Cocktail Umbrellas - Foto stock

Cocktail umbrellas used as a skirt for a shop window display in London, UK.A cocktail umbrella is a small umbrella or parasol made from paper, cardboard, and a toothpick, intended to be of the appearance of a small umbrella, and is used as a garnish or decoration in cocktails, desserts or other food and beverages.As the cocktail umbrella became a popular item in the 1930s, gang leaders in ghetto neighbourhoods adopted the idea of placing them in their drinks as well as tucking them behind their ears, each using different coloured umbrellas to state which gang they were affiliated with. This was particularly popular in the United States and spun off into gangs creating their own cocktail umbrellas to set themselves apart. The practice became less common after the mid 1960's when using a regular toothpick was regarded as a more imposing object.