Why is there white fringe on the front of a Westy top?

Those efficient Germans seem to have done very little to our buses that would be considered pure form without some sort of function. So little, in fact, that the frivolous whimsical nature of that damn fringe makes it stick out like dog ballz.
I am convinced that that fringe actually did something, but what could it be?
Did it catch rainwater and cause it to drip away from the canvas?
Did it help create a better seal when the top is down?
Any ideas?

 

i've often wondered about its function. (sorry i can't help, but am interested to know, even though i don't have a westy)

 

Funny enough we were discussing this at Dubs in the Forest as Bagheads Westfalia was the only one with it. We came to the conclusion that we had no idea what purpose it served.

 

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks it must actually do something.
Maybe it really is purely ornamental.
I'll be replacing mine in any case. It's only like $3 at any fabric store.

 

Mine aint got one, did they all have them when new?
Can you buy them new?

 

Isn't that the hippy optional extra?

 

would it not be to stop the rain from running down the underside of the lid and rusting the hinges, therefore dripping it down the front of the canvas??

 

As flouncy as Wilma is, one of the first things to go was that fringing! It was vile and moldy and it has never been replaced

I think the design team must have had a thought like, 'Yeah it's a bit masculine with that poo brown formica so slap a bit of that curtain fringe up there for the girls.'

 

I'm surprised Wilma Moira hasn't crocheted a new frill for Big Wilma. And with this idea I'm wondering if Julie is now banging her head against the wall for the suggestion

 

It was fitted in memory of a designer at the Westfalia works. Gunther Cutts was something of a celebrity in the factory being an albino with passion for outrageous coiffure, you can thank Herr Cutts for the fringe.


Or alternatively there may be an answer in this flea bay listing

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Westfalia-T2-68-73-Pop-top-canvas-fringe-/120751606968#ht_500wt_689

 

The truth of the matter is actually quite simple.
The designer for Westfalia was a fan of musicals, & knowing that quite a few of his creations would end up in the U.K. decided (wisely in my opinion) to add a little fringe.
This is so when an owner of the said Westfalia was in Surrey, they could sing a showtune.


When I take you out, tonight, with me,
Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be:
You will set behind a team of snow white horses,
In the slickest gig you ever see!

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top!
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters
When I drive them high steppin' strutters.
Nosey pokes'll peek thru' their shutters and their eyes will pop!
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,
The dashboard's genuine leather,
With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,
In case there's a change in the weather.
Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin',
Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin'
You c'n keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keer to swap
Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!