Humans have covered their heads since time immemorial. Initially headwear offered protection from the elements and from injury from falling rocks,
weapons or masonry. Later head coverings became symbols of status of
authority. Soon after hats progressed to become not only a uniform, but also an art form.
In fashion terms, hats are a very noticeable accessory because the onlooker’s
attention is first drawn to the face. A hat is the most noticeable
fashion item anyone can wear. The old saying goes 'if you want to get
ahead and get noticed, then get a hat'. Indeed the word 'ahead' means just
that one head further forward.
Since some body heat is lost through the head, in
inclement conditions it is important to cover the head. Babies in particular
lose heat rapidly through the head, thus ensuring a baby or toddler has a warm
covered head in winter is important.
Millinery has existed in Britain since 1700. In English courts the term
milliner was used and this was derived from the term for travelling
haberdashers from Milan in Italy. These travelling sales people sold all
the items necessary to dress and were called millaners.
In France hats were made by hatmakers called chapeliers.
Today the term modiste is used in France. Today technically a hatmaker
makes hats for men whilst a milliner makes hats for women.
Running parallel to these hat making arts were feather
workshops or more correctly workshops called plumassiers where feathers were
dyed and made into arrangements from boas to aigrettes to tufts and sprays
for both the worlds of fashion and interiors. Plumes have always been a
status symbol and sign of economic stability.
Fortunes were paid by rich individuals for exotic feathered hats.
Gorgeous feathered hats could command as much as £100 in the early Edwardian
era. The
Edwardians were masters in the art of excess and the flamboyant hats of the
era are a clear example of this.
At one point whole stuffed birds were used to decorate hats, but as the new
more enlightened century emerged, protests were voiced. In America the
Audubon society expressed concern and in England the RSPB (Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds) campaigned for ecological understanding.
Eventually plumage pleas were heard and Queen Alexandra
forbad the wearing of rare osprey feathers at court so that the osprey bird
was not plundered for feathers. For a few years magazines quietly
ignored making reference to feathers on hats as women continued to wear them.
But soon the use of other rare bird feathers was banned and thereafter only
farmed feathers could be used and only from specific birds.
Etiquette and formality have played their part in hat
wearing. At the turn of the 20th century in 1900,
both men and women changed their hats
dependant on their activity, but for many ladies of some social standing it
would be several times a day.
»
Etiquette articles suggest that it would
be A disgraceful act to venture out of the house without a hat or even gloves.
One record tells of a young lady venturing out to post a letter without her
hat and gloves and being severely reprimanded for not being appropriately
dressed. The post box was situated a few yards from her front garden
gate.
In the Edwardian age it did not matter if you were poor or rich, old or a
child, whatever the status a person wore a hat, only beggars went bareheaded.
Even militant suffragettes did not campaign without a hat. The hat would be
fairly functional in style and form, but a hat was still worn.
Once the Great War of 1914-18 began, fashion was influenced by the new wartime employment
activities women had to engage in and the need for more practical utilitarian
dress could not help but filter into what there was of mainstream fashion. Uniforms were everywhere as women did jobs once done by men and every job had
a distinct uniform.
Right - 1918 Military Influenced Hat
Before the Great War being in service as servants was the usual employment for most
women as housemaids, cooks or seamstresses. Choice had opened up in the last
two decades and slowly some had become shop workers at the new emerging
department stores and the more technically minded had become stenographers or
telephonists. Women began to seriously participate in sports and needed
clothes to move freely. Fashion adapted to their needs providing outfits for
golf, climbing, skating, dancing, keep-fit, swimming and cycling.
You can read about hat fashion of the 1900-1920 era
here.
Then when the Second World War 1939-45 started, hats
became less practical as people had to rush to air raid shelters and they
would literally drop everything. Barriers
of etiquette became broken down and although hats were not rationed in order
to boost morale their wearing decreased.
Hats that were worn were generally
practical and often homemade knitted warm hats, berets and hoods. Fast hats
were formed as women tied headscarves into an instant hat such as a turban. Designers
produced various new styles, but many only became universally popular after
the war finished. You can read about hat fashion of the 1930s
here.
As the years have passed hats have slowly lost favour,
even for weddings and worship with only a proportion of the congregations
donning them. They have never been worn universally since the 1920s.
They were popular again in the 1980s for weddings and special occasions after
the Princess of Wales, Diana used them to add a sense of sophistication to
her persona in the early days of her marriage. Once she found her
confidence she abandoned hats for most occasions.
Hats when worn today are either worn for a special dressy
occasion such as a wedding or conversely as casual statement attire in the
way that caps might be worn the wrong way around. Functional hats are
still used by uniformed workers for corporate identity or protection as well
as by many individuals in inclement weather. Individuals wear fur hats
or simple fleece beanie hats in very cold weather and use sunhats in very
sunny weather. Those who cannot bear a hat unwittingly adopt a hat form
built into a garment, as in a hoodie casual zip top.
It is unlikely that the hat will ever die as an accessory
as it offers far too much potential for drawing attention to the face.
Fashion designers are aware of this and every so often exploit this fact in
the hope that fashion followers will adopt the hat. In the world of logos,
branding and status symbols the hat is an easy and usually less costly item
to purchase from a design house and can make them a great deal of money if a
particular item catches the imagination of the public. Often it
advertises the company name.
Unfortunately the fact that a hat being relatively small
is more easily affordable by the masses, means that every so often an item
like the Burberry cap found itself eventually banned from certain social
venues as it became associated with poor street and pub and club behaviour.
Recently Burberry withdrew this hat in order to disassociate itself from
those who wore it as a uniform that gave the message bad boys!
Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.
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