The History of Table Skirting
The history of table skirts seems to consist of bits and pieces of information as well as a great many educated guesses about the origin of covering the front of a table. Such seemingly unrelated bits of information, some without documentation, are difficult to call a definitive history, yet evidence of table skirts in the past does indicate that the custom existed before the 20th century.
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Definition and function
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Without much exception, a table skirt in any setting is a fabric or paper drape which covers the front and sides of a table from the surface down nearly to the floor. Occasionally, a skirt covers also the back of the table. A table skirt commonly does not cover the table top which must be draped first with a tablecloth. The skirt is attached to the tablecloth by some temporary means such as Velcro, snaps or basting. The purpose of the skirt is to shield all the legs under the table from view. A table skirt creates an uninterrupted visual impression as well as provides complete modesty for those people seated at the table.
Recent history
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In 20th century history and in 21st century custom, a banquet or conference table is nearly always skirted especially if it is on a dais or raised platform. This custom probably grew from the inclusion of women in ceremonial or business occasions. A desire to preserve modesty and aesthetic uniformity made the table skirt a welcome addition to a well-dressed table.
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Kinds of table skirts
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When the custom of table skirts began, the skirt was always made of fabric. The style of early table skirts is unknown but in 2010, there is no limit to style possibilities. Traditional fabric skirts may be plain, pleated in several ways or shirred. They may be decorated with lace, ribbons and bows or left unadorned. Modern designers have created table skirts in plastic materials, metallics, tissue fabrics, even raffia. It would be possible to find or create a table skirt to lend to any party theme or add to any special occasion.
Early documentation
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While it was not a dining table but a dressing table that Thomas Chippendale designed in 1762, he did include a fancy fabric skirt that concealed the legs of the table according to The Providence Journal. That table which included a mirror and resembled some contemporary vanity tables apparently set a style that has endured in feminine settings for centuries. The table skirt is no longer associated only with femininity, but the desire to preserve the continuous flow of design below a tabletop is still a consideration.
Speculations
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Little of the Victorian English preoccupation with sex can be firmly documented, but there is ample evidence that the upper class's need to preserve absolute modesty was nearly an obsession. Ladies, young, old, and elderly, were never to allow a man to glimpse an ankle lest he be engulfed with lust. The devotion to modesty carried into the language which termed human legs as limbs and into decor which sometimes required shielding furniture legs from view.
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