Halo hat
A halo hat (sometimes halo brim 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.[1] 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.[2]
A halo hat may be a wide range of sizes – some lying close to the head in the style of a bonnet or cloche and others that are similar in dimensions to a picture or cartwheel hat. Typically, designs are worn towards the back of the head to create the 'halo' effect.[3] Some designs with open crowns may also be referred to as halo hats or as diadems.[4] Popular from the 1930s on, the halo hat was created in a variety of fabrics – knitted or crocheted versions could be made at home – and could be a circle or semi-circle in shape. The halo became popular with brides; one of the most famous examples is the blue straw half-circle halo created for the wedding of Wallis Simpson by the Parisian millinery house of Caroline Reboux.
History
The halo hat is said to have first come into fashion the late 1880s, when it was usually known as an aureole hat (a synonym for halo), and this was a name that continued to be used to describe the circular or semi-circular shape into the 1930s.
1930s popularity
The halo shape became popular again from the start of the 1930s in both the United States and Europe. It was a distinct move away from the cloche style that was worn low over the brow, as the halo exposed the face and brow, also showing off more elaborate curled hairstyles becoming popular during this era.[7]
"Halo hats are so new" declared an advert in a US newspaper in 1931.[8] A 1934 Sears catalogue featured a halo hat design as part of its Loretta Young collection, adding: "Take advantage of Loretta Young's fashion judgement and wear this new off-the-face hat! It's different...There's something of the angel's halo and something of the bucaneer's bravado in its dramatic, folded-back brim".[2][9]
In 1933 The Times reviewed the Christmas catalogues, saying: "the new season millinery, with its leading novelty, the 'halo' hat, is specially interesting".
Design variations
The halo was a flexible design. While it could create a large frame around the face – as with the circular straw design that featured on the
The halo-style hat became popular for wedding outfits – future First Lady of the United States Betty Ford wore a large-brimmed halo wedding hat in 1938 – and half halos would become a staple design for more traditional wedding headpieces, remaining popular in bridal designs.[2]
Revivals
In the mid 1960s,
Among the most memorable modern halo-shaped hats are the design created by
See also
References
- ISBN 9780984785902. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9781610690621. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ISBN 0486402940. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
millinery + halo hat.
- ISBN 9780984785902. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "Hat forms an aureole". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 14 May 1937. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Racing from Sandown Park: dresses at the Eclipse Meeting". The Times. No. 47739. 17 July 1937.
- ^ "History of hats for women". Vintage Fashion Guild. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Halo hats are so new (advert)". Spokane Daily Publisher. 17 February 1931. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ISBN 048625108X. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ "New Fashions in Millinery: The "Halo" Hat". The Times. No. 46612. 27 November 1933.
- ^ "The Duchess of York and Princess Elizabeth: Visit to charity matinee". The Times. No. 46666. 31 January 1934.
- ^ Sebba, Anna; Fox, Imogen (2 September 2011). "Wallis Simpson used fashion as a weapon". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ Clegg, Melanie (3 June 2013). "Wallis Simpson's wedding dress". Madame Guilllotine. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ "Bonnet brim hat with jewel halo! (advert)". The Pittsburgh Press. 28 February 1946. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ "You Knit it! New Yorker two-way halo". The Australian Women's Weekly. 15 June 1946. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ Smith, Liz (17 May 1988). "Brimful". The Times. No. 63083.
- ^ "Wedding Dresses 1775-2014: Philip Treacy". vam.ac.uk. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 14 November 2014.