Making Yourself Up - Ribbons and Identity in Early Modern England
Michaela
Clarence explores the many meanings of ribbons – from amorous to political – to their wearers in Early Modern England.
From acts of personal devotion to political allegiance, the ribbon’s versatile identity in Early Modern England challenges growing preconceptions of the material as mere frivolity, frothing at the edges of garments. Whether affixed to a hat, wrapped around an infant’s wrist, or pinned as a romantic keepsake, the ribbon served as both an outward signifier and an intimate, tactile connection between people. Its affordance, portability and adaptability enabled individuals across all strata of society to make personal, political, or emotional statements.
The lasting resonance of ribbons has remained, from their role in political campaigns to their continued use in personal adornment and gestures of affection. This essay introduces some of the uses and meanings of ribbons in Early Modern England. It is a small glimpse into the symbolic threads that connect this material to identity, society, and history.
The
method of tying bows is one that requires little skill. With no manual on how to fasten the eponymous
material during the period, the skill of tying bows was left to the hands of
the people who tied them. Carried in the memory of the
skin, this knowledge was stored in the haptic memory of generations fairly
uninterruptedly before the widespread ribbon crafts of the late 20th century
and home craft movement led to numerous publications and how-to guides on
ribbon crafts. See Martha Stewart’s video on how to tie the perfect bow.
John Styles’ text Threads of Feeling evidences the relative affordability of ribbon during the period as many of the tokens given to the Foundling Hospital were short lengths of ribbon. [1] One particularly heart breaking example is a yellow ribbon with the phrase “My Name is Andrews” written in ink across it. [2] (To see an image of this ribbon labelled “Textile token for Child number 453, a boy, 1748. A yellow ribbon with ‘My Name is Andrews’ written in ink” see the Foundling Museum website)
As
Styles observes, ribbons are one of the most frequent tokens in the collection,
owing to their association with love and adornment, as decorating with ribbon
in this context displays care for an individual or object. The eighteenth century
song Oh Dear! What can the Matter be? is an example of ribbons given as
a token of love in a romantic relationship. One accompanying etching depicts ‘Johnny’ walking back from the village to his lover in the foreground, already
dressed in multiple ribbons.
Described
in the song as a fastener for her brown hair, this blue ribbon bundle is beyond
structural. It represents their
love, worn especially in absence, occasionally tied to other love tokens such
as coins or rings. A beautiful and early depiction of relationship and loyalty
through tokens is depicted in the painting of Sir Henry Lee, a sixteenth
century portrait, with subtle and complex allusions to Elizabeth I. The
striking image of loyalty associated with objects worn about the body has not
been lost over time. (You can see the portrait of Sir Henry Lee on the National Portrait Gallery website).
Returning to the seventeenth century, Edward Legon’s article 'Bound up with Meaning' highlights the epidemic of ribbon representing the growing labels ‘Whig’ and ‘Tory’, with blue ribbons representing affiliation with the later party. [3]
‘So prominent had these ribbons become in the summer of 1681, in fact, that one political commentator was provoked to write that he had witnessed “many” of his fellow Londoners wearing “blew [sic] ribbons in their hats”.’ [4]
Attaching
ribbons to hats by tucking into or replacing the hatband was the most popular
method.[5] It’s certainly the easiest as no fasteners were required. This
portability contributed to ribbon’s lasting role in British politics.
As
I’ve demonstrated, the colour of ribbon can hold significance beyond decoration.
Similarly, the structure or style of ribbon tying held significance during the
eighteenth century, with cockades or topknots denoting the gender of infants
before breeching, [6] the occasion when a small boy was first dressed in
breeches or trousers between the ages of two and eight years.
Worn on the bonnet or cap, the display of ribbon was used as a token given to the Foundling Hospital invariably connotating the gender of the child. While colour was still considered genderless, there were strong gender associations between cockades and military fashion; cockades were worn on the tricorn hats of British soldiers in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Similarly, topknots of bows remained in fashion for woman beyond infancy, bunched at the top of the forehead, often matching the breast-bows and bows at the crook of the elbow/end of the sleeve.
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| Fig 1: T Gainsborough (c 1756) Mrs Prudence Rix, Manchester Art Gallery |
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| Fig 2: Pair of Doll's Garters, made c 1690-1700, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Fig 3: Doll's Garter, made c 1690-1700, Victoria and Albert Museum |
Such choices in materiality suggest that ribbons did more than fasten garments – they helped construct and reinforce societal expectations about gender and identity. Through the Clapham Dolls, we glimpse how these coded signals were integrated into everyday life and carried symbolic weight, even in seemingly minor functional accessories.
Notes
[1] Styles, J and Foundling Museum (London (2010), Threads of feeling: the London Foundling Hospital’s textile tokens, 1740-1770, London: The Foundling Museum.
[2] The Foundling Hospital (now the Foundling Museum) admitted children, often anonymously. These children were associated with their mothers by small tokens of varied material (with the child and mother sharing two halves of an object, pattern of fabric or drawing) in the hope that the child would return to health and be reunited with their families. Upon admittance children were renamed by the hospital, the yellow ribbon is an attempt by the mother to keep his family name.
[3] Legon, Edward, ‘Bound up with Meaning: The Politics and Memory of Ribbon Wearing in Restoration England and Scotland’, Journal of British Studies, vol. 56, no. 1, 2017, pp. 27–50. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26598971. Accessed 14 Dec. 2024.
[4] Narcissus Luttrell, A Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs (Oxford, 1857), pp 110-111.
[5] Made of grosgrain ribbon, the hat brand sits at the base of the crown, covering the join between the crown and brim of a hat.
[6] Cockades were similar to rosettes but more varied in shape and more closely associated with wearing on hats.
Picture Credits
Fig
1: T Gainsborough, (c 1756), Mrs
Prudence Rix. Oil painting. English. Manchester Art Gallery. Accession no:
1950.61 (Art UK https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/mrs-prudence-rix-205030, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND).
Fig 2: Pair
of Doll’s Garters for ‘Lady Clapham’, English, c 1690-1700 (made), Victoria and
Albert Museum, T.846G&H-1974 https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82510/pair-of-dolls-unknown/
(use permitted as non-commercial).
Fig 3: Doll’s Garter for ‘Lord Clapham’, English, c 1690-1700 (made), Victoria and Albert Museum, T.847-1974 https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O83313/dolls-garter-unknown/ (use permitted as non-commercial)
Biographical Details
Michaela Clarence is a creative practitioner from London currently exploring a practice merging fashion history, oral history, communication design and performance. With a background in costume design and installation, she has been awarded the Vice Chancellor's Scholarship to read Design History at the Royal College of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum.
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