If you come to think about the winter fashions of the Jazz Era, all that comes to your mind might be large fur coats rather than a hand muff. This is primarily because with the emergence of large furs onto the market, there was another place for the women to keep their hands warm, and that was in the warm coat pockets. This, and the obvious fact that women were becoming more mobile made these hand muffs a lot less desirable.
However, the hand warmer muff made quite a strong comeback in the 1930s and 1940s. this may have been because the war made the animal fur coats less available while the fur remained sought after. Much less fur is needed to make a hand muff and sometimes, they were even used to make the coats. They were also highly fashionable, with many starlets being photographed wearing them.
History
There is a lot more to this winter accessory than you think!
The invention of this accessory was done when the style of long, wide sleeves went out of style and there was a need for something to warm the hands. Most of us may think that the hand muffs were made of animal furs, though in the early years they were merely only trimmed with fur and instead made of lovely silk designs.
Because these hand muffs were too constricting, they eventually grew out of style for both men and women a hundred of years later. In the 1600s, this accessory was widely worn by men and women both, especially by members of the upper-class. But eventually, they grew out of style for men earlier than they did for the women.
The muff warmer was a highly effective accessory for keeping the body warm. The heat that was created by the tight insulation of the wrap helped to keep the fingers warm, especially considering that they were also gloved. This style would have been the most popular in the mid-1800s when cloaks and capes were worn by women rather than jackets.
Around this time, some of the women took fashion a step further and wore hand muffs that were designed to be used with a ceramic flask filled with hot water. You can only imagine how nice and warm a winter walk would be with one of those wrapped around your hands tightly.
This accessory proved to be a great example of functional fashion as there were many variations of the hand muff that doubled as a wallet or purse. The women were very fond of this accessory as this made them look classier and more elegant and naturally upgraded their status by doing absolutely nothing.
Author’s Bio: The author is an avid blogger. This article is about hand muffs.