FIDM Museum Blog

Silk moire bonnet, c. 1845

Bonnet
c. 1845
2008.5.32
Museum Purchase

During the 1840s, headcoverings were an essential part of every women's wardrobe. Inside the home, women often wore delicate, lacy caps which covered the hair and tied under the chin. When venturing out into the world, most American women wore a bonnet made of straw or silk. In the mid-1840s, the fashionable bonnet shape was that seen here: a continuous crown and brim forming a straight line with low tabs covering the cheeks and ears. Embellishment varied, but a bow or puff of ribbons on one side, long ribbon ties at the chin and a "bavolet" were common characteristics. The bavolet, a gathered panel of fabric extending from the lower back of the bonnet, was also functional, providing sun protection for the neck. It also covered and protected the fashionable hairstyle, a knot or twist of hair worn low on the neck. The interior of the bonnet brim often featured additional decoration in the form of artificial flowers, lace or the frilled edges of a house cap peeking out from under the bonnet. Photographic evidence indicates that some women wore fancy house caps under their bonnets, particularly when visiting. The bonnet was removed to reveal the house cap only when entering a home or other appropriate indoor space.

Silver paper headdress, c. 1860

Anyone interested in the history of fashion quickly realizes that fashion is a series of cyclical repetitions. Contemporary silhouettes, colors and design details reference recent and historic styles, often with only slight modifications to bring a garment into the present moment. This cycle isn't new or unique to contemporary culture; documented revivals of historic fashions exist in the nineteenth century and earlier. Fashion historian Barbara Baines has suggested that revivals of historic dress styles are due to a number of factors, including nostalgia and an interest in associating oneself with specific, perceived characteristics of the past. In addition to these psychological factors, concrete events like an archaeological discovery, museum exhibition or period film can inspire a revival of historic styles.¹

Irene Castle dancing cap

Between 1911 and 1917, Irene and Vernon Castle were at the forefront of a "craze" for social dancing. Usually called "modern dance" at the time, social dance was promoted as form of healthy and enjoyable recreation. Accompanied by lively music, social dances were usually given memorable names, such as Turkey Trot, Grizzly Bear and Bunny Hug. Though some conservative thinkers considered the relatively close contact and hectic movements of social dance vulgar, the Castles insisted that "real dancing is not a series of gymnastic contortions...real dancing means graceful measures tripped out to the lilting rhythms of fine music."¹ Irene and Vernon Castle promoted their refined version of social dance through appearances on stage and screen and by opening a nightclub and dancing school in New York.

In 1914, the Castles authored an instruction manual titled Modern Dance. In additional to the detailed descriptions and images depicting dance steps, Irene Castle authored several chapters focusing on appropriate dancing dress for women. Included are suggestions on corset types (the Castle Corset, designed specifically for dancers), shoe types, stocking color and an injunction against over-sized "picture" hats, which are "unpleasant" for dancing.² Though Modern Dance features several images of Irene Castle in large hats, she is also pictured wearing a small, close-fitting cap similar to the crocheted and embroidered cap pictured below.

Castle or Dancing cap
Cotton
c. 1915
2004.5.7
Museum Purchase

Hand painted silk ensemble, c. 1925

Child's "Dainty Blossom" Ensemble
Daisy Stanford
Hand-painted silk
c. 1925
Museum Purchase
2003.5.24A-C

Hand-painted novelties, including dresses, scarves and ribbons, enjoyed a burst of popularity in the teens and twenties. A Paris fashion report from 1913 stated that "hand-painted dresses...are said to be the coming craze at fashionable Summer resorts."¹ This was despite their high price, "which is said to be 40 per cent in excess of the ordinary figure."² In 1924, "painted things," including gowns, gloves, stockings and scarves, were declared "in perfect harmony with the mode of the day and very smart."³

Day ensemble, 1894-1895

In 2006, the FIDM Museum received a large donation of garments and accessories spanning almost 100 years of fashion history. With garments dating from about 1850 to the late 1940s, the objects in this donation provide a window into the evolution of fashionable dress during this period of dramatic change. Moreover, the garments and accessories provide a glimpse into the history of a particular family, as all of the items in the donation were worn by ancestors of the donors. The donor family has roots in the mid-west, with specific connections to St. Louis and Indianapolis. The Indianapolis connection is clearly demonstrated by the interior label inside the skirt of this day ensemble, which reads, "Boyd & Jones, Indianapolis, Ind".

Two-piece day ensemble
1894-1895
Gift of the Manlove Family
2006.870.19AB

1920s cloche

Some of you are probably wondering why we didn't discuss the close-fitting cloche hat featured in our most recent post, 1920s silhouette. Given its iconic status as the IT hat of the 1920s, we thought the cloche deserved its own entry. Though the term cloche was first used to describe a hat with a deep, bell-shaped crown, it soon came to designate all of the streamlined, tight-fitting hats that emerged in the early 1920s. Worn low and straight on the forehead, nearly obscuring the eyebrows, the cloche accentuated and reinforced the streamlined silhouette of the 1920s. Throughout most of the 1920s, the cloche had only the most minimal brim, what one fashion reporter described as "an apology for a brim."¹ 

Cloche
c. 1925
Gift of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
91.789.3

Fashion and feathers

Today, hats are worn primarily on celebratory or festive occasions, but in the 19th century, hats and bonnets were an essential element of every woman's wardrobe. Beginning in the 1890s and continuing until about 1915, many hats were extremely large and served as an ideal canvas on which to display a variety of trimmings, feathers included. Egret, heron, hummingbird, pheasant, ostrich, seagull and peacock were all popular as sources of feathers, though milliners did not limit themselves to these birds alone. As you can see from the image below, creative milliners went far beyond the use of a single elegant plume. Sometimes an entire wing was given pride of place, or even a full bird, as in the example below.

Hat
c. 1905
Purchase
2008.25.17