Florin (pronounced flawr-in or flor-in)
(1) A cupronickel coin of Great Britain, formerly
equal to two shillings or a tenth part of a pound and retained in circulation (equal to 10 new pence) after decimalization in 1971; first issued in 1849 as a
silver coin.
(2) An alternative name for the guilder (the standard unit in the former (pre-Euro) currency of the Netherlands).
(3) A former gold coin of Florence, first issued
in 1252 and widely imitated.
(4) A former gold coin of England, first issued
under Edward III (1312–1377; King of England 1327-1377).
(5) A former gold coin of Austria, first issued
in the mid-fourteenth century.
(6) As the Aruban Florin, the standard monetary unit of Aruba (A Caribbean island and a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands), divided
into 100 cents
(7) In Australia, a coin minted between 1910-1963 and the ancestor of the 20c coin (two bob in the vernacular) The New Zealand equivalent was issued between 1933-1965.
(8) A style of women's dress, in a flowing (originally wrap-around) style, dating from the mid-nineteenth century.
1275–1325: From Middle English florin & floren, from the Middle French floren, from the Old Italian fiorino (little flower), from fiore (flower), from the Latin flōrem (accusative of flōs (flower)). Florin was the name of an English gold coin from the late fifteenth century, reprising an earlier use and a fiorino was the monetary unit of Tuscany between 1826-1859, subdivided into 100 quatrini; a florin. The Florentine coin was stamped on the obverse with a lily, the symbol of the city. Florin is a noun; the noun plural is florins.
Florentine gold florins (left) and pre-war Australian florins.
The
term florin dress refers to a style which became popular in the late Victorian
era, attaining its classic form during the early twentieth century Edwardian
era. It was characterized by a fitted bodice
and a full skirt, the fabric of which tended to “flow” as the wearer
moved. During the inter-war years
(1919-1939), the bodices became tighter and the necklines lower but the “swish”
of the flowing lines remained the dominant motif. The volume of fabric mean it was a style
which could be adapted to the formality suggested by dark solid colours, the bright
floral patterns which emerged in the late nineteenth century as the
mass-production of dyes by industrial chemistry or the embellishment with lace
and ribbons which some found attractive.
Lindsay Lohan in Florin dress.
Although
conservative, there was a timelessness about the style which ensured its
survival into the twenty-first century and most mainstream fashion houses (at
whatever price-points they target) have florin dresses in their lines, the cut
so adaptable the “wrap-around-look” (even if not always literal) able to be
implemented with hemlines extending from knee to ankle, some with sleeves, some
not. The name “florin dress” has nothing
to do with coinage but was a tribute to the many statutes of women depicted clothed
in such a manner which were found in Florence and historians of fashion note
the original name was “Florentine Dress” but for whatever reason, quickly this
was clipped.
It was the representation of clothing in this flowing style which inspired the Victorians to dub the dresses the “Florin”, many of the the finest sculptures of the (clothed) female form found in the parks and museums of Florence.
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