Woman's Hat

Accessories

Woman's Hat

ca. 1875

The entire hat measures about thirteen inches from center front to center back and ten inches across at its widest point. (32.5 cm long; 25.5 cm wide)

This green felt hat belonged to Mrs. Zebulon Herbert Gardner, née Martha Adams Crandall (1858–1936). Mrs. Z. Herbert Gardner was married in 1879. The hat is a green felt trimmed with green velvet and tan velvet. The crown of the hat is a conical shape, with green and tan velvet meeting at the back of the hat and wrapping around the cone toward the front, where it meets in a large and elaborate bow. The loops of the bow contain small pieces of wire to help keep their shape. The knot of the bow is decorated with two rows of steel-cut beads as well as two gold half loops. The folded brim of the hat, as well as the inside, is a dark blue velvet. The hat is believed to be from the 1870s–1880s. According to an 1869 fashion plate from “The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine,” this style of hat would have been worn towards the front of the head, tilted low down the forehead, with the very back of the hat sitting at the top of the back of the head. Other fashion plates from the 1870s show this style of hat being worn in a similar manner. Due to the changing of hairstyles, around 1867 hats began to be worn further toward the front of the head to accommodate the large and intricate hairstyles that were now sitting more at the crown of the head. The style is referred to as a “high-crowned hat” or to be based upon a “round marin anglaise” hat. The style of hat appears to have been worn by middle- or upper-class women and girls during daytime outings or for formal evening events. The hat or its prominent features would be made to match the ensemble the lady was wearing.

The ability to match specific headgear to specific garments would have been an easy and visible way for women of the time to display their affluence when out during the day or attending events. Mrs. Herbert likely had at least one outfit in similar fabrics of green felt and green, tan, and dark blue velvet. Mrs. Gardner’s husband served in the lower house of the Rhode Island state legislature from the year of their marriage, 1879, until 1881. He was then promoted to the state senate. As the wife of a state legislator, Mrs. Gardner would have needed to look put together and proper whenever they went out, meaning she would have to stay on top of fashions.

References
Preston, J.R. Cole W.W. “History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island: Biographical Sketches of Exeter.” Accessed December 5, 2020. http://theusgenweb.org/ri/washington/Bios/ex1.html

Severa, Joan L. 1995. “The 1870s.” In Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900, 311–13. Kent: Kent State Univ. Press.

“Victorian Hat History: Bonnets, Hats, Caps 1830-1890s.” Vintage Dancer. Accessed November 20, 2020. https://vintagedancer.com/victorian/victorian-hat-history/.

Donor: Estate of Mrs. John Gardner

URI 1955.36.42

Cora Staber

URI 1955.36.44