Hats, bonnets (sun, poke, cottage, drawn), caps, berets, turbans, wimples, fascinators, hoods, pillboxes, boaters, cloches, bandeaux, chapeaux … warmth, protection or fashion statement?
Few women in Nebraska wear hats on a regular basis anymore, unless they belong to a special group. However, it used to be that women wouldn’t be seen out in public without one. While many women’s head coverings may have been worn to keep the head warm or protect the face from the sun, there were more reasons for wearing them.
Some head coverings represent a profession or calling.
Evelyn Powell is pictured in a US Naval Reserve (Women’s Reserve) uniform in the last year of World War II. [These women were also known as WAVES which stood for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.]
Emily Anderson wears the cap symbolic of the nursing profession. These and the portrait images in this post are from the
Butler County Gallery Collection.
But outside of the professional use, many hats were definitely worn as a fashion statement. Birds and their feathers were popular for decorations, making some hats pure flights of fancy. The hat to the left, worn by
Dana Fenlon, has full wings to takeoff. Others, like the one worn by
Bertha Neal at right, limited themselves to a few feathers.
Flowers and bows were also popular.
Hazel Walker’s hat is limited to blossoms. Other decorations abound on the
many women’s hats found in the images of Nebraska Memories. And, for those who needed help in making a statement,
there was great fun in trying on the latest creations in the millinery department of the local store, such as the one in the
Nebraska Clothing Company.
Visit
Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.
Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, or contact
Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or
Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.
