Why Fan Flirting Was So Important In The Victorian Era

Keep in mind, in the Victorian time there were neither social media nor texting. Nor was there air conditioning, and for this reason it was common for women to carry a handheld fan to cool themselves off, as The Valentine notes. Over time, an amorous woman took to sending secret messages to a man by gesturing only with her fans, a little like sliding into someone's DMs today, per Cosmopolitan. Women's fans and the fan-flirting custom became so closely associated with the Victorian era it was referenced in Oscar Wilde's play set in the period, "Lady Windermere's Fan," as Sotheby's notes.

There's some question, though, about how organic the fan flirting trend really was, or whether it was concocted instead by fan manufacturers as a means to sell their product. The popularity of fans had declined, post-French Revolution, and one French fan maker, Duvelleroy, produced a guide to fan flirting to perhaps start a trend that would in turn make fans a must-have accessory.

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