Hats have been popular from the earliest of days of fashion, tracing back before the Egyptians, but their role in fashion was never as noticeably apparent as during the Victorian era.

The Victorians were, however briefly, the fashion dictators of the world. They had much to say about fashion and its "flaws", even to the extent of devising their own "acceptable" versions of fashions for women. In their eyes, the hat was designed to hide the hair and draw attention away from the body and towards the face. Hair showing under one's hat diminished the sweet, pure attitudes they desired, especially when trying to secure the "right" husband for their daughters.

By the early 1900's, much to the distaste of the English, Paris became the world center of fashion. Parisians found a way to diminish the puritan attitudes of the Victorians by taking hats to the extreme, adding feathers, flowers, and even fruit. By slightly tilting the hat, women could look sexy, show their hair underneath, and bring sexual attention to their whole body. This was, of course, considered inappropriate behavior and provided endless spoofs of the hat industry. Young people loved the new styles and rebelled by wearing these wonderful, large hats adorning themselves with as much trim as possible.

The large fashion hat trend lasted through the teens until women's liberation really began to flourish. By the1920's, women began to wear see-through hats or cut their hair and wear no hat at all.

Once again, we thank the French!