1920's Ladies Hats
This 1920's style cloche was made from repurposed and vintage materials in 2020.
The crown is made from paper-straw braid.
The meandering trim is a vintage Pedaline straw, sometimes called Visca in the magazines from that time.
The brim is a loose braid, also vintage. The sheerness allows light through, a boon to the lighting crew!
The brim of this cloche is narrow at the back, for comfort.
The yellow trim was completely hand-stitched with tiny stitches, so be neat on the inside.
The sides of the brim extend to give the classic 1920's shape to this hat.
Detail view of the trim, and the narrow grosgrain ribbon band.
Inside of the hat.
This cloche style hat was created in 2017 as a reproduction of an historical hat pictured below.
The cloche started it's life as a straw cowboy hat and was reblocked into the correct shape for the 1920's
The brim was covered with ecru lace and a petersham band was used to hide the raw edges of the lace.
The front was trimmed with a vintage lace panel, and the underside of the brim was trimmed with petersham to hide the raw edges of the straw, which had to be cut down
Here are the two hats together. The original is on the right and the reproduction is on the left.
Made for the lead actress in the TV show Damnation this aviators cap was made from lamb leather and lined with chamois for comfort.
The cap was a reproduction of an existing cap, but made in a different size, to the costume designer's specifications.
This narrow-brimmed straw cloche was made in 2017 for the TV show Damnation on NBC.
The crown was blocked using an existing hat and the brim was hand stitched into the narrow drooping shape.
The band is made from a scrap of beige chiffon and finished with a fan-shaped brooch of gold toned metal.
The style was based on a picture seen in a 1924 catalogue.
Another "Damnation" hat, this one is made from a fine wool crepe fabric that was interfaced to give it the right amount of body.
The hat band is formed from a bias strip of beige lining and a very fancy wide vintage straw braid.
The bias is loosely knotted at the side and the long tails are allowed to drape down to the shoulder, as seen in illustrations in a millinery magazine from 1924.
The wide brim has the characteristic early '20's droop and is held out by a plastic wire in the brim's edge.
Made in 2017 for the TV series Damnation, this pink straw hat has a pleated band of silk chiffon cut on the bias.
The crown has the typical round shape of the twenties, with an up-turned brim in front that flattens in the back.
The left front of the hat is trimmed with vintage velvet leaves and fabric berries that have been stuffed with cotton.
The upturned brim is edged with vintage pink velvet ribbon that was crushed by hand to give the mottled texture.
This pink straw hat is a remodel made for the TV series Damnation in 2017.
The hat is trimmed very simply with a hand-dyed petersham ribbon.
Some embroidery stitches give interest to the simple decoration of this cloche.
The straw base of the hat was woven with an interesting plaid design, so the decision was made to keep the hat shape and trims simple.
The brim was hand-shaped and cut to have the typical drooping sides of the mid-twenties.
The front brim was shortened to reveal the actresses face!
This "crusher" hat was made from scraps of dress fabric for the TV series Damnation in 2017, and was later used on the CBC series "Frankie Drake".
The meandering lines were created with embroidery threads couched in place before the parts of the hat were sewn together.
Floral appliqués in various shades of silk chiffon were also outlined with couched embroidery threads.
Careful planning was required to ensure the lines of thread matched up when the pieces were sewn together!
A 3D flower was sewn on after the pieces were joined. On the right is an original 1920's hat that inspired the crusher on the left.
This cloche was made from an old cowboy hat for the character of Rose Jericho in the TV series Damnation (2017).
The original hat was re-blocked to create the round crown of the '20s.
Red and blue embroidery threads were woven in to the straw. The band was made from blue petersham ribbon. Small flowers trim the left side.
The inner edge of the brim was faced with petersham ribbon dyed to match the straw. This was done to improve durability.
An original 1920's fabric hat was re-decorated with velvet ribbon and pink silk fabric to spruce it up. This one has the "poke" brim of the 1920's.
The velvet ribbon was knotted at the back of the hat.
Pink silk was ruffled and used to edge the velvet ribbon, lending some contrast and definition to an otherwise bland headpiece.
The brim was re-shaped after many years of being stored in a box.
This black straw hat was made from reclaimed straw braid.
The braid was hand-stitched into the cloche shape over a wooden hat form.
This hat was made for one of the cast members in the TV series Damnation, in 2017. It's trimmed with a vintage Art Deco ribbon in black and brown.
The hat sits quite low on the head, but the turned-up brim allows the face to be seen easily.
Made of straw cloth from Germany, this "crusher" hat was made for the TV series Damnation in 2017.
The hat band is made from a gathered band of pink silk chiffon, cut on the bias.
The right side of the crown is trimmed with large vintage pink velvet leaves and soft pink fuzzy stamens grouped like grapes.
The brim, which can be worn turned up or turned down, is faced with pink silk taffeta
Another view of the floral decoration.
Back view of the straw fabric "crusher".
View of the left side, which is unadorned.
Straw-fabric "crusher" hat, worn with brim turned down.
This 1924 style hat was made for the TV series Damnation in 2017, based on a design seen in a National Bellas Hess catalogue.
The main trimming is made from a vintage acetate satin ribbon in green
The deeply cuffed brim was hand shaped.
This 1924 cloche is a copy of an original vintage hat. An existing straw was used for the crown and the brim is made from antique straw lace that has been faced with silk organza.
This side view shows the informal bow made of embossed petersham ribbon that sits low on the back left side.
The rear view shows the straw lace well. This is antique millinery straw lace from an online vintage store.
The right side of the hat is unadorned. It's easy to see the diamond pattern that is embossed in the petersham ribbon.
This cloth and straw hat was made for the character of Bessie in the TV series Damnation, in 2017.
Both the bengaline fabric and the paper straw were dyed to specific colors. The straw for the brim was hand sewn.
Intended to be worn with the brim turned up, the straw on the crown was machine stitched to resemble the Empire State Building.
A hat band of three rows of the paper straw is all the decoration this hat asked for!
The hat on the right is a copy of the original (and very tiny!) 1920's hat on the left.
This beige felt cloche was made by my assistant Melissa Cole for the NBC TV series "Damnation" in 2017.
The Art Deco ribbon trim came from an on-line vintage store.
The fur felt hood was blocked by hand and Melissa did a long-and-short stitch with embroidery thread to decorate the edge and to trim the bow on the side.
Here's a close up view of the bow that trims the left side of the hat.
This is a back view of the felt cloche. The felt came from Manny's Millinery in New York.
This black silk duppioni cloche was made in 2017 for the character of Bessie in the TV series Damnation.
The hat band is made from two vintage ribbons. The gold and black ribbon came from an on-line vintage store, and the mauve velvet ribbon is a Herman Hendler original.
The brim of this hat is asymmetrical; turning up on the left front, swooping in a curve on the right back and forming a point at the left-side-back.
Where the two ribbon bands cross is an Art Deco brooch, that anchors the ribbons and gives interest to the back of the hat.
The turned up brim in the front allows a good view of the actor's face.
This felt cloche was made for the leading actress in the TV series Damnation in 2017.
The felt was dyed to this color specifically to set off the actress' blue eyes. A vintage buckle was used on the right side.
Two shades of petersham ribbon were stitched together and twisted to form the band.
As per the designer's wishes, the brim was turned up in the front to reveal the actress' face.
The felt was blocked to the cloche shape while it was still wet from the dye bath.
A fur felt hood was blocked to make this cloche for the leading lady in the TV series Damnation. A vintage ivory brooch decorates the left side.
The brim was cut very close to the neck in the back.
Shot ribbon in teal, and a fancy straw braid were both used to make the hat band, which is pleated into a bow on the right side.
The turned up brim shows off the face of the actress, while being right in style for the 1931 story.
Made for the pilot of the TV show Damnation in 2016, this cloche is trimmed simply with an Art Deco style brooch in the front.
The hat band is made of a shaped petersham ribbon.
This wool felt cloche was redecorated for the pilot of the TV series Damnation in 2016.
To hide unsightly glue residue a wide hat band and large petals were made from scraps of calico. Vintage cloth grapes were added.
Another view of the trims.
3/4 profile view of the wool felt cloche trimmed with calico.
This straw cloche was re-blocked from an existing hat for the pilot of the TV series Damnation in 2016.
The hat band was made from a plaid silk taffeta piped with brown silk. A bow and binding were made from the same fabrics.
Front view of the straw cloche trimmed with silk taffeta.
A 1920's style cloche was made for the pilot of the TV series Damnation in 2016.
The hat band was made of vintage silk satin cut on the bias and pleated.
Off centre are some trims consisting of a large velvet leaf and some cotton-stuffed "grapes".
The open-weave of this straw makes it very comfortable to wear in hot weather.
A paper straw cloche made for the pilot of the TV series Damnation in 2016.
The hat band is made of a single narrow strand of straw in brown. Narrow bands like these were quite stylish in 1931, the year of the story of this show.
The rounded crown shape was a hallmark of the late 1920's and early 1930's.
The decoration at the front of this cloche is made from coiled strips of narrow straw.
This dark purple straw cloche is a re-model of an existing hat, made for the pilot of the TV series Damnation in 2016.
The hat band is made of a plaid silk taffeta cut on the bias.
The bais band is crossed at the back and a bias strip covers the join.
This straw cloche was made for the pilot of the TV series Damnation in 2016. The braided straw band is fancy enough to allow for a very simple hat band of petersham ribbon.
The petersham ribbon is fashioned into a half-bow and finished with a button.
Front view of the brown straw cloche with braided straw brim.
This small brown felt cloche was made from an old cowboy hat!
The felt was dyed to a mottled brown color and reblocked while still wet from the dye bath.
The brim was cut down and hand shaped with steam after the felt dried.
A plaid cotton fabric was cut on the bias to form a simple hat band.
The brim was cut close to the neck at the back.
This paper straw hat was made in 2018 and trimmed with large stylized leaves of fabric edged with zigzag straw.
This up-cycled straw hat has an even narrow brim and is trimmed with Petersham ribbon.
The shades of blue vintage Petersham ribbon were stitched together to create the striped effect.
The curved section was pleated on a pleater board.
The front view shows the typical curved front line of this style and era.
The most well-known hat style of the 1920's is, of course, the cloche. But it's by no means the only one worn at the time. There were bicorns, wide-brimmed garden hats, turbans (with and without feather trims), round and square crowned cloches with variously shaped brims that drooped, or were turned up in one spot, brimless caps or helmet styles, tams or berets, aviator's caps, and even a 1920's version of a poke bonnet which was not at all like the one from the early 1800's! Hats were made from fabric, straw and felt; many were asymmetric.
Here are some examples of hats and headwear I've made in styles from that decade. If you are interested in having a 1920's hat please contact me!