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THE SUFFRAGE SASH
by Martha Wheelock, NWHA Board of Director's President
The Suffrage Sash was innovative branding for the cause of Women’s Right to Vote. From 1912, women made and wore the Suffrage Sash. Created from fine fabric of Silk or Satin to give it a lustrous look, the sash was a unifying symbol for their fight for equality. The uniform colors, like a great badge of determination and hope, across their bosoms, united diverse groups, carried their message, and gave suffragists courage for their demand.
“Purple is the color of loyalty, constancy to purpose, unswerving steadfastness to a cause. White, the emblem of purity, symbolizes the quality of our purpose; and gold, the color of light and life, is as the torch that guides our purpose, pure and unswerving” (The Suffragist [1, 2]). Those aligned with their cause also wore sashes.
“[At the debates] in the Capitol…the elevator man was proudly wearing a purple, white and gold sash, [as well as] a number of the men in the men’s gallery…” (The Suffragist, January 16, 1915 [2]).
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