Woman's Hat
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Description
This hat is reddish-brown velvet with faded green ostrich feathers. Two glass rhinestone buckles are attached to the twisted velvet design. The lining is black and appears to be hand sewn.
Velvet bonnets were popular and in the second half of the 1870s, and in the 1880s it was common to trim bonnets with whole birds as well as parts of birds (Sessions 2018).
Hats and bonnets were “required” dress by women in society in the 19th century. It was considered not proper for women to go bareheaded. Hats and bonnets were typically adorned with trims often designed to match outfits. Most women had at least two hats or bonnets, one for winter and one for summer. They came in a large variety of styles in the 1880s but most were worn with hair pulled up and tucked in. Bonnets and hats could be very fashion forward, as it this example.
This hat is said to have once belonged to Mrs. Zebulon Herbert Gardner. Genealogical research has uncovered three Zebulon Herbert Gardner’s in the family’s line, born in 1810, 1849, and 1884. Since the hat is dated 1870–1880, the correct Zebulon was born in 1849. His wife was Martha Adams Crandall.
References
“History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island.” Exeter Biographies. J.R. Cole W.W. Preston & Co., NY, 1889. Accessed December 9, 2020. http://theusgenweb.org/ri/washington/Bios/ex1.html
Sessions, Debra. “Victorian Hat History: Bonnets, Hats, Caps 1830-1890s.” Vintage Dancer, May 25, 2018. https://vintagedancer.com/victorian/victorian-hat-history/
Severa, Joan L. Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900.Kent, OH: Kent State Univ. Press, 2008.
Zwolan, Madeleine. “1880.” Fashion History Timeline, May 31, 2020. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-2/