BONNETS ON!
Whatever spring holiday you’re observing (if any!), they mean different things to different people. But there’s one thing New Yorkers can agree on: Easter also means the Parade on Fifth Avenue.
No one seems to have an exact date for the first time some fashionable lady New Yorkers put on pretty hats and went for a promenade outside their church, but it apparently grew out of an earlier tradition. Many of the biggest and most socially prominent churches in town would put up extravagant floral decorations for Easter, and eventually, folks would walk from their own building to the next, to see what the other faithful had done.
It’s only a short step (sorry!) from there to an official promenade.
By the 1890s, it wasn’t just for fun or showing off. It was a big economic engine for the City’s fashion industry too. Even as the ladies strolled through the finer areas of town, department stores, milliners and more would show off their nicest spring wares.
If you’re getting a Fashion Week vibe, I won’t argue!
In the early 19th century, Easter was primarily a religious holiday, marked with joyful – but relatively quiet – family and church celebrations. (So was Passover – a whole different post!) But with the help of the New York Easter Parade and similar events, it became a key date on the shopping calendar, as the point where everyone wanted to show off their spring fashions. Shopkeepers and the new, growing department stores were more than happy to oblige.
While we associate the Irving Berlin song with the event, it was very much a late add: the song was part of a 1933 Broadway revue, and was later used in the famous scene in the movie Meet Me in Saint Louis featuring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. If you’ve seen the film, it’s no accident that they’re wearing 1890s clothes; yes, the film is set in that time period, but that never stopped a Hollywood costumer who wanted to make a point. The Easter Parade outfits are a deliberate celebration of the event’s heyday.
Even today, the parade is very similar to the earlier versions. It’s not an organized march like many other New York celebrations, but rather just a chance for people to put on their goofy hats and wander around on Fifth Avenue, which is closed near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. For a lot of New Yorkers, it’s just fun to come out and watch the scene.
Of course, during Covid, the scene was online. The Easter Parade, like so many other big New York traditions, kept the party going virtually.
As for Ella Shane, even though she’s a proud New Yorker, and generally throws herself into every City celebration with glee, she’s probably not going to be found wandering down Fifth Avenue in a fancy bonnet. She and her cousin Tommy might well go out to have a look – and Ella would definitely enjoy seeing all the new fashions for spring. But Ella gets quite enough attention onstage, and has no need to seek out any more.
Besides, her reporter friend Hetty MacNaughten would never forgive her for celebrating hats!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
No one seems to have an exact date for the first time some fashionable lady New Yorkers put on pretty hats and went for a promenade outside their church, but it apparently grew out of an earlier tradition. Many of the biggest and most socially prominent churches in town would put up extravagant floral decorations for Easter, and eventually, folks would walk from their own building to the next, to see what the other faithful had done.
It’s only a short step (sorry!) from there to an official promenade.
By the 1890s, it wasn’t just for fun or showing off. It was a big economic engine for the City’s fashion industry too. Even as the ladies strolled through the finer areas of town, department stores, milliners and more would show off their nicest spring wares.
If you’re getting a Fashion Week vibe, I won’t argue!
In the early 19th century, Easter was primarily a religious holiday, marked with joyful – but relatively quiet – family and church celebrations. (So was Passover – a whole different post!) But with the help of the New York Easter Parade and similar events, it became a key date on the shopping calendar, as the point where everyone wanted to show off their spring fashions. Shopkeepers and the new, growing department stores were more than happy to oblige.
While we associate the Irving Berlin song with the event, it was very much a late add: the song was part of a 1933 Broadway revue, and was later used in the famous scene in the movie Meet Me in Saint Louis featuring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. If you’ve seen the film, it’s no accident that they’re wearing 1890s clothes; yes, the film is set in that time period, but that never stopped a Hollywood costumer who wanted to make a point. The Easter Parade outfits are a deliberate celebration of the event’s heyday.
Even today, the parade is very similar to the earlier versions. It’s not an organized march like many other New York celebrations, but rather just a chance for people to put on their goofy hats and wander around on Fifth Avenue, which is closed near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. For a lot of New Yorkers, it’s just fun to come out and watch the scene.
Of course, during Covid, the scene was online. The Easter Parade, like so many other big New York traditions, kept the party going virtually.
As for Ella Shane, even though she’s a proud New Yorker, and generally throws herself into every City celebration with glee, she’s probably not going to be found wandering down Fifth Avenue in a fancy bonnet. She and her cousin Tommy might well go out to have a look – and Ella would definitely enjoy seeing all the new fashions for spring. But Ella gets quite enough attention onstage, and has no need to seek out any more.
Besides, her reporter friend Hetty MacNaughten would never forgive her for celebrating hats!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
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James wrote: "As always a fascinating essay on the historical origin of one of society's traditions.Thank you, Kathleen."
Thank YOU!
Thank you, Kathleen.