A short History of Pompoms:

Pompoms have been around for a very long time. A Viking statuette of the god Frey has been uncovered and can be viewed here sporting a pompom but this may not be the first thing you notice and maybe don’t click through if you may be offended or in work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rällinge_statuette

A good history of the pompom can be seen here. There is some Internet controversy over the original purpose of a pompom with our preferred explanation being that if offered some level of protection to sailors from bumps on the head. Other explanations are that they may have been purely decorative or that they were a means of using up left over yarn.

They became fashionable and could be seen on many military uniforms in the 1800s and are still retained on some dress uniforms to this day.

Linking back to our visit to Athens earlier this year we saw members of the Greek military parading in shoes with pompoms.

In the modern era they have become less common but can be seen as a hat and hair hair accessory but rarely on other clothing.