I’ve been a grubby little merch goblin my whole life. I might spend more time in a museum gift shop than perusing the exhibits. I need to know all available souvenir trinkets from any destination. I will treasure your wedding favor. Kid me’s favorite field trip memento was a folding fan, most likely because that was the only treat available at my price point. A small fan that opened into flowers or a picturesque scene provided a small and meaningful way to own and hold something beautiful. Maybe, also, because the action of opening the fan and waving myself delivered a wee hit of the exotic and otherwordly to my suburban existence. A quick snap of a fan transformed me into a ye olden days heroine or transported me to lands and eras I’d only ever read about. As much as I treasured these trinkets, I’m not sure any fans survived the week among me and my four siblings.
I live in a hot and muggy place. Imagine being inside of a giant dog’s mouth, all steamy and slobbery. Yup, that’s the south in the summertime. We have our coping mechanisms. It’s not uncommon to see printed cardboard fans at events or summer weddings and any kind of church do. At her spring 2024 book launch, author Jessica Lebos of Savannah Sideways offered fans to her fans. But it was my friend Anita who blew my mind when one particularly warm evening, she whipped a beautiful folding fan out of her bag, then with a practised flick, opened it and began moving air around. Just like that, like people haven’t been performing those exact actions for hundreds of years out of necessity.
I’m not throwing shade on the small battery powered cooling fans so ubiquitous today. While they may be increasingly necessary on a warming planet, can we agree there is approximately nothing aesthetically appealing and positively zero drama in their little injection-molded plastic bodies?. They also kind of vibe nutty sports fan or desperately uncomfortable woman of a certain age. I can empathize with the frantic desire of a woman to lower her body temperature RIGHT NOW, and the ability to satisfy that need is its own kind of beautiful, but not exquisitely hand-crafted beautiful.
Air conditioning and HVAC regulate most of our indoor environments, especially in the south. Why would we even need to carry fans. Don’t we have enough crap in our bags already?
Fans have been around as long as humans have observed “holy fuck it’s hot as balls,” and reached for something small and flat to wave air around. Woven or wooden hand fans have been around for about 4,000 years. It was only about one thousand years ago that humans created the technology to fold them into convenient Snickers-sized objects, which would dangle from our wrists, because, of course, women don’t get pockets.
The world went mad for this Chinese invention. They were like the Nintendo switch or Cabbage Patch Dolls of the old timey trade routes. As fast as they could be made in the Far East, Europe wanted them. France had a bit of a lock on European production, until that crazy-ass Edict of Nantes ended and busted shit up. Many French fan artisans fled the regime, hauling their asses to Protestant countries, creating strong fan bases all over Europe.
Americans gobbled them up as well. She’s on a big continent with lots of hot summers and in the early days not a lot of indoor ventilation and plumbing.
Not only are folding hand fans functional for stirring air and keeping flies at bay, they are gorgeous af. They’re their own art form, painted, stitched, carved, of silk, silver, ivory, bamboo, paper, plumage, and more. Every wardrobe should have its own smaller wardrobe of fans, one for every outfit/occasion.
And oh, the drama.
A hand fan is more than a conveniently attractive means to move air around, it’s also a social and conversational prop. The possibilities are endless: snapping, slapping, flapping, flicking, fluffing, fluttering, flirting, taunting, pointing, hiding, to name a few. I cannot think of any other accessory that conveys so much with so little. And is so much fun.
I can’t really figure out why this is mostly a lady thing. The mens get just as hot as the gals. Flabellum are big fans on giant sticks used to move air and bugs away from important people. But they require a servant (historically, frequently, a slave) to do the heavy lifting (literally, they were often made of ivory or silver). Tennens are Japanese steel fans used as weapons in battle, because, why not? There are very few images of men with fans outside of a weird kick Karl Lagerfeld was on in the late 90’s/early aughts.
And, of course, drag queens. “You’re not in drag unless you can thworp a fan?” declares Tim Cochran, founder of Daftboy fans. Oversized folding fans are an integral part of every queen's outfit and choreography. A little bit for cooling action under hot and heavy wigs, but a whole lotta bit for throwing shade and all manner of drama.
So a highly functional, extremely beautiful, potentially dramatic accessory? Yes, please!
I own a fan or two, but never remember to toss them in my purse. Recently a design client requested custom folding fans for yacht guests. Paper would not do here, that’d tear too easily. I could not find anyone in the US who makes such a creature with custom fabric—or rather, who makes less than 10,000 of them. In Europe though, folding fans are still as popular as in the past hundreds of years. Not only did I find an Italian artist on Etsy who makes exactly what we wanted, I paid to have some samples sent to me. They arrived, but not before my client left her position. Her replacement, a bit more budget-shy, cancelled the order. So now I have two very nice faux-silk fans from Alicia & Stephan, and another Mediterranean wedding I was never even invited to. I am not proud to fan myself with the lifetime commitment of strangers.
Southern Europe, hot europe, never lost her love for the folding fan. Many of the massive centuries-old stone buildings and churches are un-air-con-able. Courtyards and cafes are steamy in summer. Just like at your kid’s little league game or a family picnic. Why aren’t you carrying a fan?
Rubi, the world is going down in flames, why the hell are you waxing poetic about a fluttery little hand fan, FFS?
Because these little things bring me joy. And also I nerded out a little on them, so why not share the enthusiasm with you? Did you know you can get a carrying case for your fan to protect it from the horrors of your bag? Or you can strap it on your thigh for easy access. You don’t need to spend over $200 on a cute fan to become a cool fanfluencer among your peeps. Check out Etsy. You can make your own. Check out your local Asian grocer (which is a fun field trip, anyway), or have a look at the hippie-incense-baggy tie-dyed pants store near you.
Stay cool, my friends.
see you in a few days
I’m always open to ideas, suggestions, shenanigans, tomfoolery, collaborations, cheese, snacks, and field trips.
You can find my art here and here. I offer custom workshops and design. I am the proud guardian/custodian of a 16 year old cheeseburger named Patty.
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words and images © Rubi McGrory 2021-2025
I once spent a very hot book launch fanning myself with a fan I'd received as a wedding favour at a friend's wedding, and I felt quite the legend. Like yourself, though, I'm not good at remembering I own it.
Fellow fan lover here, who also forgets she owns them. I bought two whilst waiting for my flight home from a trip to china. They are gorgeous but feel too decadent to use. But then leaving them in their box is kind of pointless 🤔