BEST BOWS OF ALL TIME
MERDE Editor Tori Nergaard hops in a time machine to review the best coquette styles of previous centuries and decades that have informed recent high fashion runway trends and laymen online girlies alike.
To all the amateur TikTok trend forecasters claiming that bows are to the 2020s what moustaches were to the 2010s, I would like to remind you that bows have been around FOREVER. Oh, and btw, they were huge in the 2010s too, but in a giant American Apparel hairbow clip way, but that’s beside the point…
Bows are the forever trend! And while you might be kind of over the coquette Lana Del Rey girlies tying bows on absolutely everything, fashion fiends have been doing exactly that since the dawn of time. You could say that sticking a little bow on it is simply a shared experience of girlhood. In celebration of bows taking their rightful place at the center stage of fashion, I’m looking through the past at MERDE’s top 10 most iconic bow looks of all time.
16th Century:
While the bow perfectly knotted around French Lady in Waiting Agnès Sorel’s gown may not be the most eye-catching part of this look, she did often choose to pair a bow with her signature left nipple. The iconic 16th century noblewoman was a trendsetter in her own right, insisting on showing what she believed to be her best titty through loosening the laces on her gown. What pairs better with an elegant bow sash than a perky nip?
Agnes Sorel (c.1422-50) by French School.
17th Century
Another scandalous lady of the royal court and bow-lover. Madame de Pompadour, fashionista and mistress to the French King Louis XV, had a tendency towards over-the-top gowns often covered in bows, however, even when styling a more paired back look for this portrait by François Boucher, she ensured a bow was the centerpiece of her gown. Coquette girlies can learn from the bow placement Madame de Pompadour achieves with this fit, and also about fucking your way to the top.
MADAME BERGERET (POSSIBLY 1766) by François Boucher
1795:
PARISIAN LADIES IN THEIR FULL WINTER DRESS FOR (1800) by Isaac Robert Cruikshank
Merveilleuse and Incroyables, Parisian fashions post-revolution, Convention Nationale, 1795. Handcoloured steel engraving by Polidor Pauquet
Fashion doesn’t stop despite a deadly political crisis or two—at least that’s what les Merveilleuses believe. Following the bloodbath that was the French revolution, the tone-deaf fashionable youths at the time took inspiration from the world around them and began dressing in a variety of controversial trends including sheer, ass-out gowns, and cartoonish headwear. One of the most popular? The biggest bow you can possibly fashion from what remains of your raided château, perched precisely atop your head.
1850s:
La comtesse de Castiglione (1865) photography by Pierre-Louise Pierson .
Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione
The selfie queen and original creative director herself Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione was known to pose adorned in bows. The aristocrat and self proclaimed drama queen directed countless fashion and art photos of herself throughout her life, including several wearing gowns the starred gigantic bows, front and center. RIP Countess of Castiglione, you would’ve loved Instagram.
1904:
Hulton Archive 1905
Even the Gibson Girls’ found their own way to incorporate bows into their iconic silhouettes. Camille Clifford, one of the original Gibson Girls was photographed modelling a myriad of fits throughout her day. While many were minimalist, intentionally avoiding the heavy-handed décor that adorned gowns near the turn of the century, ribbon bows lacing up Camille’s arms stayed in fashion. That, and the most incredibly snatched waist known to man.
The hair is an added layer of coquette power and prestige, while her pose speaks ‘take me now’ - giving a contradictory play between damsel in distress and matriarchal dominance.
1927:
Elsa Schiaparelli wearing her sweater, 1927. Maison Schiaparelli.
Where Coco Chanel was the sad/bigoted beige equivalent of 1920s fashion, Elsa Schiaparelli was maybe the eclectic grandpa girlie? Ignore that… ANYWAYS, one of her most ground-breaking ready-to-wear designs that changed fashion forever during this era was her Trompe d’Oeil sweaters which of course featured patterns knit into her sweaters to mimick the look of bows tied around the neck. The intarsia knits brought surrealist art into the closets of women around the world, and Miss Elsa even wore it herself. Bows aren’t always a tie-on, sometimes they’re not even real <3
1967:
Vogue US July 1967 by Richard Avedon
What makes a bow? A knot in the center? Two loops and two legs? Though not a true bow, this dress worn by skinty 60s model Penelope Tree and photographed by fashion legend Richard Avedon for US Vogue, certainly recalls the general shape and vibe of a bow, and honestly, I love the slightly avant-garde, geometric take. Bow fashion isn’t just about knotted ribbons and strings, it’s a look and a lifestyle, and Ms. Tree enters this philandering look with the presence and the attitude of the ultimate coquette conquerer.
1981:
The People’s Princess herself was not above the bow trend. In fact, bows dominated wedding fashion during the 1980s, and any bride who cared about being chic wouldn’t be caught dead without a huge bow planted firmly above her ass as she glided down the aisle. While Diana’s gargantuan gown was anything but understated, she chose to step back on the bows, electing to have 3 modest, yet flawlessly knotted bows on each of the elbows and the décolleté of her gown. May bows forever flourish her grave, rest in peace, princess.
2004:
Of course, a film about girlhood and finding yourself features one of the most iconic bows in history.Though only an accessory to protagonist Jenna Rink’s ensemble, this bow headband crowns her the fashion princess of New York City after a humble Jersey childhood. This bow is not only iconic due to its quintessential bow-ness (The pink satin ribbon, the perfect centering on top of the head à la Eloise), but it’s also iconic for what it represents.Appearing in a scene where Jenna seeks to explore her personal style as a teen girl in an adult body, this bow signifies the eternal search for oneself through sartorial choices. The bow represents personal identity, something that the girlies are absolutely after when they tie a little ribbon on their tote bag or headphones. Jenna is simply partaking in the shared experience of girlhood much like the many girls before her, and the coquette girls of 2024.
2011:
Blair Waldorf, Gossip Girl
You simply cannot make a listicle about bows throughout fashion history without referencing the Y2K NYC queen of bows herself miss Blair Cornelia Waldorf. It’s so hard to select just one look through her catalogue of hair-bows, and pussy-bow blouses, but it had to be done. Of all her iconic looks that graced the small screen, this 2008 Dior frock really screams BOW, if not also GARISH, but it also really summarizes a lot of insane things about 2010s fashion, so alas we must never forget. Props to the set stylist for this next level runway pull.
If you actually, truly, really believe that bows are but a passing fad after reading this very well-researched and extremely academic article then you should actually seek professional help. But if you’re cultured like myself, then please continue to tie little bits of ribbon onto everything you own, and also take inspiration from the countless iconic bow looks worn throughout history by some incredibly chic and also sometimes controversial girlinas.