Hats off to Hats!

Since their invention, hats have come and gone as status symbols, uniforms and fashion statements as well as being functional sports and protective headgear.

Two generations ago, leaving the house without a hat was akin to walking down the street without shoes—and the style of a man’s hat told you a lot about the man who wore it. Well, times have changed, and aside from donning the occasional ball cap to shade the eyes, few men and women wear hats today.

But there is hope. Men’s hats, in particular, are beginning to make a comeback in certain ‘hip’ circles, and hat-wearing trendsetters are again being spotted on the streets.

Hats are ultimately cool, so let’s promote them here.

1

Blue pillbox hat, 1950s-1960s

This vintage blue pillbox hat, from the 1950s or so, is made of felt and has a long veil. It’s labeled Kline’s St. Louis

2

Vintage Linen Cloche Hat with Veil

3

Pink Sequin Vintage Cocktail Hat

Incredible vintage cocktail hat with an open top and veil

4

Red Merrimac Fur Felt Vintage Hat, by Yearrounder

Vintage fur felt hat made by Merrimac, with labels from Yearounder (Magically Smart the Year Round) and Vandervoort’s, a St. Louis, Missouri, Department Store. I believe this is from the 1960s, possibly the 1950s. It has grosgrain ribbon trim around the front half the brim, with a little flap of felt as an embellishment.

5

Sequined and Beaded Vintage Cocktail Hat

This vintage cocktail hat, covered with sequins and beads, was made by Lisette and sold through the Frank R. Jelleff department store, a Washington, DC, landmark for many years.

6

Fuschia Vintage Cocktail Hat, circa 1950s

This vintage cocktail hat from the 1950s is a bandeau style hat covered with fabric that is shaped like flower petals and comes in two colors and textures: hot pink with a shining, satiny finish, and fuschia (a more purplish pink), with a velvety finish.

7

1950s Pink Silk Platter Hat

From the 1950s, this vintage platter hat is made of pink, black, and white silk gathered into pleats around the broad, flat brim, with a smooth flat crown in the middle. The hat is held on the head with wire clips.

8

Navy straw vintage hat

This beautiful straw hat (1960s?) has a tall, flat crown and an asymmetrical brim, larger in the front than in the back. It has a wide navy blue ribbon with a bow in the front. The hat label is May-D&F, a Denver department store that opened in 1957 and closed in 1993 (another victim of Macy’s expansion).

9

Vintage straw hat by Winner

This straw hat, probably 1950s to 1960s, is a soft celery green with a green and pink grosgrain ribbon. It has labels of Winner Original and Vonnie’s, Little Rock.

10

Ab Fab Flower Hat

This lovely tall vintage hat has a small brim of champagne colored silk, a brown velvet ribbon, and then a riot of beige, green, cream, and pink tinged flowers. The flowers are only in fair condition, but I love the shabbiness! The hat has a label from Mr. Milton and the French Room, Stix, Baer & Fuller (a now defunct department store in St. Louis).

11

Vintage Cone Hat

This reminds me of something Myrna Loy would wear–different, absurd, divine. This hat, designed by Lecie, is cone-shaped with a flattened top. It’s made of ivory-colored chiffon, stitched in layers like stairsteps, and with two pert bows off to the side. I don’t know the age, but most of the Lecie hats I’ve seen have been 1950s or 1960s.

12

Vintage Psychedelic Turban

This vintage turban is made of black velvet and a brightly patterned lame fabric–red, pink, turquoise, yellow, green, and black, woven with gold metallic thread. I’m thinking this is from late 1950s to 1960s.

13

Vintage Saks Fifth Avenue Fur Felt Hat

This lovely, from the late 1950s to 1960s, is 100% rabbit fur felt and just gorgeous.

14

Pink Pillbox

This pretty little pillbox hat from the 1950s is made from a lovely bright pink, ribbed fabric. It has an open top decorated with fabric strips, ending in a bow in front. A pink veil with pink chenille dots completes the confection.

15

Vintage Champagne Pillbox Hat

From the stylin’ 50s, a gorgeous pillbox hat with velvet bow, a velvet brim that extends across just half of the hat, a veil, and a “sunroof”–a hole in the top of the hat covered with mesh. The tag reads, Styled by Coralie (a noted and highly collectible hat designer of that era).

16

Vintage Mr John bobbing rose hat

This hat is by Mr. John, one of the millinery glitterati of the last century. He designed hats for movies (including Gone with the Wind), for Dietrich and Monroe, even for Wallace Simpson and Jackie O. A fascinating character. The hat too is hilarious–though Mr. John did even more outrageous ones in his day. The rose is in the front of the hat and bobs as you move your head.

17

Black velvet plateau hat

This plateau hat from the 1950s is made of black velvet with a velvet bow and rhinestone pin at the front. It has two velvet-covered prongs on the underside to hold it on your head.

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from Flickr’s Calloohcallay