Vintage Womens 1920s and 1930s Hats

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After the enormous headpieces of the early 20th century, women's hats of the 1920s and '30s followed the general shift in fashion toward slimmer and more streamlined styles. The spread of motorcars and women’s increasing freedom of movement,...
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After the enormous headpieces of the early 20th century, women's hats of the 1920s and '30s followed the general shift in fashion toward slimmer and more streamlined styles. The spread of motorcars and women’s increasing freedom of movement, everywhere from sporting activities to the dance floor, helped popularize lighter, more practical hats. Shorter bobbed haircuts also allowed for closer-fitting headgear. While the cloche hat was launched in 1917, these bell-shaped hats with small brims became closely identified with the flapper look of the 1920s. Often made from straw, felt, or silk, cloche hats included minimal trim—usually just a simple band of ribbon or a discreet brooch. Other popular styles included wide-brimmed Pamela hats with floral attachments, small caps with oversized bows, turbans, and floppy capelines. During the years of the Great Depression, milliners got creative to imitate the over-the-top style emphasized in escapist Hollywood films. While expensive materials like mink or leopard fur were on trend, most women couldn’t afford such luxuries, and many everyday hats shrunk to miniature proportions, balanced on the head at a jaunty downward angle. Vintage hats of the 1930s were often even sleeker than their forebears, lacking brims entirely and positioned at a tilt over one eye to complement the trendy bias-cut dress. Squared pillboxes, halo hats, and facial veils were all in vogue, as well as more surreal-shaped headgear envisioned by designers like Schiaparelli and Bes-Ben.

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