Wedding Handkerchiefs

When you select a wedding handkerchief, you are also selecting an elegant adornment that can provide a beautiful accent to both men and women's fashions. But while sprucing up your suit sounds good in theory, the question often remains: how does one fold a handkerchief?

There are many ways to fold a handkerchief, some more elaborate than others (there are even books on the subject!), but in our experience simple is often best. Our favorite style, therefore, is called the "triangle fold." The triangle fold offers a timeless look and it's easy to do! Just follow the handkerchief folding instructions below:

1. Lay your handkerchief flat and turn it so it looks like a diamond.
2. Fold the left corner of the handkerchief directly to the right until the corner is just past the center of the handkerchief.
3. Next, fold the right corner of the handkerchief directly to the left, also past the center, and make sure to keep the corner on top of the fold you made in the previous step. You should now have a rectangular shape with two triangular points at the top and bottom.
4. Fold the handkerchief from the bottom, keeping the top half above the bottom half, until the bottom triangle is lined up with the top triangle (the first two folds should still be visible).
5. Slip the handkerchief in your breast pocket with the point facing up.

History of the Handkerchief
For as long as human beings have had runny noses or sudden spills, there have been handkerchiefs. Tidying up life's everyday messes with a piece of cloth has been with us almost as long as clothing itself, if not longer, and by some accounts humans have been using handkerchiefs in one form or another for nearly 35,000 years!

Wiping cloths may be old, but handkerchiefs as we know them today were not regarded as a fashion accessory until at least the late 14th century. Popular belief holds that modern handkerchiefs were introduced by King Richard II, who ruled England from 1377 until he was overthrown in 1399. A conflicting story, however, claims the modern handkerchief was first designed by a Venetian seamstress in the 1500s. The seamstress's design made its way to France where it gained popularity among members of the court of King Henry II.

The true originator of the modern handkerchief may never be known, but it is likely that handkerchiefs existed as local "fads" in various times and places until their arrival in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Among the German nobility, handkerchiefs were so popular that their use spread to the United States and later the world.

Most historians also agree that handkerchiefs were originally woven from pure flax and highlighted with lace accents, though today a huge range of materials, from cloth and polyester to satin and silk, are used to create a stunning variety of colors and styles.

Regardless of where and when they appeared, early flax handkerchiefs are entirely associated with royalty, nobility, and wealth; a tradition that continues even today. In the United States and Europe, handkerchiefs in suit breast pockets are considered a sign of prestige among men and women; even in Japan and the Far East they are regarded as symbols of education and refinement.

Handkerchiefs in the 20th Century and Beyond
With the development of disposable paper tissues at the end of World War I, handkerchiefs ceased to be used for hygiene and became regarded purely as a fashion accessory, especially in the United States. With a growing awareness and commitment to reusable resources and recycling, however, handkerchiefs are once again being used for their original purpose.