Leghorn hat

“ As much sleight of hand is required in this department, it naturally follows that a good workman is a valuable and appreciated artisan.
The bodies used for this kind of hat have been so various, that a full, or even succinct, description of them would be quite superfluous. Wool and fur bodies, straw and leghorn, cork, whalebone and muslin, &c., even stretchers similar to umbrellas without a body at all have been adopted, and all of them have had their day. At present, however, the trade seems to have settled down to the two kinds—fur and muslin. ”

“ Our enjoyment may be short-lived. We must not be surprised if this incredible hat returns in triumph with peace. It has survived the blasts of many centuries and infinite changes of fashion. It is, I suppose, the most ancient survival in the dress that men wear. There is in the Froissart collection at the British Museum an illumination (dating from the fifteenth century) showing the expedition of the French and English against the Barbary corsairs. And there seated in the boats are men clad in armour. They have put their helmets aside and are wearing top-hats! ”

“ The round ladies' hat, however, of the middle and end of the last century, may be seen in its primitive state in those enormous circles of straw, brought from Tuscany, and sold in our milliners' shops, fit to be pinched and cut into the prevailing fashion. The hats, both of men and women—when once they had quitted the becoming costume of the Middle Ages—arose out of one and the same type; a large circle of stuff with a projecting central cap for the skull. Human invention, in the matter of hats, seems for several centuries to have rested in this solitary idea. ”

“ A white bowler and a blue serge suit made as stylish and effective a garb as anyone needed. Soft hats no doubt were comfortable, but they were also slovenly. Moreover they were not practical. At a horse sale, for example, you could not rattle them. As for the plea that tall hats were of value to conjurers, he had no use for such arguments. Conjurers dealt in illusion and all illusion was retrograde. (Oh! Oh!) .
The Bishop of LINCOLN said that he felt bound to dissociate himself from his, partner's remarks. He himself looked upon a silk hat as an essential. (A voice, "With rigging?") ”

“ A small neat linen collar, upright shape, with cuffs to correspond, should be worn with the habit, no frilling nor fancy work being admissible—the collar to be fastened with a plain gold or silver stud.
The nicest hat to ride in is an ordinary silk one, much lower than they are usually made, and generally requiring to be manufactured purposely to fit and suit the head. Of course, if you are a young girl, the melon shape will not be unsuitable, but the other is more in keeping, more becoming, and vastly more economical in the end, although few can be induced to believe this. ”

“ From a dozen to twenty of these strands—dyed and undyed—are plaited into the flexible braid of which the hat is built up—a task requiring extraordinary patience and skill. Such hats are made only for relatives and close friends; if an unmarried girl gives one to a man the gift has the same significance as the pair of earrings he would give in return. When a native boy appears with a new and gorgeous hat, the origin of which is veiled in doubt, village gossip hums until the truth is known ”

“ Into this slender lock of hair thus permitted to grow upon the apex of his cranium, he interweaves long strands of sable silk, which form a cue that nearly reaches the ground. His hat, which possesses a brim of enormous width, is manufactured out of ratan or bamboo splints, and has an indentation made in the top expressly for the accommodation of his cue. He very seldom, however, wears this appendage tucked up in his hat, but generally allows it to trail about his back and legs, as young girls sometimes do ribbons. This pig-tail he loves as he does his life ”

“ The chief shapes to mark in this century in male head-dress is the increased height of the tall hats which rise to vie with the female fashions. We still see a round hat [96] with a rolled edge and long fall over one side, besides shorter folds in the crown, both scalloped or foliated at the edge, and this shape may be noted till about 1460. Some of these hats were made without a crown, as in Fig. 28 (see p. 94) ; the roll was decorated, as a rule, with jewelled studs. A top hat, something like our present shape, appears, but more belled at the top and also a padded, rolled brim. ”

“ Every Englishman who goes to Leghorn is enthusiastic over the beauty of the Livornese women, the well-cut, regular features, the dark flashing eyes, the artistically-dressed hair, the great gold-loop ear-rings, and the soft santuzza, or silken scarf, with embroidered ends, wound about the head and secured by great pins, the finishing touch to a thoroughly artistic adornment. ”

“ Gay coverings are used on them often when they would be out of place on a larger hat. However, any material may be used; braids, alone or in combination with fabric. Velvets, georgette, satin, and taffeta are used. A turban covered entirely with flowers sewed down flat makes a charming hat: the lower edge invariably looks better if first bound with a bias piece of velvet no matter what the covering may be—it seems to give a softer look around the face. A round crown of buckram makes a good turban frame if a bias strip of crinoline an inch wide is sewed to the lower edge to give a little flare. ”

“ In the 14th century it took a fullness of loose folds, with serrated or foliated edges falling to the shoulder as in Fig. 15 (see p. 73) . A close helmet-shaped cap is seen in the 12th century, with a falling point from the crown, and the 13th century brought in the higher crowned hat, with a long peaked front, turned up at the back. Feathers were worn at the front, back, or side of hats, and sometimes on the [76] front of the hoods; these increased their dimensions in height and peak, till the straight-up high hat, which was often brimless, came in the 15th century. ”

“ Long veils, long plumes, hats with very broad brims, or very high crowns, as well as those which are worn perched on the top of the head, should be especially avoided. The hat must always be made secure on the head by means of stout elastic sewn on strongly, and so adjusted that it can pass below the braid or coil of hair at the back of the head. ”

“ Some gallants twisted the tails into all sorts of fantastic forms and carelessly poised them on the top of the head. With the shaven faces that were always worn with this hood, the men all looked very much like monks. It was fear of this appearance that induced Francis I. to set the fashion of velvet caps in his kingdom. Fig. 67 represents a French military hat. For the past fifty years the high silk hat has been the most popular style in France.
At one time there was a law in France which compelled all bankrupt Jews to wear a green hat, so that people might avoid losses by trading with them. ”

“ Finally, the massive effect of the hair is broken by the narrow scarf bound about it and tied under the chin. The curve of this scarf meets the curve of the profile to form a beautiful oval.
The quaintest touch in the picture is the child's big hat. The same shape is worn to-day by men, and one might fancy that the baby had borrowed her papa's hat for the frolic. It is a curious change in fashions which transfers any part of a little girl's wardrobe to that of a grown man. ”

“ It has one advantage, it can be done by less skilled or [87] careful operatives than the “sponging,” which needs careful attention.
The straw boater for men during its stiffening is often soaked in the “stiffening” bath for an appreciable time in order that the gelatine may thoroughly soak into all the fibres of the plait; but that also, when it emerges, is sponged over to remove excess.
The general plan of stiffening a single piece hat (ladies’ hat) with gelatine is for the operator to place the crown of the hat correctly on the wooden block. ”

“ Some plaits with prominent heads or fancy embellishments require two or more “strainers” or even a thickness of flannel [98] between the iron and the hat to prevent bruising, but plaits such as these are generally “blocked” by being “steamed” (trade term) , that is the shaping on the block is entirely done by the hand of the operator after the material has been softened in the “steampot.” When hats are, as they always were till about 1885, of “one piece” make, the crown having been finished, is taken off the wooden block and placed head downward in the “curler” or “brimmer” of wood. ”

“ The same may be said of what was once described to me as a ‘human’ hat, unless it is of the very plainest; for some reason which I cannot quite define, but can nevertheless thoroughly appreciate, a ‘smart’ hat looks absolutely ludicrous out here: in fact, any tendency to over-dressing has only one effect, that of making your company, usually a few hard-working men, feel thoroughly uncomfortable. All one wants, after all, is to appear fresh, spotless and dainty, which can be best accomplished by a clean linen frock, a shady simple straw hat, a sensible sunshade and garden gloves. ”

“ The flat, folding, crescent-shaped beaver, called a cocked or an opera hat, was still to be seen as late as 1818; and a party of gentlemen returning on foot from Almack’s on a summer’s morning, with pantaloons tight as the Venetian standard-bearer’s, and hats cocked according to the mode, presented a rather martial look. Since that time, the round hat has gained headway; even coachmen only wear the old cocked covering on state occasions; and the ugliest article that ever could be devised for the purpose seems to be planted upon our unwilling brows for ever. ”

“ A coat of any sort, however light, becomes a burden upon a walking expedition; about the arms it always uncomfortably obstructs the perspiration. A strong felt hat with a broad brim is the best protection for the head; it is preferable to the Turkish cap, but on account of the intense power of the rays of the sun it cannot be worn [Pg 426] immediately next the head. It cannot have anything below it better than the red fez, which never requires to be taken off; when rest is taken under the shade of some spreading tree, it is quite sufficient to remove merely the felt hat. ”

“ A couple of suits of rough cloth, with leather gaiters and good marching boots, will be the best. A felt hat would be worse than useless as a head-covering out there, for in the hot season the sun pours down with a fierceness that cannot be imagined, and can only be fully understood when actually experienced. ”

“ It is, therefore, not unfair to assume that the manipulation of vegetable fibres, such as leaves, rushes, straws and other similar products, was really the earliest textile operation. That once conceded, it is no long step to the use of the “plaitted” article as a head covering.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its articles on “Costume” and “Hats” states that the “modern hat can be traced back to the Petasus worn by the ancient Romans when on a journey”; and similar hats, known as Kausia, were also used by the ancient Greeks on like occasions. ”

“ This is a most slovenly practice, as well as a dangerous one, inasmuch as it tends to keep the head in a continual and forced state of perspiration, rendering a liability to "take cold," every time the hat is removed. Yet even this habit is not so bad as sticking the hat on the back of the head, which, of all others, is the most general, and carries with it the greatest impropriety, because such a position not only destroys the shape, but by lodging on the coat collar, the hind part, from friction, becomes greasy, and the binding is always in a state of raggedness ”

“ The straw of oats or wheat and corn husks were braided and made into hats. Hats which were almost everlasting, we used to think, were made of pine straw. Hats were made of cloth also. I remember one in particular of gray jeans, stitched in small diamonds with black silk thread. It was as perfect a hat as was ever moulded by the [59] hatter, but the oddness of that hat consisted in its being stitched on the sewing-machine with silk thread. ”

“ Eyelet work is particularly dainty on a hat as it gives a lacy effect. The material should be a medium weight linen so as not to be too stiff. At one time butcher's linen was thought to be the only kind to be used, but of later years a softer linen is preferred. Lingerie hats have been used for years, probably long before you were born. Every year the shape varies a little. One year it is a narrow brim sailor, next year it is a wide brim, then again a high, next a Tam-o'-shanter crown. ”

“ Nothing else will stand so much sun and rain and dust and mud and still look decent. With this, downward, gaiters of the same and heavy-soled hob-nailed boots. Upward, a dark linen shirt waist and a feather-weight Swiss straw hat, with a brim broad enough to protect from the sun. One should have the trimmings of one’s hat of a warranted-fast color. ”

“ The rich manufacturers of Trogen and Herisau and Teufen had belts and silver-mounted dress-swords. With scarce an exception, every man was habited in black, and wore a stove-pipe hat, but the latter was in most cases brown and battered. Both circumstances were thus explained to me: as the people vote with the uplifted hand, the hat must be of a dark color, as a background, to bring out the hands more distinctly ”

“ The vendor's of second-hand hats cannot, under such circumstances, go about with their's hugged in their arms, so they mount them sometimes on the dome of an expanded umbrella, and holding the latter aloft pass through the crowd, crying out, "A hat for a shillin'! ”