Headwear

“ The ordinary dress of men of the middle classes comprises a short shirt cut low at the throat, drawers, socks of material made with a single seam up the back, a long embroidered coat, and a shorter jacket of some plain fabric, held by a broad waist-belt, embroidered in colours and fastened by a jade ornament.
The headgear differs according to the season. In summer a conical-shaped straw hat is chosen, and in winter small hats obtain either of hard felt with stiff, upturned brims or of felt soft and pliable. ”

“ The gown itself has the skirts gathered to show the petticoat, and small aprons fringed with lace are often seen. The simple head-dresses of the Restoration are changed for caps with long lace lappets, or for a cap whose top-knot or commode stood up stiff and fan-shaped like a section cut out of an old ruff. When no commode was worn, a loose hood, thrown gracefully over the head and gathered at the shoulders, sometimes took its place. As a riding or walking dress, ladies of quality often wore coats, waistcoats, hats and cravats, not to be distinguished from those of their lords. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Hats and caps are seen in many shapes, but the most remarkable is the developed form of that head-dress which the 14th-century man seems to have achieved by putting his pate into the face-hole of his hood and twisting its liripipe round his brows. In the 15th century the effect is produced with a thick, turban-like roll of stuff from the top of which hung down on one side folds of cloth coming nigh to the shoulder, and on the other the liripipe broadened and lengthened to 4 or 5 ft. ”

“ It was not long after this, however, that man gave up fashion as a bad job, ultimately contenting himself for his adornment with the details of his waistcoat and the cut of his whiskers, begging the question at first by full-skirted coats with velvet collars, frilled shirts and stock ties, tasselled canes, and light beaver hats, then gradually drifting into the safe harbour of broadcloth and linen, where he permitted himself selection only in the colour of his necktie and the option of the hard or the soft hat. ”

“ A person with good face and figure must have looked becomingly beneath it. Fig. 32 is an example of the bad taste which still peeped forth. It is one of the most fashionable head-dresses worn in 1789, and is the back view of a lady's head, surmounted by a very small cap or hat, puffed round with ribbon; the hair is arranged in a long, straight bunch down the neck, where it is tied by a ribbon, and flows in curls beneath; long curls repose one on each shoulder, while the hair at the sides of the head is frizzed out on each side in a most fantastic form. ”

“ In the eighties and nineties the people dressed most smartly. I well remember my tight-fitting16 habit and tall silk hat, my white stock in winter, or high collar and white tie in summer. The menfolk wore silk hats and black hunting coats, smart breeches and high patent boots. All this is changed; a go-as-you-please air has overtaken the riders. The women wear loose coats with sack backs, cotton shirts, sailor hats, billycocks—anything and everything that brings comfort, even if it deprives them of grace. ”

“ The plain black coat fitting to perfection, but light and perfectly easy, the snowy white waistcoat, the shirt, of extraordinary fineness, as pure as driven snow, the plain wristband turned back over the cuff, the beautifully-made gloves and boots, and withal that air of ease and grace which, if not a part of the dress, except metaphorically, gives value to the whole, at once distinguished that young man from all the rest, and pointed him out as one of the marked in the capital of nations. ”

“ Afternoon dress consists of a double-breasted frock coat of soft cheviot, vicuña, or diagonal worsted with either waistcoat to match—single-breasted or double-breasted—of fancy cloth, Marseilles duck or piqué; trousers of different material, usually cashmere, quiet in tone, with a striped pattern on a dark gray, drab, or blue background; boots of patent leather, buttoned, not tied; a white or colored shirt with straight standing white collar; a four-in-hand, puffed Ascot, or small club tie; silk hat and undressed gray, tan, or brown kid gloves. ”

“ The hat, the boots, the waistcoat are far less ephemeral than the body they protect, and indicate almost as much of the wearer's character as his hands and face. So I am not ashamed of my silk pajamas or of the geranium powder I throw in my bath. They are part of me.
But is this "me" limited to my body and my clothes? I drink a cup of coffee or a cocktail: after they are consumed they are part of me; are they not part of me as I hold the cup or the glass in my hand? Is my coat more characteristic of me than my house—my sleeve-links than my wife or my collie dog? ”

“ HEAD-ORNAMENTS from the tenth to the sixteenth century belong for the most part rather to the general history of costume than to that of jewellery proper; and it will be unnecessary to follow those extravagances of fashion which, especially during the fifteenth century, were presented by the head-dress of women. More germane to the subject are the fillets, bands, and chaplets worn throughout the Middle Ages by women when their heads were uncovered, and during a more limited period by men also. ”

“ There is plentiful head-gear named in these inventories,—six caps and a hat for each man, at a time when Englishmen thought much and deeply upon what they wore to cover their heads, and at a time when hats were very costly. I give due honor to those hats in an entire chapter, as I do to the ruffs and bands supplied in such adequate and dignified numbers. There was an unusually liberal supply of shirts, and there were drawers which are believed to have been draw-strings for the breeches. ”

“ I have already observed that the men fastened the hair upon the top of the head, and the women tie it in a club behind, but there is another difference in the head-dress, by which the sexes are distinguished: The women wear nothing as a succedaneum for a cap, but the men constantly wrap something round their heads in the manner of a fillet; it is small, but generally of the finest materials that can be procured: We saw some who applied silk handkerchiefs to this purpose, and others that wore fine cotton, or muslin, in the manner of a small turban. ”

“ A stylish, well-fitting cloth coat, of some dark color and of unexceptionable quality, nether garments to correspond, or in warm weather, or under other suitable circumstances, white pants of a fashionable material and make, the finest and purest linen, embroidered in white, if at all; a cravat and vest of some dark or neutral tint, according to the physiognomical peculiarities of the wearer and the prevailing mode; an entirely fresh-looking, fashionable black hat, and carefully-fitted modish boots, white gloves, and a soft, thin, white handkerchief. ”

“ It consists of a red cap of beautiful material, of the form of a hat without the rim, with a large tassel of blue silk suspended from the top; a round jacket and vest, of cloth of various colors, beautifully embroidered with cord, and sometimes with gold and silver lace, which fits to the figure; from the waist is suspended a white frock with heavy folds which hang gracefully, barely covering the knees, with leggings of the same colored cloth as the jacket, embroidered in the same manner, and covering the shoes. ”

“ The costume of ladies consisted of (1) an under robe with sleeves, close-fitting at the wrist; (2) a loose garment, like the dalmatica, but without sleeves; (3) a mantle. A head-dress, called the wimple, was worn. This consisted of a piece of silk or linen passing under the chin, with the ends gathered overhead, and was first mentioned in the reign of John. It was worn with a veil hanging down by the sides of the face and over the back of the head. ”

“ The most ancient form of head wear we find to be the cap such as is seen on figures representing the goddess of liberty. Hoods, also, of various shapes, date back long before hats appeared, the latter for a long time only being employed as an article of extra clothing in winter, worn over the hood or when going on a journey. ”

“ Having, therefore, criticized our present head-gear, and condemned our hats, without pulling them to pieces, let us enquire what a proper covering for the head should be: first of all in point of usefulness, and next in point of comely appearance. But let no man vainly imagine that we expect to suit the fancies of all the creatures privileged to wear hats, or even to cover their heads; we do not pretend to invent, or decide upon, any one given type or form of head-dress. ”

“ I've never seen any one quite so grand—top hat, latest style, long coat ditto, white buckskin waistcoat, twenty-thousand-dollar pearl in pale blue scarf, white spats, spotless varnish boots just from the varnishers, cream-colored gloves. You will make a hit! ”

“ It is not but you will find white neckcloths and black broadcloth in their attire, but there is a cut to the coat, a tie to the neckcloth, that prevents the possibility of error as to their vocation. They are sporting men all over. Hard-featured, serious-looking, spare-limbed men mostly, much given to burying their hands in their coat-pockets (never in their trousers) , and peaceably addicted to the wearing of broad-brimmed hats. Now, the general acceptation of a “sporting” man would give him a tall, shiny hat, with a narrow brim, and considerably cocked on one side ”

“ The front is now stiffened and shaped at an angle, this front is sewn with jewels, and, as the angle forms a gap between the forehead and the point of the hood, a pad is added to fill in the vacant space. At last one arrives at the diamond-shaped head-dress worn in this reign, and, in this reign, elaborated in every way, elaborated, in fact, out of existence. In order to make the head-dress in its 1509 state you must make the white lining with the jewelled turnover as a separate cap. However, I think that the drawings speak for themselves more plainly than I can write. ”

“ Men wear enormous straw hats as a badge of mourning, but the usual style of head-dress is to shave the extreme summit of the head, while the rest of the hair grows long and is braided up in a sort of topknot with a little bird-cage hat above it. This hat is then tied under the chin as an American woman would tie hers. ”

“ Fashionable riding dress in 1786. The costume consists of a broad brimmed hat with band and buckle, powdered wig and pigtail, a long-tailed coat with large buttons, tight buckskin breeches buttoned at the knee, and high boots. (Fig. 7) : A hat of the newest fashion of 1792, gaily decorated with gold strings and tassels. The natural hair is worn powdered, and the high coat collar is very characteristic of the time. ”

“ Her hat was a silk one, set right on the back of her head, with a velvet rosettte and steel buckle in front, and a long veil of grey gauze streaming out behind. When we add orange gloves, and a riding-whip with a gaudy tassel appended to it, you have the details of a costume at once singular and unique. ”

“ I had been desired to appear in full uniform—epaulettes, cocked hat, sword, and what is suggestively called "brass-bound" coat; swallow-tailed, with a high collar stiffened with lining and gold lace, set off by trousers with a like broad stripe of lace, not inaptly characterized by some humorist as "railroad" trousers. The theory of these last, I believe, is that so much decoration on hat and collar, if not balanced by an equivalent amount below, is top-heavy in visual effect, if not on personal stability. ”

“ Top coats that have set-in sleeves and are belted at a low waistline with a narrow belt are far more becoming than a voluminous wrap or flaring unbelted coat.
Your hat is an important item. You are one of the women who can wear a small hat unless your face is round. Medium hats, too, will become you. Avoid a shallow crown hat. A hat with a medium high crown is better. A decided mushroom brim is another style which makes a person look shorter. On the other hand, a hat with an off-the-face brim or with the brim rolled on one side gives height. ”

“ To utilize the hair from the heads of others is an ancient practice still to be met with, and all sorts of [131] means for making the most of one’s own hair in the shape of pads and so on are still adopted.
When speaking of footmen, we shall find that those who dress in the costume that was in fashion when hair powder was in vogue still wear it, and the custom has been traced to the days of Rome, when gold dust was put upon the head. ”

“ Typical of the headgear affected by the lower classes in warm weather was a huge straw hat in the form of a dish-cover. Another characteristic example, likewise of straw, resembled a round, deep-edged tray, the brim turned downwards, and the whole was held in place by means of a chin-strap.
Women, as a rule, left the head uncovered, preferring to rely for protection upon flat umbrellas made of paper, cotton, or silk. ”