We all love creating a classic look, right? A fabulous dress, a cute pair of shoes, the perfect bag—and what better way to ‘top’ it all off than with a great vintage hat. The right vintage hat can really make a good look great so choose carefully. When you’re out at the local vintage clothing store (hopefully there’s one close by), you can use this little guide to know what kind of hat you want.
The Roaring 20’s
These are probably the most difficult to find but if you can find ‘em, you can really make a statement. The hats from the age of Prohibition (boo!) were usually worn low on the head and would frame the face quite nicely. Things to also look for in a 20’s hat were little skull caps and beaded headbands fitted for the crown of the head. Look for a lot of beads and sequins too but if you want to go that way, you’ll probably want to have beads or sequins on the rest of your outfit to match.
Depression-Era 30’s
Most of the 30’s hats you’ll find built off of the 20’s styles and were smallish but worn higher on the head. These vintage hats started to bring out a more feminine style so keep that in mind if you want a 30’s look. These hats are pretty tough to find as well, but these can worth the search if you come up with one.
Post-War 40’s
Fans of vintage hats agree that hats from the 40’s are some of their faves as styles from that period are very versatile and can adapt to many different looks and outfits. That can make for some eye-catching combinations if you find the right hat. Darker colors were prominent in this time, as well as larger shapes and flowing lines. A fun new feature in the 40’s was a comfort band to allow you to wear the hat in some really cute and different ways so experiment to see which works best for you.
The Golden 50’s and Swingin’ 60’s
Headbands really came into fashion in the 50’s with fabric overlays worn tighter on the head than in previous years. The colors really brightened up in the 50’s and 60’s so if you see larger, brighter vintage hats there’s a good chance they’re from 50’s or 60’s. Pillbox hats (aka The Jackie O) began to pop up in the 60’s as well as hats that rise high into the air. Because the hair styles (bouffant in particular) were tall as well, the hats had to accommodate all that hair under them.
No matter which decade you pick your vintage hat from, have fun with it! You can even use one of these hats to give your modern look a touch of old-school class and flair.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:16 am
nice hats and it looks good…