Umbra

Umbra (pronounced uhm-bruh)

(1) Shade; shadow, now restricted mostly to literary use.

(2) The invariable or characteristic accompaniment or companion of a person or thing.

(3) In astronomy, the complete or perfect shadow of an opaque body, as a planet, where the direct light from the source of illumination is completely cut off.

(4) In astronomy, the dark central portion of a sunspot.

(5) A phantom or shadowy apparition, as of someone or something not physically present; ghost; spectral image.

(6) An uninvited guest brought along by one who was invited (archaic).

(7) The fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object.

(8) One of the family Umbridae of mudminnows; a sciaenoid fish, the umbrine.

(9) In typography, a sans-serif display typeface released in 1935 as a variation of the earlier Tempo.  Similar to many contemporary art deco designs, it's constructed with a shadow effect, the letter shapes built as negative space and defined by a black dimensional shadow.

1590s: From the Latin umbra (literally “shade”; shadow), a doublet of umber and of uncertain origin.  If it was from the Old Latin omra, source may have been the primitive Indo-European hzmrup-, related to the Ancient Greek ἀμαυρός (amaurós) (dark) and “rot” & “rotten” in the Luwian hieroglyphic.  Etymologists also note the Hittite Maraššantiya (their name for the Kızılırmak River), and this Indo-European source is said to be a possible borrowing from a Semitic root ḥ-m-r (be red), linked to the Arabic ح م ر‎ (ḥ m r).  All agree there is a connection with the Lithuanian unksna.  The adjectives are umbral & umbrageous and the noun plurals are umbras & umbrae.

The early meaning was that of a “phantom or ghost," a figurative use drawn from the Latin umbra (shade, shadow), which gave rise to the later umbrage (A feeling of anger or annoyance caused by something offensive or (now rarely) a feeling of doubt, from the Middle French ombrage (umbrage), from the Old French ombrage, from the Latin umbrāticus (in the shade), from umbra (shadow, shade)).  The astronomical sense of a "shadow cast by the earth or moon during an eclipse" was first used during the 1670s.  The meaning "an uninvited guest accompanying an invited one" is from 1690s and was an invention in English, from a secondary sense used in Ancient Rome.  The related noun umber (brown earthy pigment) is from the 1560s, from the French ombre (in terre d'ombre), or the Italian ombra (in terra di ombra), both from the Latin umbra (shade, shadow) or otherwise from Umbra, the feminine form of Umber "of or belonging to Umbria, the region in central Italy from where the coloring material was first discovered.  Burnt umber, specially prepared and redder in color, is attested from circa 1650 and distinguished from raw umber, both well-known to artists of the era.

It’s the cosmic coincidence of the relationship between the diameter of the Moon and its distance from the Sun which makes solar eclipses such a spectacular sight from planet earth.  On other planets, where the relationship is different, solar eclipses may not be as enchanting.  A solar eclipse happens sometimes as the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth, the Moon blocking the light of the Sun from reaching Earth.  Astronomers classify solar eclipses into three types:

(1) A total solar eclipse which is visible from a small area on Earth.  Those who see a total eclipse are those standing in the center of the Moon's shadow when it hits Earth. The sky becomes very dark, as if it were night. A total eclipse occurs only when the Sun, Moon and Earth are in a direct line.

(2) A partial solar eclipse happens when the Sun, Moon and Earth are not exactly aligned, the sun appearing to have a dark shadow on a small part of its surface.

(3) In an annular solar eclipse, the Moon seems further because the annular happens when the Moon is farthest from Earth and thus does not block the entire view of the Sun, instead looking like a dark disk on top of a larger Sun-colored disk.

A solar total eclipse.

Solar eclipses are not rare, visible around every eighteen months somewhere on Earth although the viewing spot is always relatively small.  Unlike lunar eclipses, solar eclipses last only a few minutes.  The umbra is the darkest part of a shadow, especially the cone-shaped region of full shadow cast by Earth, the Moon, or another body during an eclipse. In a full lunar eclipse, which generally lasts for one or two hours, the entire disk of the Moon is darkened as it passes through the umbra. During this period the Moon takes on a faint reddish glow due to illumination by a small amount of sunlight that is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere and bent toward the darkened Moon; the reddish tint is caused by the filtering out of blue wavelengths as the sunlight passes through the Earth's atmosphere, leaving only the longer wavelengths on the red end of the spectrum.

The umbra is the innermost and darkest part of a shadow, the area in which the light source is entirely obscured by the occluding body and if standing in this space, the viewer will experience a total eclipse.  Viewed in the abstract, the Sun, Moon & Earth all being (almost) spherical, umbra forms a right circular cone and, if viewed from the cone's apex, the two bodies will seem the same size.  The penumbra, from the Latin paene (almost, nearly) is the region in which only some of the light source is obscured by the occluding body so the viewer standing in the experiences a partial eclipse.  The antumbra, from the Latin ante (before) is the region from which the occluding body appears entirely within the disc of the light source.  The viewer standing in this apace experiences an annular eclipse, which manifests as a bright ring visible around the eclipsing body.  If the viewer is able to move closer to the light source, the apparent size of the occluding body increases until it causes a full umbra.

An umbraphile (shadow lover) is a person with much interest in eclipses, often making extraordinary efforts to travel to see them.  The construct is umbra +‎ phile.  Phile is from the Latin -phila, from the Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos) (dear, beloved) and from the same source is -phil, a word-forming element meaning "one that loves, likes, or is attracted to," via the French -phile and the Medieval Latin -philus in this sense, from the Ancient Greek -philos, a common suffix in personal names (such as Theophilos), from philos (loving, friendly, dear; related, own) and related to philein (to love) which is of unknown origin.  One authoritative etymologist suggests the original meaning was "own; accompanying" rather than "beloved."

Umbraphilia emerged as a niche in nineteenth century high-end tourism, gentlemen scientists and society figures sailing around the world to observe and sometimes report their findings.  The longest known observation of a solar eclipse was that undertaken on 30 June 1973 when a group travelled on board the Concorde, enjoying seventy-four minutes of totality.

Parasol & Umbrella

Parasol (pronounced par-uh-sawl or par-uh-sol)

(1) A type of lightweight umbrella used, especially by women, as protection from the sun.

(2) In architecture, a roof or covering of a structure designed to provide cover from wind, rain, or sun.

(3) In bar-tending, a miniature paper umbrella used as a decoration in tropical-themed cocktails.

(4) In aviation, as parasol wing, a wing not directly attached to the fuselage but held above it, supported by either cabane struts or a pylon.  Additional bracing may be provided by struts or wires extending from the fuselage sides.

(5) As permanent or movable features, a sun-shade (usually in an umbrella-like shape) used in gardens and mounted on a stand (the shaft sometimes passing through a hole in a table; these can be foldable and demountable.

(6) In entomology, any of various Asian species of libellulid dragonfly of the genus Neurothemis.

(7) The parasol mushroom, Macrolepiota procera

1610–1620: From the French & Middle French parasol from the Italian parasole, the construct being para- (to shield) + sole (sun); the Italian sole being derived from the Classical Latin sōl (sun).  The rarely used adjectival form is parasoled.  A curious and long extinct Americanism from the late nineteenth century was bumbershoot.  Parasol is a noun & verb; the noun plural is parasols.

Umbrella (pronounced uhm-brel-uh)

(1) A portable, usually circular cover for protection from rain or sun, consisting of a fabric held on a collapsible frame of thin ribs radiating from the top of a carrying stick or handle.

(2) Anything providing protection (usually figuratively).

(3) In marine biology, flattened cone-shaped contractile, contractile, gelatinous body of a jellyfish or other medusa.

(4) In military jargon, something that covers or protects from above such as aircraft safeguarding surface forces.

(5) In geopolitics, as the "nuclear umbrella", a description of the arrangement under which a nuclear-armed state extends its use (either by formal alliance or perception) to non-nuclear states.

(6) Something covering a wide range of concepts, purposes, groups, organizational structures etc.

(7) In zoology, the main body of a jellyfish (the gelatinous material), excluding the tentacles.

(8) In photography (static and moving), an umbrella-shaped reflector with a white or silvery inner surface, used to diffuse or direct light.

1600–1610: From the Italian ombrella and umbrella (parasol, sunshade), diminutive of ombra (shade), an earlier variant of ombrello from the Late Latin umbrella, an alteration (under the influence of the Latin umbra (shade or shadow)) of the Latin umbella (sunshade).  In both Latin and Italian, the –ella suffix was used with female nouns to form diminutives and was the feminine equivalent of –ello.  The slang terms for the umbrella vary: In the US there was "bumbershoot" & "umbershoot" (now less common) while elsewhere in the English-speaking world it's almost always "brolly" (which is never spelled "brollie" although the plural is "brollies"); the old British terms "gamp", "rain napper" & rainshade are all archaic.  The alternative spellings humbrella, ombrella & umbrello are listed by dictionaries variously as obsolete & archaic but all are effectively extinct.  Umbrella is a noun and umbrellaed is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is umbrellas.

Of Sun and Rain

Lindsay Lohan: Tyler Shields (b 1982) photo shoot, 2010.

Although structurally, essentially identical, the convention of use is that a parasol protects from the sun and an umbrella, rain.  In French this is formalised with parapluie (umbrella), the construct being para (to shield) + pluie (rain), pluie from the Latin pluvia (rain) whereas parasol is para + sol (sun).  Quite what Lindsay Lohan's photographer has in mind is not immediately obvious but in tunnels, parasols obviously are never used for their intended purpose and, given they are, by definition, shielded from the rain, unfurled umbrellas are also an uncommon sight.  However, in many of the tunnels used in mining, construction or for non-public access, they would be handy because such tunnels are often damp places and drips are constant.  In mining especially, hydrological management is a significant aspect of site management and many resources are devoted variously (and sometimes concurrently) to (1) getting water into tunnels, (2) keeping water out of tunnels and (3) getting water out of tunnels.

Osculation through gritted teeth: Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017, left) and crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013) providing a photo opportunity, Washington DC, 2012.

The car is the official presidential limousine, the nickname "the beast" (dating it's said from the administration of George W Bush (George XLIII, b 1946; US president 2001-2009) most popular with the public although to the Secret Service it's believed still to be code-named "stagecoach", a moniker adopted in 1981 because of the agents' association of one-time film-star Ronald Reagan (1911-2004; US president 1981-1989) with "cowboy western" movies.  Details of the construction of the modern presidential limousines are classified as secret but it's believed the things are built on a General Motors (GM) light truck chassis, the body a kind of "generic rendition" of a 1980s Cadillac (the last time they were close to the classic "full-sized" cars of the 1960s & 1970s), powered by large-displacement diesel or gas (petrol) V8 engines and fitted with some contemporary components (such as the headlamp assembly) to maintain a relationship with the Cadillacs available in showrooms.  Essentially a disguised armored car with extensive internal life-support systems, they're doubtless as safe an environment as is possible but they certainly lack the elegance of the classic presidential Lincoln Continentals of the 1960s, the platform which gained infamy after the assassination in Dallas of John Kennedy (JFK, 1917–1963; US president 1961-1963).

The Nuclear Umbrella

In geopolitics, the term “nuclear umbrella” describes the arrangement in which a nuclear-armed state extends the coverage of its nuclear arsenal to the defense of non-nuclear states.  Depending on the relationship or what’s politically possible, that can be by means either of a formal alliance or the “manufacturing” of a perception.  The obvious examples of formal alliances include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, 1949) and Warsaw Pact (1955-1991), the treaties under which the US and Soviet Union respectively undertook to apply the same threat of nuclear retaliation to an attack on signatory states as was applied to the homelands.  Although not something much discussed at the time of NATO’s formation, the nuclear umbrella later became a significant element in the attempts to limit nuclear proliferation, something which emerged as an issue in the early 1960s when it was feared that within a decade there would be dozens of states with nuclear-equipped military forces.

Members of the FFF (former first family) each maintain their own umbrella.

In situations where nominally allied states don’t have faith in the assurances of their partners, each can feel compelled to maintain their own nuclear umbrella; the term for this is the “independent nuclear deterrent” (IND).  It was the concern that rapidly there would be a growth in the number of nuclear-weapon states that led to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (the NPT, 1970) being negotiated during the late 1960s and the US nuclear umbrella strategy underpins its effectiveness.

For its effectiveness to be maintained, the nuclear umbrella relies on its credibility and in this there are two aspects: (1) the states enjoying the umbrella’s protection must believe that if attacked, they could rely on their protector using their using the nuclear arsenal for their defense and (2) all potential adversaries must share this perception.  Since 1949, the “adversary” states have either believed this or not been prepared to take a risk by embarking on military action against those under the umbrella but among allies, there has been less certainty.  While there tensions within the Warsaw Pact, these were related to ideology rather than anything to do with military matters, within the US alliance systems such have been the concerns, very much because the perception of threat from Moscow and Beijing was much greater.

By contrast, the earlier British development of an independent nuclear deterrent was a special case in unique circumstances.  The British regarded the development of the original atomic bombs as a co-operative venture with the US (albeit it one in which their contribution rapidly diminished) and were miffed when US co-operation abruptly was withdrawn after 1945 and, understanding the implications of the new weapon, believed that their ongoing status as a world power depended upon its possession.  Although it wouldn't be until 1989 the musician Frank Zappa (1940-1993) published The Real Frank Zappa Book, His Majesty’s government in the 1940s would have agreed with the passage which read “…that to be a real country, you need to have a beer and an airline.  It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.”

France also adopted an IND, not because of any premonition of Zapparian theory but because Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970; President of France 1959-1969) wasn’t certain a US president would order a nuclear strike if squadrons of Soviet tanks were spearheading 200 Red Army divisions rolling Western Europe or, as he put it: “Would the White House risk New York to save Paris?”, the same sentiment which would later compel him to withdraw France from NATO’s unified command.  The same unease is said also to be increasing east of Suez and in both Seoul and Tokyo there are murmurings of the need for an IND in an increasingly tense region, concerns heightened by some recent comments by Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021).  Both Japan (In Japanese, the figurative noun “nuclear umbrella” is 核の傘) and South Korea (the Republic of Korea (RoK)) have for decades prospered under the US umbrella and for either country to seek to adopt their own would introduce a new dynamic with unpredictable consequences.  Many years ago, the Chinese foreign ministry organized some “leaks” which made clear that were Japan to seek an IND (something all agree it has the technical and industrial capacity to achieve within months), they could expect a preventative strike.  Whether or not that’s literally true, just the possibility of what would be unleashed does terrify.

Sombrero

Sombrero (pronounced som-brair-oh or sawm-bre-raw (Spanish))

(1) A sometimes highly embroidered, broad-brimmed hat of straw or plush felt, usually with a high conical or cylindrical crown and a saucer-shaped brim, worn especially in Spain, Mexico, and the south-western United States.

(2) A style of automobile wheel-cover which became popular in the US during the 1950s, the enveloping design vaguely similar to the motifs associated with the hat.

(3) A mixed drink, made with coffee liqueur and cream.

(4) In ten-pin bowling, a series of four consecutive strikes.

1590–1600: From the Spanish from sombrero de sol (broad-brimmed hat offering shade from the sun) and originally "umbrella, parasol" (a sense found in English by the 1590s), from sombra (shadow; shade) from the Late Latin subumbrare (to shadow), the construct being sub (under) + umbrāre (from umbra (shadow)) + ero (the dative & ablative singular of erus, from the Proto-Italic ezos (master), from the primitive Indo-European heshós (master) and cognate with the Hittite išhāš (master)) and thus literally "shade-maker".  Sombrero is a noun and sombreroed is an adjective, (the non-standard sombrerolike & sombreroesque both used informally); the noun plural is sombreros.

Politicians are often compelled to wear sombreros in the search for votes.  Others wear them by choice.

(1) Gerald Ford (1913–2006; US president 1974-1977).

(2) Comrade Marshal (Josip Broz) Tito (1892–1980;  Yugoslav president 1953-1980).

(3) Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965; Democratic presidential nominee 1952 & 1956).

(4) Hugo Chávez (1954–2013; Venezuelan president 1999-2002 & 2002-2013).

(5) Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974).

(6) Britney Spears (b 1981; entertainer).

(7) Benedict XVI (1927–2022; pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022).

(8) Barry Goldwater (1909–1998; Republican presidential nominee 1964).

1961 Lincoln Continental SS-X-100 with sombrero wheel covers, Dallas, 22 November 1963 (left) and with the (ex Continental Mark II) turbine-style wheel covers and some of X-100’s protective accessories (right).

Traces of a sombrero-like shape can be discerned in the designs used for the early post-war Cadillacs but it was in the 1950s the style became popular with many manufacturers emulating the lines.  Although less popular by the early 1960s, the coachbuilders Hess & Eisenhardt chose to use sombrero-style wheel covers from the 1957 Lincoln Premiere when the White House’s 1961 presidential parade limousine was updated in 1963 with a current model grill.  This was the famous SS X-100 (the Secret Service inventory number) in which the president was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963.  It was extensively re-modeled in the aftermath of the assassination (and again in 1967), Hess & Eisenhardt reverted to the turbine-style wheel covers from the Continental Mark II (1956-1957) with which the car had originally been fitted.  Although other presidential parade cars were built in 1968 and 1972, X-100 continued to be used by Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter until 1977 and it’s now on permanent display in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

1952 Cadillac sombrero wheel covers (16 inch reproductions) (left), 1954 Packard sombrero wheel covers (centre) and 1957 Cadillac sombrero wheel cover, Cadillac by 1957 unable to resist adding embellishments.

The terms “wheel cover” & “hubcap” (or hub-cap) have long been used interchangeably but the two, historically, are different.  The distinction between the two is that a wheel cover covers the entire diameter of the wheel whereas a hubcap covers only the center portion of the wheel, concealing at most only the lug nuts which secure the wheel.  The origin of the hub cap pre-dates powered-transportation and was simply a device which fitted over the hub of a wheel to prevent dirt and debris from entering the assembly and contaminating the grease which provided lubrication and some of the early versions were actually called dirt-caps or grease-caps.

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III saloon with wire wheels with centre hub cap (left) and an unusual 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III pillarless fixed head coupé (FHC) with wheel covers over wire wheels.

As wheel designs evolved from those used on hand-carts or horse-drawn vehicles, the hubcaps were enlarged to extend protection to the lug nuts, reducing abrasion and limiting the moisture penetration which encouraged rust.  The hubcap was thus a purely utilitarian device and this functionality was extended in the 1920s when all-enveloping wheel covers (some of which had actually been seen in the nineteenth century) began to appear in volume.  These were usually covers for wire wheels (a type preferred because they were much lighter that those made from pressed steel) and served to protect both the spokes and the brakes behind from dirt and the impact of stones and rocks, an important consideration when so many roads were un-sealed.  Owners and drivers appreciated the protection, wire wheels notoriously time-consuming to clean.  One drawback however was that the air-flow to the brake drums was inhibited so the brakes were more prone to overheating, thus reducing their retardative effect but as some soon discovered, speed and economy were actually improved because the smooth wheel covers were aerodynamically more efficient, as aspect of design which continues to be exploited to this day.  In the UK, both hubcaps and wheel covers were originally called nave plates.  Nave (hub of a wheel) was from the Middle English nave, from the Old English nafu, from the Proto-West Germanic nabu, from the Proto-Germanic nabō (which influenced the Dutch naaf, the German Nabe and the Swedish nav), from the primitive Indo-European hneb- (navel) and related to the Latin umbō (shield boss), the Latvian naba and the Sanskrit नभ्य (nabhya).  The idea of it being “something central” was a development from the Latin nāvem, the singular accusative of nāvis, terms from architecture which referred to the middle section of a church (later extended to other structures & shipbuilding).

1959 Imperial Silvercrest Landau (left), 1959 Edsel Citation convertible (centre) and 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz (right).

Also exploited, for better and worse, were aesthetic sensibilities.  It was in the stylistically exuberant US of the 1950s that wheel covers became truly extravagant and heavy, the latter something that brought its own problems.  The design teams took to wheel covers with enthusiasm because changes were cheap to implement and they soon became part of product differentiation, the higher in the hierarchy a model sat, the more elaborate the wheel covers were likely to be.  The sombreros were just one style, others referencing influences as diverse as the original wire wheels, the turbines in jet engines, water fountains, the full moon (though without pock-marks) and beehives.

Dog dishes: 1966 Ford Fairlane 427 (left), 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack and 1969 Yenko Chevrolet Nova 427.

Wheel covers became part of what was typically an annual cycle of styling changes and it wasn’t unusual for those used on last year’s top-of-the-line model to re-appear on a cheaper line and just because wheel covers had arrived, hubcaps didn’t go away, fitted almost always as standard equipment on the cheapest entry-level models and those defined as heavy-duty such as the ones built for police fleets.  Simple steel stampings, they were cheap to produce and, being lightweight, were less prone to becoming detached during brisk driving, the “flying hubcap” (actually usually a wheel cover) a noted feature of many of Hollywood’s car chases and something the many film buffs delight in noting sometime escape the "continuity process", a lost wheel cover inexplicably having re-attached itself later in the sequence.  The simple pressings were sometimes dubbed “poverty hubcaps” but a more common nickname was “dog dish”, a reference to their appearance if upturned.

Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB with early, two-piece hub cap & trim ring combination (left) and the later, less pleasing, one-piece wheel cover.

The wheel cover as part of a re-style was not restricted to the US but manufacturers in the UK & Europe were more conservative (an exception to this tended to be the locally produced models from companies ultimately owned by US corporations; as in Australia, these sometimes used hand-me-downs from Detroit), hubcaps persisting longer while “trim-rings” began to be added to emulate wheel covers but designs were often carried over from one model to the next.  In this, the Mercedes-Benz 600 (M100, 1963-1981) is a footnote in hubcap history in that in its eighteen-odd years in production, the only styling change (other than the disfigurements demanded by US regulators) was to replace the two-piece hubcap/trim ring combination with a one-piece wheel cover.  This was unfortunate because the earlier style better suited the car and designers have distinguished between them, calling one the "frowning" and the other the smiling, the 600 definitely a "frowning" sort of car.

Lindsay Lohan in Sombrero.

Wheel covers remained of interest to those designing cars for competition, the trade-off between brake cooling and aerodynamic advantage weighed up according to the nature of the event.  On the circuits a premium usually was attached to cooling but those setting speed records were particularly attracted to the smoothest possible shape which meant flat wheel covers of some description were often fitted and where possible many choose to enclose the wheel to whatever extent was possible; In testing, Jaguar discovered an additional 3-4 mph (5-6 km/h) could be attained if the XK120’s (1948-1954) rear wheels were wholly enclosed by fender skirts (also called spats).  In the modern era, even with aluminum or composite wheels optimized for lightness and brake cooling, there are manufacturers which use additional wheel covers, either to produce downforce for use in competition or to reduce drag, lowering energy consumption to increase a vehicle’s range.  Like many manufacturers of EVs (electric vehicles) Tesla uses the combination of aluminium wheels (for weight-saving) and a plastic wheel cover (for aerodynamic efficiency), the latter the main reason why there have been so few EV convertibles, the inherent inefficiency of the shape imposing a significant penalty "in the drag".  When the naked wheel of a Tesla Cybertruck is revealed, many are struck by the attractiveness of the design.

The selfie sombrero, a 2014 co-development between Christian Cowan-Sanluis and Acer Inc of Taiwan.

In 2014, in one of the IT industry’s less remembered collaborations with the fashion business, designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis (b 1994) joined with Taiwanese (Taiwan a renegade province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)) manufacturer Acer to produce a “limited-edition” (a perhaps unnecessary announcement) sombrero with an integrated tablet, able to spin through 360^o.  Said to be the ultimate solution to selfie takers who struggle to find their best angle, the wide-brimmed apparatus included an Iconia A1-840 tablet.  Listed upon release at a not unreasonable Stg£599, the selfie-sombrero was based on a hat in Cowan-Sanluis' autumn-winter 2014 collection, noted for having been modeled by Lady Gaga (b 1986).

Lady Gaga in original sparkly pink sombrero from Christian Cowan-Sanluis’ autumn-winter 2014 collection.

Technically, the design was helpful for selfie-takers because of the mounting which allowed the tablet to spin through 360^o, helping the user to determine the best angle while snapping and reviewing the results.  With an internet connection, the perfect selfie could then instantly be uploaded to the social platform of choice.  Early adopters were encouraged to place an order, the designer noting the creation of ten pink sparkly glitter cases with accompanying hats in the same style as that worn by Lady Gaga.

Ombre

Ombre (pronounced om-brey)

(1) A gradual blending of one color to another, often a blended shifting of tints and shades from light to dark within the range of one hue but it can also be applied when using contrasting colors.

(2) A card game of Spanish origin, dating from the late seventeenth century; played usually by three, it uses a deck of forty cards, the 8, 9 & 10 discarded and gained the name from the phrase “Soy el hombre” (I am the man), uttered at critical points during play.  As a fashionable game, it was superseded by quadrille.

(4) A large Mediterranean fish (Umbrina cirrosa), popular in cooking (archaic and better known as the shi drum, gurbell, sea crow, bearded umbrine or corb).

1840–1845: From the French ombré (shadowed, shaded), past participle of ombrer, from the Italian ombrare (to cover in shadow (in painting)), ultimately from the Latin umbra (shadow).  The name of the card game (as a reference to the player who attempts to win the pot) was from the French hombre, from the Spanish hombre (man), from the Latin homo, from the earlier hemō, from the Proto-Italic hemō, from the primitive Indo-European ǵm̥mṓ (earthling), from déǵōm (earth), from which Latin gained Latin humus (ground, floor, earth, soil).  It was cognate with the Old Lithuanian žmuõ (man), the Gothic guma and the Old English guma (man).  The link between the words for both earth and man wasn't unique to Latin and existed also in Semitic languages, illustrated by the Hebrew אָדָם‎ (adám) (man) & אֲדָמָה‎ (adamá) (soil).  Ombre is a noun & adjective (and conceivably a verb); the noun plural is ombres.

Ombre chiffon strapless bridesmaid dress from Dollygown (left) and Mansory’s Ferrari F8XX Spider Tempesta Turchese (right).  There seems no clear agreement about when a "bridesmaid dress" becomes a "bridesmaid gown" and most retailers avoid the latter term, presumably to avoid compressing relativities between "bridal gowns" and what the bridesmaids wear.

Mansory is a German operation based in Tirschenreuth, Bavaria, the core business of which is the modification of high-priced (mostly European) cars.  Their signature approach is the celebration of conspicuous consumption and they eschew subtlety in favor of an eye-catching appearance, a focus being “one-off” (the “one of one philosophy” as they describe it) creations where a particular combination of colors and modifications are not duplicated on another vehicle.  So, while not exactly bespoke (as the word traditionally was understood), their products are about the closest thing possible to actually displaying a price-tag somewhere on the bodywork;  high sales are said to have been achieved in Russia, China, the Middle East and India.  Mansory's work with specific components (notably carbon-fibre) is renowned in the industry as state-of-the-art and of the highest standard.  One recent one-off creation was the F8XX Spider Tempesta Turchese (Turquoise Storm), a variation of their modified Ferrari F8 Spider on which the ombre color scheme transitioned gradually from a specially blended white to a vivid turquoise, accented by Mansory’s traditional set of carbon-fibre pieces in black.  The company also modifies the 3.9 liter (238 cubic inch) twin-turbocharged V8, its output increased by some 22% to 868 bhp (648 kW) which propels the Tempesta Turchese to a top speed of 220 mph (355 km/h).

Lindsay Lohan in vintage Herve Leger bandage dress, Maxim Hot 100 Party, Gansevoort Hotel, New York City, May 2007 (left) and 1976 PDL Ford Mustang II, Baskerville Raceway, Tasmania, Australia, 1977 (right).

Incorrectly, ombre sometimes is used to describe color arrays or schemes where a variety of distinct shades are applied with a clear line of division between each and this is wrong because the ombre effect is one in which there's a gradual blending of one hue into another.  Where the multi-color (which can be just two) layers are distinct and differentiated, designers use the generic term “color block” to refer to the use of solid blocks of contrasting or complementary shades.  A special case is the “rainbow stripe”, applied to an array which recalls the pattern (not necessarily the curved shape) of a rainbow but this need not follow the classic ROYGBIV (the sequence of the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo & violet) model.  Indeed, an array of colors which in nature would never be seen in a rainbow can still be called “rainbow stripe”, based on the pattern. So, Ms Lohan's bandage dress is in rainbow stripe while the PDL Mustang II's is in a color block scheme.

Brochure for 1975 Ford Mustang II Ghia, the pitch summed up in the phrase “Economy is emphasized”; note the model's veavage dress.  Although the V8 had returned to the option list, the advertising continued to focus on “prestige” and “luxury” with the the new engine mentioned only in passing although Ford had good reason not to make too much of a fuss because to describe the much de-tuned V8 as “spirited” really was damning with faint praise in that it was justified only because the four and six-cylinder alternatives were more anaemic still.  For many reasons, it was a troubled decade which “started well, got worse and ended badly” and in the era, ombre color schemes could be a challenge because there were so many shades of brown. 

1974 Ford Mustang II.

Although of the seven generations it's the least fondly remembered, commercially, the Mustang II (1973-1978) was a great success.  Smaller and lighter than what its predecessor had evolved to become, serendipitously, it had been released just weeks before the first oil shock began on 17 October, 1973.  It's sometimes forgotten the shift in the US to also produce smaller cars pre-dated the oil crisis of the 1970s and was a reaction to changing public tastes and success of imported cars, most notably those from Japan.  Upon debut, the Mustang II surprised some (and appalled others) because a V8 engine wasn't even on the option list (and wouldn't re-appear until the 1975 season although what was offered was a far cry from the potent units which had been fitted not half-a-decade earlier) but it was the right car at the right time and a great success although it's the only Mustang not to have some sort of following in the collector market.  That said, the car's front sub-frame proved most attractive to builders wanting a quick way to splice in the combination of IFS (independent front suspension), disk brakes, a V8 engine and rack & pinion steering which meant at least part of the Mustang II didn't last long in wreckers yards.  Being cannibalized for a higher purpose isn't the most desirable fate but it was a contribution to the ecosystem the original incarnation never achieved.

1970 PDL Mustang.

“Electric Blue and 180 mph” (290 km/h) was a good hook for a company in the business of producing electrical components but the livery was adopted only in 1975, the car in the previous four seasons having been variously white, orange, green and a fetching fuchsia.  Although by 1975 New Zealand’s transition from imperial to metric measures was almost complete (phased in, 1969-1976), Electric Blue and 290 km/h wouldn’t have had the same cachet.

Since 2001 owned by Schneider Electric, Plastic & Die Casting Ltd was founded in 1937 in Christchurch, New Zealand and in 1957 was re-branded with the snappier name PDL Industries Ltd.  The core business was the company’s highly-regarded electric switches and fittings but beyond the industry what generated most “brand-awareness” were the two PDL Mustangs used in racing.  The first was a genuine 1970 Mustang Boss 429 (one of 499 built that year with the special 429 cubic inch (7.0 litre) V8) which had been stolen and recovered without its valuable engine and transmission.  Purchased for what was in retrospect the bargain price of US$500, it was a good basis for a circuit racer because Kar Kraft (the specialist operation to which Ford had out-sourced the Boss 429 installation programme (1969-1970) was compelled to widen the front track to accommodate the width (the “semi-hemi” cylinder heads with their huge intake ports (nicknamed “shotgun” because the sight of two of them recalled a side-by-side 12 gauge shotgun) were unusually bulky), something that, when fitted with an iron-block 351 cubic inch (5.8 litre) unit, greatly improved the handling.  Later, in the quest for more pace, it would be fitted with one of the rare, aluminum-block 351s.      

1976 PDL Mustang II.

The PDL Mustang II was a space-frame race car built in 1976 to conform with the commendably liberal rules which at the time applied in New Zealand, then something of a parallel universe which had continued to follow the path other regulatory bodies a decade earlier had abandoned because the machines were becoming to too removed from their origin.  So extensive were the modifications from the donor vehicle that any relationship with an actual Ford Mustang II wasn’t even skin deep and it used the all-aluminum (Cleveland; 335 series) 351 its predecessor had run the previous season.  Both cars enjoyed much success but so radical were the modifications to the Mustang II, eventually it was compelled to wander the planet to find events where the organizers were prepared to let it run.  When unleashed, it was fast, loud and spectacular and made a good case for there being more Formula Libre races.  That case can still be made.