Guest Author - Norma Shephard

The One Year Hat-a-Day Project

Hats changed my life, and continue to affect it. In fact my life is largely about hats, which is why I have embarked upon a one year, hat-a-day project on the Mobile Millinery Museum & Costume Archive blog site at www.thehatmuseum.org. As director of the museum, so many new and vintage hats pass through my fingers in a year that I thought it would be fun to take readers on a tour of our archives, one hat at a time.

There is no denying the power of costume, particularly hats. “Hats empower and give people confidence,” says Jeanne Beker, longtime host of Fashion Television. Couture Milliner Philip Treacy believes hats are a symbol of positivity. “When you meet somebody, you meet their face, not their leg or their arm,” says Treacy. “It’s the most potent part of the body to decorate.

During the Second World War in Britain, Canada, and U.S., hats were one of the few items not rationed. After some debate in the Canadian Parliament, it was determined that hats are a spirit booster. The same is true today. They are the icing on the cake, the cherry on the ice cream, the finishing touch to an ensemble. At least they were throughout the great age of millinery c.1770 – 1970. During the latter third of the twentieth century millinery fell into a decline however —for a number of very good reasons, not the least of which was the women’s liberation movement. The great number of social imperatives around the wearing a hat was oppressive, and despite hat makers’ efforts to keep the industry alive, people all but stopped wearing them. In fact, today, there is an entire generation of young women who have never worn a fashion hat.

But the tide is turning, which is why I will feature both new and historic hats in my One Year, Hat-a-Day project. Hats are back, and they are back in a big way. With the social imperatives dispensed with, women are free to wear the hat of their choice with the outfit of their choice. It gives me great joy to see old hats worn in new ways, but it is interesting, if not important to understand how the vintage millinery treasures that girls are picking up at thrift shops and antique stores today were originally worn. The history of millinery is a fascinating story closely tied to our social history and our self image.

I hope you will follow the One Year Hat-a-Day project and have some fun with the hats that pass your way. 1,000 of the over 2500 hats in the archives of the Mobile Millinery Museum are showcased in my book, 1,000 Hats.