Pagoda Umbrellas
An ordinary rain umbrella is a flat dome. A pagoda umbrella is a curved bell that opens downwards and flares out again at the edges, often with a ruffle along the hem. You know that silhouette from East Asian architecture, and that is exactly where the name comes from.
Why the Shape Works So Well
The eye follows a curve longer than a straight line. That is why a pagoda umbrella is seen before anything else about an outfit registers. It also changes the proportion: the bell sits higher above the head and therefore looks lighter than a wide, flat umbrella of the same size.
Our pagoda umbrellas are full rain umbrellas, mostly stick umbrellas with a long handle, in plain tones as well as with patterns or a ruffled hem.
How to Recognise Quality
First the frame: the ribs must be evenly tensioned without the fabric pulling at single points. A stick umbrella with many ribs takes wind far better than one with eight. Second the edge seam: it should be properly bound, not merely overstitched, otherwise it frays after the first wet winter. Third the handle: wood or metal with noticeable weight sits better in the hand and holds the umbrella more steadily in gusts than a light plastic grip.
Why a Stick Umbrella Does More in Rain
A stick umbrella has one continuous shaft and no folding points. Folding umbrellas break exactly there first. If you are out in real weather a lot, a stick umbrella serves you better and lasts years instead of months. For the bag there are also pocket umbrellas, and for rugged everyday use the men's umbrellas.
When It Fits
Anywhere you are seen in the rain: reception, wedding, theatre, a walk through town, a photo shoot. The curved shape turns protection from the wet into an entrance without making the umbrella any less of an umbrella.
Care
Never tie it up while wet. Let it dry open or half open, then close it loosely. The most common damage to expensive umbrellas is not wind, it is moisture trapped inside a closed canopy: the fabric spots, the frame rusts.
Related categories: Umbrellas, Romantic, Jewellery. The full range: Umbrellas.
Read more: Guy de Jean: How to Recognise the Signature of the Manufactory, The Gentleman's Umbrella with a Suit: Length, Colour, Handle, Handles Made of Wood, Horn and Acrylic: Materials for Umbrellas, The Wedding Umbrella: When It Rains on the Big Day, Stick Umbrella or Folding Umbrella: What Makes Sense When