The History of the Hair Bow — From Victorian England to Your Drawer
The hair bow is one of those accessories that feels inevitable — so basic, so simple, so obviously right that it seems like it must have always existed. In a sense, it has. But the specific form of the ribbon bow as a hair accessory has a specific history, and understanding it makes the current moment make more sense.
This isn’t a comprehensive fashion history. It’s a focused account of how a length of ribbon tied in a bow came to mean different things across two centuries, and how it arrived at what it means now.
The Ribbon Before the Bow: 18th Century
Ribbons appear in women’s hair throughout the 18th century, but not primarily as bows. The Georgian and Rococo aesthetic favored complex, architecturally tall hairstyles — often powdered and supported by frames — in which ribbons were woven through the hair as decorative elements alongside feathers, flowers, and fabric.
The bow as a specific tied knot in hair was present but not dominant. What we recognize as a hair bow — a ribbon gathered, looped, and tied — became more prominent as hairstyles simplified toward the end of the century and the Neoclassical fashion of the 1790s and early 1800s.
The Victorian Development
The 19th century, and particularly the Victorian period in Britain (1837–1901), is where the ribbon bow as a distinct hair accessory for girls and young women became culturally established.
The association between ribbon bows and girlhood was partly practical: a bow was an easy way to keep long hair out of a child’s face. But it quickly became symbolic. The white or pale ribbon bow in a young girl’s hair became a signifier of innocence, propriety, and proper upbringing — the visible marker of a cared-for child in a culture that was developing strong ideas about childhood as a distinct and protected life stage.
This is also the period in which the association between bows and femininity was strongly established in Western culture. Ribbon bows appeared not just in hair but across dress — as decorative elements on bodices, sleeves, and shoes — as part of a broader visual language of femininity.
The Edwardian Loosening
The Edwardian period (roughly 1900–1910) saw the ribbon bow’s role in women’s hair expand beyond its association with girlhood. As hair styling became more elaborate — with the famous Edwardian "Gibson Girl" silhouette, featuring voluminous hair pinned up in a soft pompadour — large ribbon bows became fashionable for adult women as part of formal hair arrangements.
The Edwardian bow was often substantial: wide ribbon, generous loops, positioned at the crown or side. It was the peak of the bow as a statement accessory in pre-war fashion.
The 20th Century: Retreat and Revival
The First World War accelerated a simplification of women’s dress and hair that was already underway. The 1920s saw short hair and a repudiation of Victorian femininity, including its accessories. The bow retreated — present still, but no longer culturally central.
What’s interesting is the pattern of its revivals. The bow returns reliably at moments when femininity is being rehabilitated after periods of either minimalism or masculine influence: the 1950s post-war new look; the 1980s maximalism; the various cottagecore, coquette, and quiet luxury waves of the 2020s.
The 1950s revival was the bow as emblem of domestic femininity — the housewife’s bow, neat and tidy. The 1980s version was oversized and exuberant — power femininity in excess. The current version is quieter and more materially thoughtful, reflecting the sensibility of the slow fashion movement.
The Japanese Parallel
Running alongside the Western history is a completely independent tradition in Japan. Kanzashi — the Japanese hair ornament tradition — developed its own bow-adjacent forms independently, with bowed ribbon elements appearing in the accessories of the Edo period (1603–1868) and developing alongside the craft traditions of tsumami (silk-folding) and other kanzashi techniques.
This parallel is worth noting because it suggests something about the bow as a form: it keeps emerging independently in cultures that develop refined feminine dress traditions, which implies that the bow’s appeal is at least partly structural — the form itself works, for reasons that may have more to do with visual proportion and material behavior than cultural inheritance.
The Current Moment
The ribbon bow’s current cultural position is unlike any of its previous revivals. It’s not a trend in the strict sense — it’s not been imported from a single source and will not be over by next season. It’s closer to a re-normalization: the bow is being integrated into adult women’s wardrobes as a considered choice rather than a trend adoption.
The driving aesthetics — old money, quiet luxury, cottagecore, coquette — all share an appreciation for things that have a history, that connect to older traditions of careful dress. The bow fits that orientation precisely: it has two hundred years of precedent, it’s simple enough to be timeless, and it can be made well or badly in a way that distinguishes the considered version from the cheap one.
That’s a good position for an accessory to occupy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When did hair bows become popular?
Ribbon bows have been part of women’s hair since at least the late 18th century. They became culturally prominent during the Victorian period (1837–1901), when they were strongly associated with femininity and girlhood. They’ve had several major revival periods: the 1950s, the 1980s, and the current 2020s wave, each with a distinct aesthetic character.
Why do people wear hair bows?
Hair bows serve both practical and aesthetic purposes. Practically, they hold hair in place (particularly bow clips) or decorate the point where hair is secured. Aesthetically, they add intentionality and softness to a hairstyle — a considered detail that signals care about one’s appearance. The cultural associations of the bow (femininity, craft, historical precedent) make it a loaded accessory in the best sense.
What do hair bows symbolize?
The cultural meaning of hair bows has shifted across time. In the Victorian period, they symbolized girlhood, innocence, and propriety. In various 20th century contexts, they signified femininity in different registers. In contemporary culture — particularly through the old money and cottagecore aesthetics — they’ve come to suggest craft quality, intentional femininity, and a relationship to historical dress traditions. The symbolism is never fixed; it’s always in context.
Did Victorian women wear hair bows?
Yes, extensively. Victorian girls wore ribbon bows as standard hair accessories, and adult women wore larger, more elaborate bows as part of formal hairstyles — particularly in the Edwardian period that followed. The Victorian era is when the strong cultural association between ribbon bows and femininity was established in Western fashion.
Are hair bows a timeless accessory?
The ribbon bow has shown remarkable persistence across two centuries of fashion change, which suggests it has properties that make it recur independently of trend cycles. Its simplicity, versatility across hair types and styles, and the way it rewards material quality all contribute to this. Whether any individual bow reads as "timeless" depends on the execution — the fabric, the size, the color — but the form itself has consistent cultural staying power.
