Dr Charlotte Potter of Geneva, Switzerland, responds to Morwenna Ferrier’s article on the cultural significance of bows (Untie me! Why big bows are everywhere – feminine, ironic and strangely subversive, 18 November). Potter notes that she read the piece just after teaching a seminar on Elizabethan virginity, and was struck by the famous Armada portrait of Elizabeth I.
The painting celebrates martial victory, with Spanish ships floundering and British ships sailing triumphantly, while Elizabeth’s hand rests on a globe. Yet she is also covered in pink bows, with a large pearl hanging from a white bow at the top of her skirts, symbolising her virginity. Potter argues that if men wearing bows on the red carpet is considered an “alpha move” today, Elizabeth I got there first.
Chris Walters of Buxton, Derbyshire, adds that the article made him wonder what Esme Young, a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee, would make of the trend. Contestants often note that “Esme likes a bow”, and Walters agrees that bows are a way to “zhoosh something up”. He also recalls that bows kept his unruly hair in check in the 1950s.
