Pages

Friday, September 2, 2016

The Cocktail Ring—is it gaudy or is it a symbol of freedom and self-expression?


When I first announced my book Casual Bead Elegance, Stitch by Stitch, I mentioned that I would provide insight into the book between then and the release date which is in time for the 2016 holiday season.

I decided that I would start by providing information regarding the projects featured on the book’s cover. I chose to begin with the ring that was inspired by my grandmother and the project's title reflects that—Grandmother’s Cocktail Ring. She had a passion for jewelry and the piece of jewelry that I always associated with her was the cocktail ring. Perhaps it was because I thought it seemed a bit incongruous with her diminutive stature.  As a child, I remember her saying that I could eat an apple off her head. (As a full grown woman, I am only 5’ 4” tall.) As an adult, I now associate the cocktail ring with merriment. After doing research on of the cocktail ring, I have an idea what might have been the source for this association. (The links to information sources are pasted at the bottom, just in case you are interested in reading more.)

The origin of the cocktail ring could make you see it differently. It is linked back to a time in America called Prohibition when alcoholic beverages were banned. The 1920's was a time period filled with tension between traditional values rooted in pre-war nostalgia and the dramatic social and political changes taking place. During this decade women not only gained the right to vote but also increasingly worked outside the home. Women's attire changed dramatically too. Here are some examples. They traded in restrictive corsets and long dresses for shorter hemlines and trousers. The term “flapper” was coined as a way of describing a new breed of young women who cut their hair into a bob, wore make-up, smoke, drank and danced to the latest musical craze known as jazz. 

The ban on alcohol seemed to have the opposite effect than what was intended. It turned cocktails and cocktail parties into a status symbol as big as anything you could wear.
These flappers would not let the ban on alcohol deter them from their good times. They sought out hidden speakeasies where they could take part in the underground cocktail scene. It also lead to other excesses, norm breaking, and methods of attention seeking, such as the cocktail ring.  The original eye-catching design of the cocktail ring was a large center stone that was accented with pavé diamonds. Perhaps flappers saw these rings as an effective method of drawing attention to the fact that they were sipping illicit alcoholic beverages.

What do you think? Are cocktail rings a symbol of when women were enjoying their freedom, by breaking the norms and through self-expression or just gaudy?


Cocktail Ring History Links


No comments:

Post a Comment