Whimsical Hats for Valentine's Day

Gene Marshall 

Miss Marshall's delightful hat was inspired by these delectable concoctions....Enjoy!

1939 Chesterfield ad courtesy vintageadbrowser

February 1940 Life cover

Love this! Reminds me of a little usherette pillbox hat.

Photo courtesy corbisimages

Retro crochet hat pattern, circa 1940's

Joan Crawford, circa 1920's
Photo courtesy Vintage Gal

Happy Valentine's Day Sweeties!

Madcap Millinery

Elsa Schiaparelli wearing her "mad cap" design.
Photo courtesy christies.com

In 1930, Elsa Schiaparelli designed a head-hugging "mad cap" which was wildly popular well into the late 1930's. It was a simple knitted cap with distinctive pointed ends that could easily be pulled into any shape. The style was copied in all types of fabric and was extremely versatile. It could be dressed up by adding rhinestone pins or buttons, yet it was the perfect complement to daytime suits and dresses.

Katherine Hepburn in a "mad cap". Photo by Ernest Bachrach.
Courtesy katethegreatnet.proboards.com

The "mad cap" was so easy and economical to make that instructions were included in the Home Arts - Needlecraft Magazine in 1936. "Cut a piece of fabric 10 inches by 22 inches (or whatever your head measurement is) plus a 1 1/2 inch seam allowance. Fold in half crosswise. Sew up one side and one end [creating a pocket]. Finish the open end with a strip of grosgrain ribbon. Turn this under and hemstitch in place. Place on the head, having the seam run front to back, or side to side. Pleat, drape, or twist whatever way most becoming. Pin and stitch in place."

The "mad cap" worn with the seam running side to side.
Photo courtesy Dorothea's Closet Vintage

"Mad Cap" Diagram courtesy artdecosociety.org

Singer/actress Violet Waters shows four ways to wear a "mad cap" as interpreted by The Couture Touch. A "pocket" of bias-cut, vintage silk is fashioned into pure sophistication with a touch of whimsy.

Credits:
Sunset Serenade Violet Waters (newly coiffed) is from Integrity. She is wearing an Ashton Drake recreation of a Marsha Hunt costume worn in the 1936 film Easy To Take from the 2004 Annual Gene Marshall Convention in Hollywood.

Sources:
Collectible Fashions of the Turbulent 1930's by Ellie Laubner.

The Art Deco Society of California

Felt Follies

Ivy Jordan

A witty and daring hat adds spice to a tailored ensemble. Actress turned director, Ivy Jordan, looks fashionably chic in a simply divine pumpkin felt hat worn with a tweed plastron and matching guantlet gloves, all from The Couture Touch. Black dress is from Madra Lord's "Dark Desire" costume by Ashton Drake.

A quartet of fabulous late 1930's, early 40's felt hats courtesy
justskirtsanddresses.blogspot.com

An unusual shaped hat with yummy trim, probably late 1930's.

Gene Marshall

Wine felt is molded and shaped into a delightful rose hat, accented with a band of black straw and miniature flowers. Worn with a great suit and fabulous fur, Miss Marshall is ready for late-afternoon cocktails with friends. Jacket and gloves are from Ashton Drake, fur and necklace is from miniature furrier PD Root.

Madra Lord

Miss Lord wears a molded green felt Art Deco inspired hat with marvelous wings and feather detailing for height. The charcoal grey dyed "Croquet, Anyone?" jacket/dress ensemble is from Ashton Drake. Fur from Integrity.


Credits:
Ivy "Vee J." Jordan and Cocoa Crisp Gene Marshall are from Integrity.
"Azure Elegance" Madra Lord is from Ashton Drake.
All OOAK wool felt hats are from The Couture Touch.

Imaginative Felts

"A hat must be a creation of realities and dreams and that it should be remembered with pleasure by those who see it."   Aage Thaarup's Theory of Millinery

Women's Fashion 1930 - 1939
Illustration courtesy allposters.com

The unusual shaped and often whimsical quality of women's hats during the late 1930's became a popular design feature of millinery during this turbulent time period. Italian born French designer Elsa Schiaparelli was most notably associated with the Surrealist Movement that sought to "liberate the imagination". She was a master at the technique of manipulating felt and other materials into delightfully stylish and sophisticated hats with a touch of humor.

Elsa Schiaparelli's "Hurricane Hat" from 1936.
Illustrated for Vogue by Eric. Photo courtesy antiquetrader.com

Miss Madra Lord

An asymmetric, rich forest green, wool felt hat with feather and beading detail is tailor made for Monolithic Studios' star Madra Lord by the milliners at The Couture Touch. Miss Lord's jacket, blouse, and gloves are from Ashton Drake, handbag from PD Root, and the ooak cigarette holder is from Mystyna. The luscious mink cape is from miniature furrier Dimitha. Dream Sequence Madra Lord is from Integrity.

Miss Gene Marshall

Gene Marshall captivates her fans in a chic, royal blue, wool felt, Deco-inspired hat from The Couture Touch. Miss Marshall knows the importance of choosing the right hat for her outfit. Fur-collared jacket and matching muff are from D.A.E. Originals' "Business Call" suit ensemble. Embroidered gloves are from Ashton Drake. Blue Belle Gene Marshall, enhanced with an articulated body from Integrity, is from Ashton Drake.

Not your typical felts. Intriguing new hats for 1939. Left: a cocoa-brown, forward-jutting beret from Schiaparelli.
Photo courtesy justskirtsanddresses.blogspot.com

Whimsical felt hat from Caroline Reboux, 1938.
Photo courtesy hprints.com

"In difficult times fashion is always outrageous."    Elsa Schiaparelli

Inspiration: Architectural Details

The Art Deco period of the 1930's inspired the milliners at The Couture Touch to design this chic felt cocktail hat exclusively for Monolithic Studios' resident jazz singer, Miss Violet Waters. Gown from Madame Alexander. Jewels from Ashton Drake. OOAK cigarette holder is from Mystyna.

Art Deco inspired cocktail hat 

Stunning Art Deco elevator doors from the Chrysler Building.
Photo courtesy g-buckley1215-dc.blogspot.com 

Miss Violet Waters

Credits:
Sunset Serenade Violet Waters is from Integrity.

Draped in Swag: 15th Century Inspiration

Madame Agnes hats at the Grande Course de Haies, Paris France, 1938
Photo courtesy photo-arago.fr

Madame Agnes was a French milliner who designed hats from the late 1920's until the 1940's. She became sought after for her experimental surrealistic style. In the 1930's she began designing hats that were softer and often draped. The unusual-shaped, dramatic draped hats shown in the above photo might have well been inspired by the draped and swagged headdresses worn by women in the 15th Century.

15th Century draped headdresses.
Photo courtesy sewatoile.blogspot.com

Inspiration can come from many sources, even draped in the past.

"To understand fashion's present and future, it is therefore necessary to possess knowledge of it's past"   Benjamin Wild, fashion historian

The Robin Hood Hat: An Adventure in Style

Photo courtesy eonline.com

You know the story. Outlaw bandit that steals from the rich to give to the poor. Robin Hood, the late-Medieval English folk hero, was immortalized by Errol Flynn in the 1938 film "The Adventures of Robin Hood".  The iconic hat worn by Robin Hood is distinguished by a peaked crown and triangular line that slants toward the face. It features a small, upturned brim and feather detailing. Versions of this style began appearing in women's fashions as early as 1935. Its sporty, masculine style was the perfect complement to the tailored daytime suits and coats of the era.

Christian Berard illustration of a Schiaparelli design featured at Bonwit Teller, circa 1935.

Black felt with a dramatic red feather, from the author's personal collection.

Victoire Roux wears an exaggerated version of the Robin Hood style hat.
OOAK ensemble from The Couture Touch.

Hat by Rose Valois, featured in August 1938 L'Officiel
Photo courtesy madeleinemiranda.com

Crochet your own Robin Hood style, circa 1935.
Photo courtesy thefind.com

The Adrian File

Adrian & Norma Shearer going over designs for
"The Women" (1939). Photo courtesy Adrian Costume Design on Tumbir.com

NAME:  Adrian Adolph Greenberg aka Gilbert Adrian (1903-1959).

OCCUPATION:  Designed spectacular costumes for MGM, and later opened his own fashion house where he designed elegant and wearable ensembles for the retail trade. Many of his designs included an unusual hat, often with a touch of whimsy.

KNOWN TO DRESS:  Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Katherine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow.

Dramatic draped hat worn by Rosalind Russell in "The Women" (1939).
Photo courtesy moviestarmakeover.com

The delightfully quirky hat worn by Greta Garbo in "Ninotchka" (1939).
Photo courtesy mubi.com

A fabulous draped hood and suit designed by Adrian for exclusive retail stores.
Photo courtesy blackbirdantiques.blogspot.com

Adrian's Elephant Ear hat, photo by John Engstead for Harper's Bazaar. 1946.

Adrian gingham ensemble, 1947.

Gene Marshall wears Ashton-Drake's 1997 "Promenade" costume designed by Tim Kennedy, circa 1945.
The hat was given an Adrian-inspired update by The Couture Touch

With a wink and a nod to Adrian, designer StrayCat creates a delightful headdress
for Monolithic Studios' mysterious beauty Oona.

Vintage Ads

Vintage Ads can be a wonderful resource for design inspiration. Often I find the most amazing hats in ads designed for other products such as shoes, automobiles, and even cigarettes. Here's a small sampling from the 1930's and 40's....

1930's Red Cross Shoe ad courtesy vintagedancer.com

British tobacco ad, circa 1930's, courtesy tobacco.stanford.edu

1930's Lucky Strike ad courtesy doctorfox.co.uk

1942 Chesterfield ad courtesy everythingcroton.blogspot.com

Photo courtesy thevintagehatshop.blogspot.com

1949 Monarch car ad courtesy oldcaradvertising.com