Designer hats
I can wear a hat or take it off, but either way it’s a conversation piece. – Hedda Hopper
Hats Throughout History
Hats were originally born of necessity; the earliest known humans had to cover their heads in order to protect themselves from both stormy weather and intense sunshine. While it’s hard to say exactly what type of apparel was invented first, hats are certainly one of the very earliest types of clothing ever created.
To say that hats have evolved since then is a vast understatement. Hats have been made from every type of material imaginable – from felt and wool, to leather and fur, to silk and velvet just to name a few – and have always been worn by both men and women. They’ve served the most practical of functions, such as to keep the head warm and dry during bad weather and shade it from the sun, or to protect the head from possible injury, or for personal hygiene. Hats have also been worn for all sorts of less practical reasons, such as to show status, to attract attention, to enhance height, and to hide hair (or lack thereof). And hats can be part of a uniform, or signify political or religious status or belief.
What we would recognize as hats today began to be worn in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. As their popularity grew, so did the range of materials and styles. And as the times went, so did the fashion: during times of calm and prosperity hats became more elaborate and festive, using lots of fancy trimmings. The immense hats of Victorian times are an example of this, with their basic wide-brimmed structures of straw, beaver or velveteen and height that came from feathers, fabric flowers, tulle and wired bows.
Lean times and war brought about more simplicity, and less variety and lower quality of materials due to rationing. For example, World War I and the Great Depression saw the development of more minimalist narrow-brimmed felt hats and berets. Late '30s hats brought about flowers, feathers and beads once more, until accessories of the early 1940s fell victim once again to a drop in European imports and the strictures of World War II rationing.
Today hats are more varied than ever before in history: simple, elaborate, formal, casual. People today can be as fancy as they fancy or as thrifty as they like. modaSac allows you to be fancy and thrifty at the same time with our line of quality designer hats at affordable prices. A great deal of attention is paid to materials and design, giving you style and value in the same fashionable hat.
Wool Hats
Wide Brim Wedding Hats
Designer Felt Hats
Satin Designer Church Hats
Fancy Straw Designer Church Hats
Fur Designer Hats
Large Brim Felt Designer Church Hats
Tulle trimming Designer Hats
Medium Brim Felt Designer Hats
Wearing Today’s Hats With Style
Before you head out the door, try your hat on from every angle and don’t feel you have to have the label in the back. You aren’t required to wear a hat exactly as the manufacturer imagined it - maybe a different way or angle fits your style or mood!
You can also consider wearing your hat at an angle. Placing the hat on the forehead and slipping the crown down on the head is often the most intriguing way to wear a hat. This can take the plainest hat and give it some flair.
Helping Your Hat Fit Right
If you keep touching your hat and pushing it up off your forehead and your ears or if it blows off with the slightest breeze, it does not fit properly. Some easy solutions:
Use safety pins (one or two will do) on the inside ribbon of the crown to tighten the fit.
Purchase weather stripping or Dr. Scholl’s pads and place them inside the crown.
Go to a store carries pads that protect furniture from scratches. These self-adhesive pads are thick and firm but won’t hurt the head. The long, narrow shapes, about 2 inches each, work best (dots do not work well).
SOURCES: The Hat Ladies of Charleston, The Old Times, Hats UK
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