High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A barber`s pole is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft. The trade sign is, by a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a helix of colored stripes (usually red, white, and blue in the United States; often red and white in other countries). The pole may be stationary or may revolve, often with the aid of an electric motor.