Much to his amusement, Simon Doonan,
creative director at Barneys, New York, has noticed a new trend on the
streets of Manhattan this year: women carrying umbrellas or parasols to
protect themselves from the heat and harmful rays of the sun. "And
it's very entertaining because in New York you always have too much to
carry anyway and now with the cellphone culture you see girls fumbling
with all their accessories," he says. "What you do is put your
purse in the crook of your arm, your parasol in your right hand and your
cellphone in the other hand. Then you're totally defenceless if someone
tries to pinch your butt or stuff a flyer down your cleavage."
Nevertheless, as cumbersome as a sun
umbrella may seem, as tanning fades and skin cancer rises, we might just
be on the verge of a parasol revival.
"All over New York City, people
are carrying them," says Margo Donohue of Manhattan-based fashion and
shopping magazine Lucky. "It's a fun, chic accessory that does the
job [of sun protection]," she says. Donohue has seen a lot of Asian-
or Hawaiian-inspired parasols this summer. She favours parasols over plain
old rain umbrellas because of their daintiness. "And they say, 'Like,
I know it's not raining,' " she says and laughs.
  |
ONE WOMAN FAVOURS PARASOLS
BECAUSE OF THEIR DAINTINESS: "And they say, 'Like, I know
it's not raining.'
"
|
In Toronto, Bobi Juric, the owner of
Raindrops, a shop that stocks more than 500 different kinds of umbrellas,
agrees that it's nice to go for something perkier and prettier in the
summer so she imports frilly parasols from France. "People want
something cheerful and nice-looking when they're walking in the sun. I
also have some with flowers or the Impressionist reproductions."
Juric says business has definitely been up for sun umbrellas. Aside from
the parasols, she sells umbrellas with special linings to block UV rays.
"Quite a few people have come in to buy for medical reasons -- a hat
doesn't give you as much protection as an umbrella," she says.
Alysia Abbott can sympathize with
Doonan's observations about the inconvenience of the parasol. She, too,
lives in Manhattan and just bought a rice paper one in Chinatown to
protect her fair complexion. "But I haven't used it a whole lot
because I can't bring it on the subway and during the work week I already
have too much to carry," she says. She uses it while out shopping on
a Saturday and says it's good because she doesn't wear sunglasses.
As for Doonan, he carried a small
disposable umbrella on a trip to the Grand Canyon. "People thought I
was mad, like Mary Poppins. I carried it everywhere and while everyone
else was burnt to a crisp, I still looked like a human being."
Obviously, this isn't news to the Asian
community. In Toronto's Chinatown, it doesn't matter whether it's pouring
rain or sunny and hot, there will be about the same number of umbrellas in
use. Many Chinese women wisely carry umbrellas to block out the sun and
have done so for eons. What's crazy is that more of us haven't adopted
this simple way of keeping cool.
Susan, a Chinese woman in her late 30s
living in Toronto's Chinatown, has been using an umbrella for the sun
since she was a child. "Chinese people favour white complexions,
which is considered beautiful," she says. "Too much sun gives
you freckles and when I was young my grandmother would scold me to come
out of the sun. As well, hats don't cover your back and they mess up your
hair." She carries a nylon rain umbrella and says the bamboo ones
have gone out of fashion because of the rarity of bamboo.
Hong Kong-based writer Charles Foran
says women there, especially the older ones, regularly use umbrellas to
block the sun and in Kyoto a few weeks ago he saw women carrying the
traditional parasol. "And on a hike this weekend, I passed by more
than one woman wearing those astounding-looking umbrella hats, which make
them look like they could take off at any moment," he says.
"Very fashionable Hong Kong women wouldn't be out in the sun
regardless. Milky skin is the thing here."
The September issue of Jane magazine
reports that when actress Rose McGowan was their cover girl she wisely
requested an umbrella for the outdoor shoot to preserve her snow-white
skin. But not all of us want to hide when the sun finally comes out.
"We have so much cold weather, so when the sun comes we're just so
bloody happy," says Richard Igra, president of Fulton Umbrellas.
"I'd rather slap on a 30 sunscreen and put on my cool shades and feel
the sun on my face," he says. And while he has had more requests for
special UV-blocking umbrellas from people with medical conditions or
sensitive skin, he doesn't think our North American culture is quite ready
to adopt the sun-umbrella habit because of our short summers.
And the response from a Canadian expat
living in London when asked if she's noticed any parasols around town was
an incredulous "When it is sunny, the last thing in the world they
want is to hide. They're not huge believers in sunblock, either," she
adds.
But Doonan thinks the parasol is just
right for current trends. "Fashion is very exhibitionist these days
with belly buttons and butt cracks showing everywhere," he says.
"And a girl on the street with a parasol makes a big impact."
His favourite parasol moment is a photograph of Picasso and his wife
walking along a beach. Picasso is slightly behind her, holding the parasol
over her head. "What you really need is a grovelling guy to carry it
for you and use your other hand to hold your doughnut."
- National
Post
