Being a somewhat introspective and curious sort of person, I have the odd habit of noticing things in day to day life that virtually all of us take for granted. Evidently I’m not alone in this, as a fellow contributor to this blog, Jeremy, mentioned to me reading about the history of…ribbon.

Yes, ribbon.

Seriously, how many of us take the time to think about something as simple as where ribbon came from? To be totally transparent, I have to admit that the main reason I decided to pursue reading and writing about the history of ribbon myself is, well, we happen to custom imprint ribbon at PrintMyThing and PrintMyRibbon. I promise, that will be the only shameless plug of our sites in this entry. Now then, to the fascinating history of ribbon:

Thanks to the research done by www.madehow.com, I discovered that ribbon pretty much appeared on the world scene when civilizations began making fabrics. Humans have this funny habit of having to customize anything we get. Ribbons were among the earliest ways of decorating and adorning everything from clothing, to gifts. Merchants during the Middle Ages traveled Europe selling exotic ribbons; Chaucer mentioned “ribbands” used on garments. Medieval and Renaissance customers bought ribbons with gold and silver thread and other rare fabrics from the Far East. During the 16th century, the English Parliament tried to pass a law that would make wearing ribbon a right of nobility only. Oddly enough, ribbons were rarely worn in the American colonies. Some have suggested this is due to religious convictions, or possibly to protest the extravagances of European rulers. Military tapes, jacquards*, and medal ribbons became decorations for military regiments and the highest awards a nation could give to soldiers.

So there you have it, a brief history of ribbon! Be sure to subscribe to PMTvoice for more “Odd History.”

*Author’s note: I had to look up the word “jacquard” to learn what it meant.  According to Merriam-Webster Online, Jacquard is defined as follows: “a fabric of intricate variegated weave or pattern.” See if you can fit this “word of the day” into a conversation today.