Hats: Status, Style and Glamour (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Following in the footsteps of his highly praised Shoes: Fashion and Fantasy ( LJ 5/15/90), McDowell tackles the subject of hats in the same witty, anecdotal manner. Not the typically chronological treatment of fashion history, this book discusses hats in the context of rank, social class and status, occupation, personality, and how fashion changes occurred. From crowns to bowlers, turbans to straw hats, head coverings are treated in their multidimensional forms and meanings. With an emphasis on creativity, 280 illustrations from contemporary and historical sources show the almost limitless possible variations upon basic forms and styles. As the first major book in a decade devoted solely to hats--Madeline Ginsburg's commendable The Hat: Trends and Traditions (Barron's, 1990) is aimed at younger readers--this survey is highly recommended, especially as it includes up-to-date milliners such as Philippe Model, Sybilla, and Carlos Lewis along with the classic Schiaparelli, Dache, and Lanvin.
- Therese D. Baker, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A myriad of headware styles are cataloged, from crowns and helmets to caps and protective headgear. Besides providing a history of changing styles and hat makers, this includes plenty of insights on design changes, hat functions, and changing hat concepts. The result is more than just a singular volume on hat styles; but an expansive history which delves into many different avenues. -- Midwest Book Review

Anyone looking for a theme for a future World's Fair exhibit need look no further than this exciting book. Hats. Colin McDowell, an internationally recognized fashion historian, whose previous books were Shoes, Fashion and Fantasy, and the encyclopedic McDowell's Directory of Twentieth Century Fashion, opens Hats with a strong assertion: "All the basic hat shapes were created very early in the history of mankind. The author claims that in 500 years of headwear, even with changing scale, proportion and decoration, hats have remained basically two styles: brimmed and unbrimmed. However, readers may have a different viewpoint, turning the pages and taking a gander at the 15th century hennin from an annotated manuscript (c. 1477). Here's a towering hat that must be at least half the height of the beautiful woman portrayed wearing it. Unbrimmed, yes, but bizarre too. The author believes it possible that such high hennins came to us in painting as dramatizations of headwear that probably were much more prosaic in scale. I read this book from cover to cover and relished McDowell's cataloguing myriad styles, from royal crowns to skullcaps, tricornes to the creations of the great hat makers of our century. His sparkling style is appealing. We remember First Lady Jackie Kennedy wearing a pillbox hat that became fabulously fashionable. Kennedy's designer, Halston, adopted the pillbox hat that had been designed by Adrian for Greta Garbo in the 1932 film "As You Desire Me," and reinvented it for Jackie as America's crown substitute. Jackie Kennedy found it so flattering that it became her "signature" hat for all her official engagements. Not so lucky were other First Ladies. Eleanor Roosevelt was criticized for wearing too many hats, and other First Ladies were chastised for forgetting to wear a hat. In the 1950's, Bergdorf Goodman's millinery department was popular with jet-setters such as Elsa Maxwell, Mrs. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and women who would not dream of going to a luncheon, theater, or church without a hat, white gloves and proper attire. There was a time when no self-respecting woman would go without a hat to lunch, to church or to board a plane. Some lovely photographs illustrate bridal headware-symbolizing purity and majesty. We learn that "In Roman times, brides wore yellow veils; in the Middle Ages they garlanded their hair with freshly gathered flowers, but it was not until the 19th century that the bridal wreath and veil of the 'traditional' white wedding evolved. Bridal hats are a 20th century development. The book concludes with a chronology of hats, from before 1100 to 1990. Though in recent years, some believe millinery is dying, McDowell has photographs to prove otherwise in his examination of the bedrock of youth cultures and that talismanic youth hat--the baseball cap. Hats off to a wonderful book! -- From Independent Publisher

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500279446
• ISBN-13: 978-0500279441
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 7.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,744,170 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hats from every angle - in texts and pictures (GREAT!!!), May 8, 2001

By A Customer

For me, this is the most comprehensive book on the subject that is available - and that includes several out-of-print-books as well. The pictures are great, often full-page, mostly in colour. The texts cover every angle of hat history, style, trade, designers, and everything else you can think of. The pictures cover all kinds of hat styles, usually putting traditional or classic shapes in contrast with modern versions or interpretations, there are also pictures of hats by a lot of great designers with a short synopsis on their work and simply wonderful hats. The book is a rare treat for the eyes and a great source of information. Be warned, however, that the subjects are treated usually rather briefly, and not in detail. Turn to other books concentrating on single aspects for that - for an overview, you can't do better than this. I want to point out, however, that the book does NOT deal with the do-it-yourself-creation of hats, and anyone looking for information on hatmaking or millinery instruction has to turn elsewhere. Still, if you're interested in hats and / or millinery, you don't want to miss this book.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Glance at Fashion and Little More, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This is a good book for an office environment where you have to sit and wait, and would rather look at pictures than be informed. The first sentence of the chapter 'The Hat and the Hatmaker' quotes Thackeray, "there is a great deal in the building and wearing of hats," but McDowell tells the reader little more about felting than St. Clement supposedly discovered felting by sticking flax in his shoes which "matted the fibres." He explains that beaver was more expensive than rabbit, and rabbit was more expensive than straw. He does not say whether beaver is still used to make hats. There is a lot of information in this book: In the late 19th century top hats were called chimney pots. Pre-World War I "Scale is still important at all social levels and is provided by trims." [in women's hats]. I have selected my examples at random as typical. This kind of information can while away the time in waiting room, but I didn't find it useful. The layout is attractive, and I liked some of the illustrations.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A coffee table history of hats, December 10, 2004

By	Gagewyn (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Hats: Status, Style and Glamour (Hardcover)

There aren't many books about hats, which gives this one an edge. Most of the text in the book deals with history of hats. The history starts to get detailed around 1800. So only about half of what you find in this book applies to hats you might find in a thrift store. In the margins are small period advertisements for hats and depictions of hats from cartoons and simple drawings. Scattered throughout are full page color plates with photos of hats. Half of the text pages are printed on green paper, so the illustrations there would be green and white. It bothers me a little.

The pictures here are nice. They are useful for seeing how a particular style was worn and for trying to determine a bit about when a hat was made. There is also a section on hats today. Consider when this book was published. There is a little too much about Boy George here and how he will bring about a comeback for hats.

All in all this is a nice picture book and history for hats. If you are into that kind of thing then this is fine to look through.