what kind of hats did people wore in 1830s..were they big,wide ?
Posted on January 31st, 2010 by admin
why did they wore such a big hats …is there a difference between bonnets and hats,…why did they use ribbon to tie big bonnets…plzz help me..
People wore hats in those days for other reason than fashion – although that was the reason the upper classes wore hats.
For centuries the people in Northern Europe have worn head coverings to keep their head dry when the weather was wet and for shade when the weather was warm. It left their hands free to work, and kept in body heat when the weather was cold.
In the 1830’s men wore hats rather than use an arm to carry an umbrella. Cowboy hats were very wide brimmed to offer the wearer this protection.
For fashion’s sake upper class women wanted pale white skin, so skin protection was considered extremely important. So various type of hats outdoor for women sprang into existence. Lower class women wore hats more for protection from the rain and to keep their hands free for other chores.
Bonnets were worn only by women and had high "pokes" (the part that actually covered the top of the head). The sunbonnets worn by American Women when crossing the prairies, had fabric "pokes" which could be handmade at home.
As for ribbons, satin ribbons for tying bonnets are only for fashion, (they don’t stay tied, I know, I’ve tried) grosgrain ribbon stays tied better. Cotton ties work even better.
This website has pictures of upper class English hats of the 1830s: http://www.fashion-era.com/romantic_era.htm#Romantic%20Era%201825-1835
This second webpage has pictures of sunbonnets to show the difference: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9G_bDo9uFJLamsAzVGJzbkF?p=pioneer+sunbonnets&fr=yfp-t-701&ei=utf-8&x=wrt&y=Search