Tortoiseshell is a mottled brown, black, and sometimes orange pattern used to make various products, including eyeglasses, hair clips, and jewelry. The design was initially made from the shell markings of the hawksbill turtle but is now primarily made from plastic due to the devastating effect on the turtle population. Tortoiseshell hair ornaments and sunglasses are considered retro 50s, and the pattern is also seen in certain breeds of cats.
Tortoise shell, or tortie in the commercial sense, is a mottled brown, black, and sometimes orange pattern, often made of plastic, that is used to make a variety of products. These can include the frames of regular eyeglasses or sunglasses, buttons and an array of decorative and useful hair clips and designs. The turtle shell bases its design on the shell markings of the hawksbill turtle and was initially made from the turtle.
Many decorative items were once made from turtle shells. There are picture frames in the Renaissance, tea sets and jewelery boxes. The first use of tortoiseshell dates back to decorative uses in China and Japan. Often a whole turtle shell was lacquered and used as a bowl. The ancient Greeks and early Romans also used it in jewelry, to hold hairbrushes, and in hair ornaments.
Unfortunately, the trade in real turtle shell has had a devastating effect on the hawksbill turtle population. Although the hawksbill exists throughout the world, living mainly in coral reefs, it is considered critically endangered. Concern about the possible extinction of this species, and also the relative difficulty of collecting seashells, led to celluloid (an early version of plastic) in the early 20th century that exhibited the desirable design. In the 1920s and 1920s, tortoiseshell eyeglass frames were primarily made from celluloid and not actual tortoiseshell. Today, few areas export real tortoise shell, in the hope that the species will survive if not hunted.
In the 1950s, tortoiseshell sunglasses became very popular. In this sense, although the model has a long history, sunglasses with these frames are often considered retro 50s. This is especially true when they are manufactured by companies like Ray-Ban®.
Tortoiseshell hair ornaments are also antique in pattern. Today, the plastic version of these are bought cheap at any local drugstore, as are counterfeit sunglasses. There are a variety of clips, bobby pins, headbands, rubber bands, sticks and bobby pins with a tortoiseshell design. Many women love mottled colors, which tend to blend well with brown hair, or make a nice contrast to blonde, red, or black hair. Some fabric manufacturers also made fabrics with the mottled pattern. Any personal ornamental use of tortoise shell has never gone completely out of style, but like most things in fashion, tortie designs can be more or less popular depending on the season.
The popularity of this pattern isn’t exclusive to clothing or adornments. Several breeds of cats exhibit tortie colors. These are often an unevenly distributed mix of orange, brown, and black. There are Persian and Shorthair torites and a variety of mixed breed cats with the pattern. Interestingly, few male cats have this coloration and are considered aberrations. The markings occur most often in female cats and are considered a sex-linked hereditary trait.
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