Which Came First?

The Vintage Hat Series: 1950s ruched velvet saucer hat

In the last story I talked about the importance of proportion and hairstyle when considering which hat to wear. When I cut my hair into a bob, suddenly quite a number of my hats did not look quite right. But which came first, historically speaking: hat or hairstyle?

When the Roaring Twenties rolled through fashionable society and brought with it the bob, women cut their hair short for the first time since the Regency period – approximately a century earlier. The new shorn hairstyles meant a woman could wear one of the close-fitting cloches, a signifier that she was highly fashionable: a fast, bright young thing who wore makeup, drank, and smoked in public.

Fashion cycles began to move faster and faster since then, and before long (after two world wars) women were once more wearing their hair long. But with one difference: there was more choice, and both long hair (often worn up in a chignon or French roll) and short was worn in the 1950s.

This ruched velvet mini saucer hat I am wearing is vintage 50s. I loved the silvery grey colour when I purchased it on Etsy, but when it arrived and I tried it on it just didn’t look quite right with a bob (below). I wonder if it is just the unaccustomed combination, or are the proportions simply odd? Tucking my hair behind my ears (above) offers some sort of solution (apart from the accidental sideburns effect!) – I look as though I might have my hair pinned up, or a close-cropped 50s do.

The jury’s still out as far as I’m concerned, but it’s a moot point anyway until next winter, when I might consider wearing the hat again … but only if it suits my hairstyle in the future.