There was a time when a lady would not want to be seen leaving her house without a hat on. This was standard decorum in a time when hat-wearing was considered not only modest, but also an important way to keep dust and grime from one’s delicate locks. Head coverings for women had been known around the world since ancient times, but even as the world advanced women’s hats remained a steady source of income for haberdashers and milliners. The rise of industry was one factor as the smoke and pollution from factories covered cities and made ladies even more cautious of their hair. But, it also gave women more choices in terms of hat bases, trims, faux flowers, and a variety of other adornments. Along with this increase in available decorations came a one-upping in terms of fashion.
Women’s hats grew to enormous sizes around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, leaving many to wonder when it would end. The plumage needed for some of these incredible hats led to overhunting and actually forced some species of birds into extinction. In some cases entire taxidermy birds were displayed on the hats.
There was also an outrage over the height of women’s hats in being worn in theaters and this continued when moving pictures increased the occasions when women wore their hats inside. Many a woman might need to wear a slimmer hat to avoid obscuring the view of those behind her, but in the many theaters simply banned hats. Unlike men’s hat culture, women were usually not inclined to remove their hats once they entered a building. The time and care it took to place the hat just so on top of a perfectly-coiffed updo and then secure it with hatpins made this impractical at best to do each time she went inside. As such the hat a woman wore might be part of her ensemble for the entire day and needed to be quite stylish.
It was only in the years that followed World War I that women’s hats began to shrink in size. This was not only a matter of fashion stepping into the streamlined look of the era, though that certainly played a role. But, large hats were cumbersome to wear and as women entered the workforce large hats became less practical.
In the 1920s smaller-brimmed hats became popular, often with wrinkling of silk for the band and sometimes adorned with flowers or rhinestones or even painted as seen below.
The 1930s brought the cloche hat with its slim design that swooped down to cover the ears and even partially obscure the vision depending on the style. These hats were fitted close to the head and emphasized the tight curls, bobs, and simple updos that were popular at the time.
In the 1940s a sense of drama returned to ladies fashion as menswear-inspired looks led to big shoulder pads and big hair to match. To go with this the perfect hat would match ones shoes or purse and would let the big hair be on full display.
The Good Neighbor policy influenced fashion and large hats that resembled sombreros were in for a time as well.
In the 1950s hats became more reserved and often were brimless, but with beading, ribbons, or a small (practically unusable) veil that harkened back to the more romantic hats of the Gibson Girl era.
In the 1960s hats for women become less common, but at the same time there was more variety than ever. One look that was wildly popular was the pillbox hat, named due its small, tight appearance on the head as if someone had placed a small box up there and secured it with a few bobby pins. Jackie Kennedy made this hat famous, but when tastes changed these hats went out the window almost overnight.
In the early part of the decade bucket style hats with tall crowns were in, but by the beginning of the 1970s functional sun hats or hats for cold weather were the only styles some women wore. The idea that one needed a hat (and gloves) to look presentable was over and instead casual and unisex fashions became more common.
Today the formal hats we grew up with are gone for all but the most honored occasions such as weddings and ceremonies of state. But, the fancy designs and elegant hats of the old days linger in our collective memory- a symbol of just how fashionable many ladies once dressed.
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