A cartwheel hat (also cart wheel hat) is a hat with a wide-brimmed circular or saucer-shaped design. It may be made in a variety of materials, including straw or felt and usually has a low crown. It may be similar to the picture hat and halo-brimmed hat in shape. [1] Typically, it is worn at an angle to show off the curve of the brim, rather than being worn at the back of the head in the manner of a halo hat.
The cartwheel hat became popular in the years leading up to World War I. The Milwaukee Sentinel described the new fashion in 1914: "Do not be astounded if you notice a smartly gowned woman with a hat of huge proportions...The new large hats are broad brimmed and have low crowns, which are not discernible when the hat is worn, hence they resemble cartwheels tilted at a becoming angle". [2] These early versions might be covered in velvet, taffeta or silk; some included flower, fur or feather trims. [2]
The cartwheel hat appeared in films and fashion during the 1930s – an American newspaper described the latest Paris fashion for straight and curled-brim cartwheel designs in 1934. The correspondent described crowns so shallow that hats had to be secured with a rubber band above or below the hair, which must be "perfectly coiffed" as it was revealed by the hat. [3] In 1936, an Australian newspaper report about racegoers at Brisbane's Ascot racing meeting noted the abundance of: "wide-brimmed shady hats of the cartwheel type". [4] The following year, The Observer described: "cartwheel hats with exceedingly low crowns and brims which slope very slightly downwards", also noting that London milliner Aage Thaarup was showing versions for Ascot in straw and lemon-yellow felt. [5]
One of the most influential showcases of the potential of the style was the 1939 film Gone with the Wind , in which Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara) wore a huge cartwheel with green ribbons designed by celebrity milliner Mr. John. [6] [7]
While a Hattie Carnegie cartwheel design appeared on the cover of American Vogue in 1938, the style is most associated with the period after World War II austerity and make-do-and-mend was over. [8] By 1945, new cartwheel styles were being offered with open crowns. [9]
Four years later, Rita Hayworth wore a variation on the cartwheel made of sheer material to match the pleated Jacques Fath dress for her 'low key' wedding to Aly Khan – an event that generated huge interest and replica designs of her outfit. [10] [11] By spring 1950, the cartwheel hat was being tipped in Life alongside pleated dresses as the: "new silhouette". The hat designs featured were also by Mr. John. [12] A month later, Life noted: "The recent tendency to go bareheaded has been reversed simply because the new season's narrow silhouette looks better when balanced with a hat." The article singled out the cartwheel in a new "unseasonal" coral velvet. [13]
The cartwheel became particularly closely associated with New Look fashions. Dior's Y-line collection of autumn 1955 showcased cartwheel hats, paired with pearls, princess-line dresses and stoles. [14] While the size and shape of hats could be extreme, such designs were made not just for day but evening wear; the Victoria and Albert Museum archive includes a Christian Dior cocktail frock designed to be worn with matching tulle cartwheel hat. [15]
High-profile wearers of the style included Queen Elizabeth who wore a straw cartwheel shape on her tour of Australia the year after her coronation – although her hat was less extreme than some of the Dior models. [16]
The cartwheel hat has continued as a favourite showstopper for weddings and events – with designers such as Philip Somerville, Graham Smith and Frederick Fox including them in their millinery ranges. [17] [18] There have also been notable revivals in high fashion; Christian Lacroix featured dramatic forward-angled designs in his 1987 autumn collection. [19] He also featured cartwheel shapes in neon orange and shocking pink in 2002. [20]
Victorian fashion consists of the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and developed in the United Kingdom and the British Empire throughout the Victorian era, roughly from the 1830s through the 1890s. The period saw many changes in fashion, including changes in styles, fashion technology and the methods of distribution. Various movement in architecture, literature, and the decorative and visual arts as well as a changing perception of gender roles also influenced fashion.
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechanical features, such as visors, spikes, flaps, braces or beer holders shade into the broader category of headgear.
Bonnet has been used as the name for a wide variety of headgear for both sexes—more often female—from the Middle Ages to the present. As with "hat" and "cap", it is impossible to generalize as to the styles for which the word has been used, but there is for both sexes a tendency to use the word for styles in soft material and lacking a brim, or at least one all the way round, rather than just at the front. Yet the term has also been used, for example, for steel helmets. This was from Scotland, where the term has long been especially popular.
1870s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by a gradual return to a narrow silhouette after the full-skirted fashions of the 1850s and 1860s.
1840s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by a narrow, natural shoulder line following the exaggerated puffed sleeves of the later 1820s and 1830s. The narrower shoulder was accompanied by a lower waistline for both men and women.
During the 1820s in European and European-influenced countries, fashionable women's clothing styles transitioned away from the classically influenced "Empire"/"Regency" styles of c. 1795–1820 and re-adopted elements that had been characteristic of most of the 18th century, such as full skirts and clearly visible corseting of the natural waist.
1880s fashion in Western and Western-influenced countries is characterized by the return of the bustle. The long, lean line of the late 1870s was replaced by a full, curvy silhouette with gradually widening shoulders. Fashionable waists were low and tiny below a full, low bust supported by a corset. The Rational Dress Society was founded in 1881 in reaction to the extremes of fashionable corsetry.
Fashion in the period 1900–1909 in the Western world continued the severe, long and elegant lines of the late 1890s. Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson Girl" hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment.
Fashion from 1910 to 1919 in the Western world was characterized by a rich and exotic opulence in the first half of the decade in contrast with the somber practicality of garments worn during the Great War. Men's trousers were worn cuffed to ankle-length and creased. Skirts rose from floor length to well above the ankle, women began to bob their hair, and the stage was set for the radical new fashions associated with the Jazz Age of the 1920s.
A picture hat or Gainsborough hat is an elaborate woman's hat with a wide brim. It has been suggested that the name may be derived from the way the broad brim frames the face to create a "picture".
A Breton is a woman's hat with a round crown and a deep brim that is turned upwards all the way round, exposing the face. Sometimes the hat has a domed crown. Typically it is worn tilted to the back of the head.
A halo hat is a millinery design in which the headgear acts as a circular frame for the face, creating a halo effect. The design is said to date back to the late 19th century, when it was known as the aureole hat; this name is sometimes still used. It may also be known as the angel hat or bambini – the latter said to derive from Italian for terracotta plaques depicting the infant Christ.
A half hat is a millinery design in which the hat covers part of the head. Generally, the design is close-fitting, in the manner of the cloche, and frames the head, usually stopping just above the ears. It may be similar to a halo hat in the way that it frames the face and can be worn straight or at an angle.
A mushroom hat is a millinery style in which the brim of the hat tilts downwards, resembling the shape of a mushroom. It is a style that first emerged in the 1870s and 1880s, when it was usually made of straw. It became fashionable again from around 1907 to the late 1920s; these versions featured a distinctly downturned brim although the size and shape of the crown varied according to prevailing fashions.
A lampshade hat is a millinery design in which the hat has a small circular crown – typically flat, but sometimes rounded – and flares outwards to create a cone-like profile. In shape, it may have some similarities to the pillbox and bucket hat, both of which were popular at around the same time, although the classic lampshade design is longer and more flared than a pillbox and is generally made of stiffer material than a bucket hat.
A peach basket hat is a millinery design that resembles an upturned country basket of the style typically used to collect fruit. Generally it is made of straw or similar material and it often has a trimming of flowers and ribbons. Some models may also feature a veil or draped fabric covering. It was introduced in around 1908 and caused some controversy over the succeeding year due to its extreme dimensions and decorations. It had revivals – designs were at this stage more modest – in the 1930s and 1950s.
The Salvation Army bonnet was the headcovering worn by female members of the Salvation Army. It was introduced in 1880 in the UK and was worn as headgear by most female officers in western countries. It began to be phased out from the late 1960s.
A bumper brim is a millinery feature in which the hat brim is tubular in design, making it a prominent feature of the hat. In order to achieve this effect, the brim may be rolled, stiffened or padded. A bumper brim can be added to a variety of hat designs, from small to large.
The Chapeau à la Paméla, Pamela hat or Pamela bonnet described a type of straw hat or bonnet popular during the 1790s and into the first three quarters of the 19th century. It was named after the heroine of Samuel Richardson's 1741 novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded. While Pamela hats and bonnets underwent a variety of changes in shape and form, they were always made from straw. The mid-19th-century version of the Pamela hat was a smaller version of an early 19th-century wide-brimmed style called the gipsy hat.