In terms of costume, a fan is a portable, usually folding in Europe, rigid and mounted on a handle in the Far East, and sector-shaped, device for moving the air to cool one's face. Fans were invented in China and Japan where both folding and rigid forms were at different times popular. In Europe, folding fans were introduced around the 16th century, becoming almost unused in Britain by 1900.
Fans were an essential fashion accessory for women during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in Britain and Europe and had their own strict etiquette and language, although the English language of fans was much reduced compared to the Spanish. In England, a woman holding her closed fan could touch the tip to her right cheek to convey 'yes' and to her left cheek to convey 'no'. Similarly, if the fan was held open to cover the eyes, it conveyed the message 'I love you', while lowered until pointing at the ground, it conveyed the opposite message of 'I despise you'. Research Fan
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Costume
Research Fan
