Hat Couture

I've only worn a hat one time in my life, a half hat and veil, to a cousin's 1961 wedding. That style looked good with my 'French twist and curls' hair style. During those days, one was not considered properly dressed for an evening wedding without a hat. Hats quickly went out of fashion over those next few years, and by the mid-sixties, they were seldom seen except on much older women, usually in church. It's just as well they went out of style as I never looked good in hats, but I've always been interested in their history.

About 26 years ago I picked up a few custom made vintage hats at an antique store, hoping to use them in some way as decorative accessories in my home. The hats are from the 1930s and 1940s. Some are flamboyant, and some just plain bizarre. The hat above is one of the more interesting ones. It's similar to the one worn this past November by Aretha Franklin at the Inauguration. I like my hat better.

This satin and velvet hat reminds me of a Canalifera seashell. I wonder if that's what the designer intended. My decorating ideas never came to fruition, and the hats have been stored under wraps all this time and forgotten. When I found them again, I realized I'll never use them as I originally intended, so I decided to at least photograph and photo edit them, hoping that would spark some creative ideas. Nothing yet on how to use the hats, but the photos will soon become part of a collage!

The Golden Thread

What happened to Suzanne? Did she pass on with no loved ones left, or enter a nursing home? Were her belongings sold at an estate sale? I never met her, but I know she carefully saved the mementos of her high school years and of her engagement and marriage, each birthday, holiday and wedding anniversary cards for fifteen years of marriage. She was born in 1920 in Illinois, and graduated from high school in 1938. From her photos, she was quite plain, and wore thick glasses. She was engaged to John at 19, and married at 21. Her wedding was large, attended by 175 friends and relatives. She received numerous wedding and shower gifts, all meticulously recorded on sheets of onion paper. That year, 1941, her new husband went off to war. She never had children.

This I know from going through the two scrapbooks full of cards, photos and mementos that I bought at an antique store, with the idea of using the ephemera contained in them in art projects. As I deconstructed the scrapbooks, I couldn't help but wonder and reflect on her life. The destruction of her carefully glued and arranged mementos caused a twinge, as if I were violating her privacy in some way. But, I reasoned, her life was probably over, and at least I would be bringing bits and pieces of her past back to life.

The greeting cards document the styles, social mores and designs of the late 1920s through the early 1950s. They are lovely, and vaguely familiar. I was a young girl in the 1950s, and I can recall the fonts, colors and themes of those days. There are also telegrams, bridge score sheets, paper school memorabilia and dance cards and calling cards featuring themes of the day.

I purchased the scrapbooks in 2005, and I have yet to make use of the cards. I have to get past my wondering what happened to this stranger. When I bought those books and learned a bit about her existence, it was as if a golden thread attached my life to hers.