A Jaunty Cap by Sally Victor in 1943
This wool cap was designed by Sally Victor who trained up in millinery by working in a shop run by her aunt. She sold hats at Macy’s and then became the head buyer for millinery at another store. Then she married a fellow, last name of Victor--thus giving her the snappy name she was known by--who headed a millinery company. Sally Victor became their chief designer. By the 1930s, she was putting her name on her hats, and then she opened her own store in 1934.
She was known for her innovations and you can see here how she played with the wool cap. Usually, a cap is a simple men’s hat, worn by working-class men and men in the countryside who need something to keep them warm that isn’t fussy, and to keep the sun a bit out of their eyes with a small brim. Victor tips the black brim up on one side here, then slants a pea green slice of wool underneath, and trims the beige top with black and pea green. I imagine it worn with a checked wool sporstwear suit, the check mostly beige and black, perhaps with flecks of pea green in its tweedy threads?
Like men’s caps, it is a practical shape, despite the whimsy of the design. In 1943, America was a war and women walked more and took more buses as gasoline was rationed, so this was a good blend of style and practicality. It’s warm and it will stay on the head in a fall breeze like those that have just started up where I live.
You can find this and other work by Sally Victor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s costume collection: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/168657?=&imgno=1&tabname=object-information