#evening hat

[thisgreatdamnednight]

1923 to 1929 evening hat

cherseymuseum.org

[professorpski]

The Bird Hat: 1930s Evening Fun

This hat is so wonderfully whimsical that it announces the wearer is out for a good time. It would not be possible to wear such a hat and not have people strike up a conversation about it, along with many witty bird-related remarks.

1st Dibs dates it to the 1930s and details all the different materials used in making it up. The fabric of the hat is gold lamé, possibly stiffened with some sizing, which was then clearly draped over a stiff foundation of buckram so that all the soft swirls and folds would stay in place. Over the lame is copper netting. Perched on the hat is a hand-carved wooden bird with a translucent carved tail which they label as “calinoid” which means nothing to the Oxford English Dictionary, so maybe they mean some kind of early plastic? of which there were many? in any case, this bird sports a cascading tail of feathers which are dyed and then heated and shaped to curl ever so nicely around the back of the head and down around the chin. Just waiting for a pretty face to flatter.

This is one of those charming, playful evening hats which make my students sigh for the days when you could wear a hat out at night without feeling self-conscious about it. And yes, they literally sigh over these things. It was only in the late 1950s when big hair arrived and in the 1960s when all rules of dress formality got dumped by the young Baby Boomers that women’s hats disappeared from everyday life. Except for the Kentucky Derby and royal weddings.

You can find this one online here: https://www.1stdibs.com/fashion/accessories/hats/1930s-gold-lame-sculpted-perch-hat-bird-feather-accent/id-v_9575932/

[fashionsfromhistory]

Evening Hat

Gellert Sisters Millinery Importers

c.1905

The MET

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Evening hat, 1957, USA.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Evening cloche hat, 1920s.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Evening bonnet, 1802, USA.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Evening hat, 1920, USA.

[ephemeral-elegance]

Pearl Beaded Evening Cap, ca. 1885

via The Met