Hat Decline After Wars

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.

Plumassiers

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

Origin of Milliners

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.

Why We Wear Hats

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.