The Salvation Army bonnet was the headcovering worn by female members of the Salvation Army. [1] 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.
The Salvation Army bonnet was first seen on Wednesday 16 June 1880 at William and Catherine Booth's silver wedding anniversary celebration in Whitechapel, London. [2] Its design was due, in part, to the fact that one of the cadets training at the Salvation Army's Hackney college in 1880 was a milliner from Barnsley called Annie E. Lockwood. [3] She trimmed a bonnet chosen from straw designs supplied by local companies – initially the ribbon chosen was blue, but later this would become black. [2]
In design, it was similar to the poke bonnet that had been popularly worn by women earlier in the century. In 1881, the Salvation Army published some general rules prohibiting alteration of the distinctive bonnet. This was among the more identifiable parts of the uniform as the guidance at this time was simply to wear modest clothing suitable for a military organisation. [4]
The design also became popularly known as the 'hallelujah bonnet' and came to symbolise the Army's work. The bonnet's purpose was not only to identify the wearer, but to protect the head from cold and – in the early days – objects hurled at the head by people unsympathetic to the Army's work. [5] [6] An early example of the design is part of the Museum of London collection.
In the 1920s and '30s, a hat sometimes referred to as the Salvation Army bonnet became a fashion accessory. This had a similar basic silhouette to the original poke bonnet design but could be made in other hat materials and colours. [7]
A Guardian fashion feature of 1926 on the latest Paris hat fashions noted the parallels between new derivations of the cloche and Victorian bonnets: "Paris is growing tired of wearing saucepans, paper-bags and sugar-loaves on its head. It remembers that it once had a cap of liberty, which was very becoming if a little drastic, and that Salvation Army pokes were worn as well during the Directoire period...the hat with the rather high crown and the brim varying from nothing to the Salvation Army shape will be far more in favour". [8] Another article in The Guardian later that year commented on the prevalence of Salvation Army-style straw hats, minus the strings: "In straws – and there are a good many of these – the brim forms a huge peak in front, and from this it is a short step to a sort of Salvation Army hat – for there are no strings. The hair shows not at all at the back of the neck. A century ago this effect was achieved by doing the hair high. Today the hair is cut off, but the effect is the same". [9]
The Times reported a new modified poke bonnet style in pale pink created by the studio of Caroline Reboux for spring 1938. [10] This was part of a Victorian and Edwardian revival in fashion that the newspaper described as dominating fashion during winter 1938. [11]
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.
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 pop 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.
1860s fashion in European and European-influenced countries is characterized by extremely full-skirted women's fashions relying on crinolines and hoops and the emergence of "alternative fashions" under the influence of the Artistic Dress movement.
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.
A poke bonnet is a women's bonnet, featuring a small crown and wide and rounded front brim. Typically this extends beyond the face. It has been suggested that the name came about because the bonnet was designed in such a way that the wearer's hair could be contained within the bonnet. Poke may also refer to the brim itself, which jutted out beyond the wearer's face.
The cloche hat or simply cloche is a fitted, bell-shaped hat for women that was invented in 1908 by milliner Caroline Reboux. They were especially popular from about 1922 to 1933. Its name is derived from cloche, the French word for "bell".
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 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 cartwheel 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. 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.
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 doll hat is a women's millinery design scaled down to suggest a hat that could be worn by a doll. It can be of any design and is generally worn at the front of the head. The hat is usually held in place with a band of fabric or elastic secured at the back of the head.
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 tam is a millinery design for women based on the tam o' shanter military cap and the beret. Sometimes it is also known as a tam cap or the traditional term tam o'shanter might also be used. The tam became popular in the early 1920s, when it followed the prevailing trends for closer-fitting hats that suited shorter hairstyles and for borrowing from men's fashion; other traditional men's hats that rose to popularity in women's fashion during this period included the top hat and bowler. In the British Isles, the tam cap is often used as a headcovering by Christian women during church services.
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.
A coal scuttle bonnet is a design of bonnet with stiffened brim and a flat back (crown). The name originates from its similarity to the shape of a traditional coal storer. It may be very similar in design to the poke bonnet – some sources use the terms interchangeably – however the poke shape had a wide and rounded front brim that extended beyond the face, according to fashion historian Mary Brooks Picken, while the Metropolitan Museum of Art notes that the poke generally shielded the face and had a wide brim that provided a large surface for decoration.
A Eugénie hat is a small women's hat that is usually worn tilted forwards over the face, or it may be angled low over one eye. Typically, it is made of velvet or felt, although a variety of materials may be used. The classic design also has a plume of feathers, although other trims may be used.
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.