Vintage Hats & Bonnets 1770-1970: Identification & Values

by Susan Langley

For centuries the hat has reflected the mood of its wearer and the spirit of its time. Hats are the crowning glory, the pinnacle, the grand finale of an outfit. Through history, when times were good, a joyous hat was a triumphant banner - when times were desperate, a brave hat could raise spirits. Vintage Hats & Bonnets is a time machine that follows the evolution of fashion from 1770 to 1970. The chapters are organized by decades and each has an historical overview, fashion overview, and hat descriptions, including information on materials, milliners, and designers of the day. Plus there's information on care, repair, and proper storage of hats. Just a few of the famous designers portrayed are Fortuny, Pengat, Patou, Olanvin, Paquin, Lelong, Schiaperelli, and Mary McFadden. 2004 values.

Genres: Fashion, History, Nonfiction, Fashion History

404 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Awjtf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting history of hats.

[Alessandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collector's guides are often more useful to costumers than costuming books are. Vintage Hats & Bonnets 1770 - 1970 by Susan Langley certainly is useful. It has plenty of color photographs of surviving and antique hats -- and if there are only a half-dozen or so pre-1800, that's still not bad, particularly since there are abundant color reproductions of fashion plates and paintings to help place the hats in context.

As one goes forward in time, of course, more and more hats survive. The first quarter of the book goes to about 1870, the next quarter to 1900, the next to 1930, and finally to 1970. So there is a pretty good distribution.

This is the sort of rich, detailed treasurehouse of information which warms a costumer's heart. Recommended for anybody with an interest in historical hats.