Dog-Collar Engagement Rings
An unusual fad, as reported by the San Francisco Examiner, June 19, 1927:
I can think of a few more objections a bride-to-be might have, other than that the dog collar wouldn't be visible.
Only the other day there came from Denver the startling news that the young women of this western city were wearing dog collars for engagement rings in lieu of the conventional band of gold, silver or diamond-set platinum. To further emphasize the departure from tradition, the girls wore this romantic token around their legs, as shown in the photograph of Miss Fay Rowe, of Denver, on this page. Thus the engagement ring-dog-collar became a garter as well as a symbol of betrothal, combining utility with romance...
The custom was started by a young woman in one of the college sororities and it spread rapidly. It was generally believed to be something entirely new in the way of betrothal tokens, but had the young woman been a careful student in her history class she would have known that the fad she started was an old one long before the Christian era was born. Jeweled anklets have been discovered in the cinerary urns of the ancient Greeks, with inscriptions which indicate they were tokens of engagement. Bracelets were also common in all ages as tokens of betrothal...
The principal objection to the dog-collar engagement token around the leg seems to be, "What's the use of wearing an engagement ring without anybody seeing it?" To which the answer is, "Nowadays a ring worn about the leg can easily be seen with the skirts of women growing shorter and shorter."
The custom was started by a young woman in one of the college sororities and it spread rapidly. It was generally believed to be something entirely new in the way of betrothal tokens, but had the young woman been a careful student in her history class she would have known that the fad she started was an old one long before the Christian era was born. Jeweled anklets have been discovered in the cinerary urns of the ancient Greeks, with inscriptions which indicate they were tokens of engagement. Bracelets were also common in all ages as tokens of betrothal...
The principal objection to the dog-collar engagement token around the leg seems to be, "What's the use of wearing an engagement ring without anybody seeing it?" To which the answer is, "Nowadays a ring worn about the leg can easily be seen with the skirts of women growing shorter and shorter."
I can think of a few more objections a bride-to-be might have, other than that the dog collar wouldn't be visible.
Comments
So she has 2 fiancés, and each has rights to a leg?
Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 11/26/19 at 09:24 AM
I think a guy suggesting a dog collar instead of a ring would create an interesting judicial question -- does the situation qualify as justifiable homicide or suicide-by-proxy?
Posted by Phideaux on 11/26/19 at 03:45 PM
My dogs wear collars, but that doesn't mean I would marry them.
Posted by KDP on 11/26/19 at 04:43 PM
The woman wisely chose one of the rare places where the collar wouldn't be seen as a choker, a handcuff, or a shackle.
Posted by Yudith on 11/27/19 at 06:22 AM
Phideaux: and yet, this was "started by a young woman".
The fair sex. Yeah, sure.
The fair sex. Yeah, sure.
Posted by Richard Bos on 12/01/19 at 09:53 AM
The dog collar aside, these were apparently the days when getting engaged during college was an expectation.
Posted by Brian on 12/03/19 at 10:02 PM
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Category: 1920s | Weddings | Love & Romance