2008 May | Tucson Tiques Antiques Collectables

Archive for May, 2008

Cloche Hats

Some popular styles of vintage hats were the Cloche hats, Breton, Big Brim, Swinger, and the Off The Face hats.What are vintage clothes, purses, and jewelry without the vintage hats? For several hundred years before the twentieth century hats were associated with the elite classes. Hats were originally used as strictly functional item to shield the wearer from the heat of the day.

Straw hats first appeared in Classical Europe. The popularity of the wide, floppy hats was during the Civil War. Later, in the early 1920s, women wore straw hats with wide brims turned up to one side and as flattering, practical, and romantic apparel for women. Original handmade hats in fine straws and felts for general and special occasion. Some hatters had a line of tailored hats, and by the early twentieth-century, some hatters specialized in millinery.

In the late 50s and early 60s woman wore hats that were highly decorated with flowers, ribbons, beads, and feathers. Jacqueline Kennedy was stylish in her famous pillbox hats. A woman would not think of going to church without wearing a hat. In the early 70s women were covering their heads with mantillas.

Hats have definitely evolved over the years. No longer just a favorite of the fashion collector, straw hats are appearing as props for home decorators too.