Hats Off to History1920-1960

Liz Haeuptle

Curator of Collections

Elkhart County Historical Museum

20th Century Millinery

• Millinery, versus hat making, is the designing and manufacture of ladies’ hats

• Women’s hat can be traced back to the mid-Victorian era in 1865 to its near demise due to the “cultural revolution,” circa 1965

• Driven by the fashion industry during the 20th

century• Divided into three types of businesses:

– Home shops/parlors– Stores/department store sections– Wholesalers

• The glory days, 1935 – 1946

Fashion Industry

• French fashion was the inspiration for American dress throughout the formative years of the U.S., and well into the 20th century

• Paris millinery designs created patterns that were often copied by women and other designers all over the world (couture houses): – Coco Channel

– Dior

– Chanel

• Films & celebrities

The Earliest Hats

• Made of straw or felt

• Initially deemed as practical and moral necessity:

– Protection from heat or cold

– Notion that a modest woman must cover her head persisted into the mid-20th century

• 1800s, women kept their hair covered at all times

• 18th century, the bonnet was headgear of choice in Europe and a classic choice during westward expansion in America

20th Century Style Selection

• Women carefully chose their hats to balance their silhouette and enhance an ensemble

• Hats were an extension of the dress or suit, and often incorporated the same colors and trimmings

Hatpins

• Hatpins purchased with "pin money” have survived in great numbers

• Worn two or three at a time

• Kept handy on the dressing table in special holders

• 1920s, grew in importance with costume jewelry

• Matched brooches

• The heyday was between the 1880's and 1920’s, after which hair styles became short and the hats became smaller making the pins unnecessary

Activity

• Take a close look at each hat that is displayed

• What style it is?

• What year does it represent?

• You can only use the date and hat style once

1920: Cloche• Klosh ( French word for bell )• Soft style of the 1920's• Fashioned from a hood of

chiffon or handkerchief felt• Covered the head to the neck

in back; it came to the eyebrows in front

• A flapper age, boyish style (garçonne in French)

1920: Inspiration

• Paris set the trend and was the fashion powerhouse

• Millinery fueled by a new development –coordinated accessories

• Early 1920s was a mishmash that seemed to operate under the slogan “Anything goes”

• Smaller hats evolved represented by both the cloche and the flapper hairstyles

• What went up in the 1920s came down in 1928 –hemlines and hairstyles

1920: Fashion

• Women often wore 3 hats a day, from small and chic to elaborately decorated hats in the evening

• The hats had a lightweight quality, since they were built on a delicate base of horsehair, stiffened lace, or woven straw

• The classic cloche hat dominated the decade, but wide-brimmed hats flourished simultaneously

1920: Materials & Decor

• Braided straw

• Wool

• Crepe fabrics

• Ribbon (trim)

• Horsehair

• Stiffened lace

• Woven straw

• Felt

• Furs

• Color palates

• Geometric prints

1920: Hats

• Popover hat

• Cloche

• Brimless towering topper (helmet variation of the cloche)

• Big droopy brimmed chapeau

• Gigolo

• Cartwheels

• Sports hats

1920: Brimless Towering Topper

• May also be referred to as a Fez

• Belonged to Goldie Greenawalt – office manager at The Style Shop on North Main Street in Elkhart

– The shop became Newmans around 1970

• She purchased all the millinery for the shop from Chicago & NY

1920: Droopy Brimmed Chapeau • Chapeau (sha po): French word for outdoor head covering. A chapeau has a crown and a brim. • Nape-hugging • Crepe fabrics

1930: Grosgrain Chapeau • Grosgrain (gro gran): A matte-

finish, ribbed ribbon• Chapeau (sha po): French

word for outdoor head covering. A chapeau has a crown and a brim.

1930: Inspiration

• Age of Elegance

• Continuing conformity (headwear for morning, noon, & night)

• Fashion became more flexible

– Early: Fashion stole from history & foreign countries

– Late: Abandoned historical references – surrealism

• American milliners started to flex their muscles

• Depression dictated millinery designs

• The threat of war in Europe

1930: Fashion

• Over the top decoration & style!

• Fearless & bold with accessories

• The hand knit depression hat, madcap, broke down fashion rules

• Early 30s fashion introduced Mae West as the female inspiration (“She Done Him Wrong”)

• Hats brandished spectacular trims, colors, & shapes – exaggerated silhouettes

1930: Materials & Decor

• Veiling

• Fur

• Ostrich feathers

• Jewel toned fabric

• Felt

• Velvet

• Antelope

• Clashing color

• Fruit

• Vegetables

• Shells

• Nuts

• Ribbons

• Scarves

• Bands

1930: Hats

• Madcap

• Grosgrain chapeau

• Empress Eugénie

• Scap cap

• Straw topper

• Wrapped crown

• Itsy-bitsy (fancy dress)

• Turbans

• Beret (grew in size)

1930: Beret

1930: Empress Eugénie•Style of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III•Debuted in 1931•Trimmed with ostrich feather •Highly criticized

1930: Empress Eugénie

• The Lava Soap radio program paid snide poetic tribute:

Here’s to the Princess Eugénie,

That sits on the side of my beanie;

My husband laughs,

The big giraffe,

Don’t you think he’s a meanie?

Here’s to the Princess Eugénie,

Over one ear it does leanie;

By covering one ear,

Don’t you see, my dear,

You have only one ear to cleanie!

1940: Beret• Simple• One-note ornament – rooster tail plumage • Characteristic of late 40s

1940: Inspiration

• WWII changed the means and the mode of millinery

• Restrictions

– Materials were limited (except flowers)

• Couture houses went into isolation, until 1945, and American fashion had a chance to show some spunk

• American fashion was made up of equal parts – patriotism & Hollywood design

1940: Fashion

• Limited materials (silk, wool, & leather)

• Intricate handmade accessories made up for the lack of first-class materials

• 30s hats fell out of favor, because they weren’t male bait. Vogue wrote,

“The way not to look this year is hard, sharp, cold, even bold. It’s out because the men can’t bear it. The new hats are not crazy, zany, don’t-let-your-husband-see-it-hats…they are the Lady Hats.”

• “Ad-libbed” style

• Signs of “hatlessness”

1940: Materials & Decor

• Flowers (unrestricted)

• Cotton

• Kerchiefs

• Scarves

• Upholstery fringe

• Cork

• Shells

• Wild color palettes

• Raffia & starched cotton lace (substitute for straw)

• Rabbit fur & skim milk = felt

• Luminescence (fashionable during the blackouts)

1940: Hats

• Easter Bonnet

• Hand-knits

• Turban (wrapped head)

• Hat-with-a-scarf

• Capbots

• Giddy toppers

• Mermaid cap

• Beret (simple)

1940: Beret

1950: Toque• Toque: is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all•Straw• Veiling•Represents aerospace look

1950: Inspiration

• Increase in ornate hairdos, causal lifestyle, and diversity

• Wedding of Grace Kelly & play My Fair Lady

• Dresses inspired hat designs

• Late 50s, millinery “brain fatigue” & hat wearing code was under review

• 50s stands as the millinery twilight, the last great decade of hat wearing

• Introduction of hairspray & rattail comb– Beauty aid increased 280% from 1954-57, while hat

sales slumped 31%

1950: Fashion

• Trimming was abundant that the clothing lacked

• Face-framing styles

• Cloche reintroduced – fixture for the rest of the decade

– Hybrids were introduced

• 1955, extreme shapes evolved – “hattier” hats

• Bulk without weight fabrics

• Color was used with a bold new freedom

1950: Materials & Decor

• Teddy bear cloth

• Fleeces

• Shaggy/knobby wools

• Feathers

• Tiny mirrors

• Ball fringe

• Braid

• Glass jet

• Rhinestones

• Beads & pearls

• Flowers

• Veiling

• Straw

• Raffia

• Terry cloth

• Linen

• Printed fabrics

1950: Hats

• Toque

• Pillbox

• Head-hug-ging hats

• Mushroom

• Cloche hybrids

• Greenery

• Big hats:– Flying saucer

– Platter

– Deep dish casserole

• Terry cloth or linen kerchiefs

• Bonnets– Boozing bonnet

• Fabric hat

• Bubble-turban

• Wig-toques

• Veiling

• Beehive

1950: Greenery

• Circlet of greenery represented “bulk without weight”

1960: Pillbox• Small cap• Flat crown• Straight sides• Made popular by Jackie Kennedy

1960: Inspiration

• “Youthquake”

• Selling & purchasing changed

• Jackie Kennedy – coordinated costume

• Space age

• Romanticism of Far East

• Traditional fashion vs. “streetwear”

• Masculine inspiration

• Unisex hippie-inspired (flower power) hattery

• Beatles

• Travel-by-jet mania

1960: Fashion

• Early 60s clung to styles set in 1950s

• Late 60s hats had become mere lampshades

• “Name” milliners branched out into clothing

• Hairdressers replace milliners as chief head decorators

• Wigs, falls, switches, and hairpieces replaced hats

• Ready-to-wear lines revolutionized fashion

1960: Material & Decor

• Straw

• Felt

• Organdy

• Silk

• Tulle

• Wool

• Fur (mink)

• Chiffon

• Patched fabrics & colors

• Reptiles: cobra, water snake, alligator/crocodile

• Suede

• Flowers

1960: Hats

• Straw beehive

• Cotton bubble

• Pillbox

• Helmet hat

• Wig hat

• Fur hat

• Knit cap

• Cloche

• Cosmonaut casques

• Baby bonnet

• Scarf hat

• Triangular silk scarf

• Turban

• Hood

• Postiche

• Beatles cap

1960: Pillbox

Designers

• Notable hatters & labels:

– Lilly Daché (1898 – 1989) was a French milliner and fashion designer

– Mr. John (1902 –1993) was an American milliner. According to the New York Times, "in the 1940s and 1950s, the name Mr. John was as famous in the world of hats as Christian Dior was in the realm of haute couture".

How to care for your felt hat:

• Handle your hat by the brim. (Do not pinch the crown to pick it up as this will result in misshapen crowns and may split the felt.)

• Do not rest your hat on its brim. Turn it upside down and set it on the crown, so that the brim doesn't flatten out.

• Clean your hat regularly using a soft bristle brush or a hat sponge. Brush counter clockwise with the nap, starting at the bow.

• If you get caught in the rain, turn the sweatband out and let the hat stand on the crown until dry.

• Do not apply direct heat to your hat as this will cause it to shrink and/or lose its shape.

• Store your hat in a hat box to help keep it clean and looking new.

How to care for your straw hat:

• Do not get your straw hat wet. This will cause the straw to swell and lose its shape.

• Handle your hat by its brim. Don not pinch the crown, this will result in cracked straw and misshapen crowns.

• Do not rest your straw hat on its brim. Turn it upside down and set it on the crown, so that the brim doesn't flatten out.

• Dust your new straw hat with a soft bristled brush to keep it clean.

• Keep your hat stored in a cool dry place in a hat box to help it retain its shape and stay clean.