
in fetching shades of green and blue. Their commander, the Duke of Wellington, had himself
inspected the troops from under a brolly, but this, he felt, was going too far.
The Iron Duke let it be known that he did “not approve of the use of umbrellas during the enemy’s
firing and will not allow gentlemen’s sons to make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of the enemy”.
The officers nevertheless stuck with their umbrellas, off-duty anyhow, and an enduring tradition was
born.
In 1830, the umbrella gained a royal connection when France’s ‘Citizen King’ Louis Philippe
exchanged his sword for a brolly in an unconvincing attempt to demonstrate democratic sensibilities,
yet it remained a bulky, ungainly prop until the 1850s, when slim steel spokes were first applied.
Now it could be rolled up tightly enough to simulate the highly fashionable cane, which had replaced
the sword in formal wear.
From the 1880s, a rolled umbrella might be substituted for the cane in formal day dress, and no
gentlemen of quality out for a Sunday stroll at the turn of the century would have cared to be seen
without one or the other. It was usual, indeed, to have a wardrobe of canes-silver-topped black
ebony for evening wear, Malacca and rosewood for town wear, something more rustic for the
country. Technically speaking, sticks made of ebony or white wood were ‘walking sticks’ while those
of members of the bamboo family were ‘canes’, but any slender walking stick also qualified as a
cane.
It was the advent of the motor car which caused the retirement of the cane, which by the 1930s was
reduced to the role of accessory to top hat and tails. As the cane had replaced the sword, so now it
was replaced by the umbrella.
Early in 1936, a newspaper photographer snapped Edward VIII near Buckingham Palace strolling
under an open umbrella on a rainy afternoon. The picture was widely published, causing disquiet in
Government circles. A furled umbrella was one gentleman should keep his umbrella tightly furled at
all times. At the sight of rain, it was pointed out, he could always use it to hail a cab.
Another ticklish point of umbrella etiquette concerned its use in the country, which was held by
some to be appropriate only for gentlemen of the cloth. This debate shortly became academic, over-
taken by the arrival from America of the big, boldly striped ‘golf’ umbrella, early specimens of which
had been sighted there in 1937.
The march of science produced a tough nylon substitute for silk in the 1940s. This was followed in
the late 1950s by the so-called Continental-style umbrella. A lightweight frame and cover enabled it
to be rolled almost pencil-slim. The handle was of polished wood or stitched black leather.
The pop-up umbrella that sprang open at the touch of a button arrived with the 1960s. It was
followed by the telescopic folding umbrella that slipped into a leather or plastic sheath small enough
to fit into a pocket or briefcase; this so-called ‘tote-type’ umbrella was German in origin. The 1970s
brought plastic bell-shapes and more shoddy oddities.
Malacca, a soft and precious palm wood from the mountains of Sumatra, is used to make the
handles of umbrellas fit for formal duty. It is repeatedly polished before being varnished. Beautiful,
reddish Indonesian rosewood is an alternative choice, Whangee, a light and strong bamboo, ash,
hazelnut, and cypress are among other materials used to make handles of distinction.
Swedish birch, being extremely flexible, is an ideal wood for the cane (shank). Maple, walnut, apple,
chestnut, oak and cherry can all be used to fashion both handle and cane.
The frame is made of stainless steel, enameled. Runners and plates are of bronze-plated brass.
Silver or gold plate is used for the ornamental collar.
HISTORY
As sword of the City, as tent, shield, lance and voucher of character, the gentlemen’s umbrella
merits a respect denied the cheap and shoddy substitutes that have flooded the world’s boutiques
in recent decades.
The history of the umbrella is an exalted one.Over thousands of years, as its use spread through
the Orient, it hob-nobbed with the high and mighty. The Golden Umbrella was the symbol of royalty
in Burma, where the title of the ruler of Ava was Lord of the Twenty-Four Umbrellas. The Buddha
rated one of seven tiers. In China, retinues of umbrella-bearers attended the progress of mandarins.
This clearly evolved out of the umbrella’s relationship with the burning sun-even the word we use for
it derives from the Latin umbraculum, meaning a shady place –and when it finally reached Europe
late in the 16th century, it was as a sunshade. At that time the sword was the yardstick of the gentle
man and it was only after the wearing of swords was discouraged that the umbrella made its début
in the grasp of an English gentleman.
The gentleman was philanthropist Jonas Hanway, who in 1756 unfurled upon the streets of London
a canopy of oiled cloth fastened over whalebone ribs. Hanway was ridiculed for his pains, and
lambasted by the sedan-chair men, for whom rain-showers were a prime source of trade, but by the
beginning of the 19th century the umbrella was an accepted part of polite society. We learn from
Jane Austin that to be “equipped properly” for the resort town of Bath in 1818 entailed the
acquisition of an umbrella.
The umbrella also caught the fancy of army officers, who took to using it to protect their splendid
uniforms in bad weather. More remarkably, they also took to going into battle brandishing umbrellas
in fetching shades of green and blue. Their commander, the Duke of Wellington, had himself
inspected the troops from under a brolly, but this, he felt, was going too far.
The Iron Duke let it be known that he did “not approve of the use of umbrellas during the enemy’s
firing and will not allow gentlemen’s sons to make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of the enemy”.
The officers nevertheless stuck with their umbrellas, off-duty anyhow, and an enduring tradition was
born.
In 1830, the umbrella gained a royal connection when France’s ‘Citizen King’ Louis Philippe
exchanged his sword for a brolly in an unconvincing attempt to demonstrate democratic sensibilities,
yet it remained a bulky, ungainly prop until the 1850s, when slim steel spokes were first applied.
Now it could be rolled up tightly enough to simulate the highly fashionable cane, which had replaced
the sword in formal wear.
From the 1880s, a rolled umbrella might be substituted for the cane in formal day dress, and no
gentlemen of quality out for a Sunday stroll at the turn of the century would have cared to be seen
without one or the other. It was usual, indeed, to have a wardrobe of canes-silver-topped black
ebony for evening wear, Malacca and rosewood for town wear, something more rustic for the
country. Technically speaking, sticks made of ebony or white wood were ‘walking sticks’ while those
of members of the bamboo family were ‘canes’, but any slender walking stick also qualified as a
cane.
It was the advent of the motor car which caused the retirement of the cane, which by the 1930s was
reduced to the role of accessory to top hat and tails. As the cane had replaced the sword, so now it
was replaced by the umbrella.
Early in 1936, a newspaper photographer snapped Edward VIII near Buckingham Palace strolling
under an open umbrella on a rainy afternoon. The picture was widely published, causing disquiet in
Government circles. A furled umbrella was one gentleman should keep his umbrella tightly furled at
all times. At the sight of rain, it was pointed out, he could always use it to hail a cab.
Another ticklish point of umbrella etiquette concerned its use in the country, which was held by
some to be appropriate only for gentlemen of the cloth. This debate shortly became academic, over-
taken by the arrival from America of the big, boldly striped ‘golf’ umbrella, early specimens of which
had been sighted there in 1937.
The march of science produced a tough nylon substitute for silk in the 1940s. This was followed in
the late 1950s by the so-called Continental-style umbrella. A lightweight frame and cover enabled it
to be rolled almost pencil-slim. The handle was of polished wood or stitched black leather.
The pop-up umbrella that sprang open at the touch of a button arrived with the 1960s. It was
followed by the telescopic folding umbrella that slipped into a leather or plastic sheath small enough
to fit into a pocket or briefcase; this so-called ‘tote-type’ umbrella was German in origin. The 1970s
brought plastic bell-shapes and more shoddy oddities.
Malacca, a soft and precious palm wood from the mountains of Sumatra, is used to make the
handles of umbrellas fit for formal duty. It is repeatedly polished before being varnished. Beautiful,
reddish Indonesian rosewood is an alternative choice, Whangee, a light and strong bamboo, ash,
hazelnut, and cypress are among other materials used to make handles of distinction.
Swedish birch, being extremely flexible, is an ideal wood for the cane (shank). Maple, walnut, apple,
chestnut, oak and cherry can all be used to fashion both handle and cane.
The frame is made of stainless steel, enameled. Runners and plates are of bronze-plated brass.
Silver or gold plate is used for the ornamental collar.
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