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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Recalling the glorious hats of yesteryear    List Barbara Sutton-Smith Next   Hats and more hats from the 19th and 20th century   By Barbara Sutton-Smith Hats, glorious hats. Those wonderful, sumptuous creations that adorned women's heads in the closing decade of the 19th century and the early 20th century were masterpieces of the milliners' minds.   Their deft fingers combined folds of silk, gathered tulle, trailed feathers, wound rosettes or shirred yards of chiffon or organza over the latest fashionable shapes made of straw, velvet, felt or fur, according to the season.   The crowns, mostly high, were trimmed with one or more of the above and, in addition, a choice of artificial sprays of flowers, wheat stalks, black quills, gold buckles, artificial plumed birds and, of course, ribbons.   Some years, artificial flowers in the most unusual colours would appear, like blue roses, green poppies and red violets.   Brims tilted up some years, folded down others, or a combination of both. On the more lavish creations, these would be in organza, especially those designed in the Paris salons.   They were flattering and delightfully feminine, becoming for the wearer and, of course, picturesque to the onlooker. Millinery extravaganza at its most creative.   Equally important, they were horrendously expensive, but you did get a handsomely monogrammed hatbox.   The shapes and styles changed somewhat in the early 20th century, but the hats still remained large and gorgeous concoctions. No longer did those with limited means have to window gaze, for the latest designed basic shapes and trim could be purchased and those skillful enough were limited only by their imagination. Also, cheaper editions of the Paris and London models were becoming available.   When special mail order millinery catalogues made their appearance, they promised free advice to customers and offered an amazing range of ornamental trimmings. All the previous hat decorations mentioned, plus the addition of coloured veiling, spangles and other latest notions in trim and ornaments, were pictorially displayed in their pages.   Hats were often 24 inches (two feet or 60cms) in width and their balance was as delicate to negotiate as teetering on those slim stiletto heels so fashionable later in the 1950s. The hats were probably safer as they were kept in place with equally fashionable hatpins.   In the closing years of the 20th century, the only evidence of these once fashionable, but outrageous, hats are those found stuffed away in trunks in dusty attics, or hidden away in dark corners of antique shops, faded and squashed, a shadow of their former grandeur.   What grand tales they could tell.   The famous Easter parade of hats is now a tradition, taking place in New York's Central Park, London's Hyde Park, Paris, and various other major cities throughout the world over the Easter holiday.   Some of these designs are fabulous, but theatrical, nevertheless they are reminiscent of a past gracious style. The 1948 film Easter Parade, with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire riding in an open carriage in the Easter parade, is an annual reminder.   It was once considered that to raise a woman's spirits, you bought her a new hat. That is hardly the case today. However, the long unpopular and out-of-fashion hat is now making a gradual comeback. Like most things, leave it long enough and the pendulum swings back.   To see a modern day hat extravaganza, Ladies' Day at Ascot races in Britain is the place to be. These are largely fun, way-out, extreme and head turning.   And, of course, the traditional Easter parades.   Nothing, however, compares to the superb extravagances perched atop ladies' heads in those far off late Victorian and Edwardian days. Barbara Sutton-Smith has been an antiques dealer for 35 years, a freelance writer on antiques, co-compiler of Unitt's Canadian Identification and Price Guides, and former co-owner/editor of Antiques Showcase   Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2010 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster