Sunday, January 18, 2009

Mon Nouveau Chapeau-- well, sort of nouveau


A few days before the new semester started, one of my student teachers came into my office to talk about a few lesson planning issues and calm student teaching butterflies. At the end of our meeting, she handed me this hat:



Cool, huh? I've collected vintage hats for a long time (starting my second year of teaching when I was looking for skit props in an antiques store), and I mentioned a writing idea around old hats one day in class last semester. This student remembered, saw this hat, and thought I'd like it.


So now the creative task: Who would have worn a hat like this? What other wardrobe items would have gone with it? What would the hat be worn for? I'm thinking 1950's, but that's just because the fabric reminds me of Grandma May's toiletries case. It also has a kind of "flying nun" feel to it, which you can't see in the above picture. I took a picture of me wearing the hat so you could get a sense of the "flying nun" element.




Nice, huh? It kind of looks like it's floating on my head when I wear it.
I'm thinking this hat would go with one of those 1950's floral dresses, kind of like what Jackie Kennedy would wear, except that Jackie Kennedy probably wouldn't have worn this hat. Definitely white gloves, definitely some kind of little purse.
What do you think?

4 comments:

  said...

I think I saw Klinger on MASH wear a hat like this once. Different fabric, though. He was always very stylish when it came to women's hats.

literaqueen said...

Yeah, he probably did-- only his hat probably had a veil.

Tracy P. said...

No floral dress with this pattern, it has to be something solid. White gloves, yes!

literaqueen said...

Hey, good call. Floral dress with floral hat would be kind of busy.