Vintage Hats
to exhibit
2003
One can only theorize what the original reason or reasons were for the invention of the hat. Warmth, status, and attractiveness to the opposite sex were, more than likely, a few of the rationalities behind the appearance of the hat.
Dress fashion,
hairstyles, and history greatly influenced the design of hats and bonnets.
The difference between a hat and a bonnet is that bonnets tie under the chin
and hats do not. The earliest of the 39 hats in the exhibit is a c. 1770
1800 green silk calash bonnet.
.
the hat has
reflected not only the mood of its wearer, but the spirit of its time. Hats
were the crowning glory, the pinnacle, the grand finale of an outfit!"
Susan Langley
Return now, for a short time, to the not too distant past when fashion dictated that a lady would not have left the house without a hat and gloves. Enjoy your stroll through the history of two centuries of chapeaux!