Spring has come early to Connecticut this year, with crocuses and daffodils in full bloom by the middle of March. And what better way to celebrate the early Spring than by incorporating a little bit of nature into your wardrobe?
Hats of the 1950s and 1960s are beautiful examples of nature melded with fashion. Women threw off their heavy winter layers and donned hats trimmed with flowers and feathers as they welcomed Spring.
By the 1950s, there were many places to shop for the season’s latest fashionable hats, but many women continued to look to the popular G. Fox and Company Department Store in downtown Hartford for the latest styles. Small hats that perched atop the head were popular throughout the 50s and 60s and spring styles often featured a plethora of faux flowers. However, fake flowers were not relegated to hats alone. G. Fox also sold a beautiful skirt and top ensemble featuring three-dimensional flowers strategically placed along the textile’s design.
Flowers were not the only popular, natural embellishment for hats. Feathers evoked spring breezes as they fluttered gently and straw remained a staple for warm weather headwear as it had since the 1800s and even earlier.
Hats were still considered an important part of a woman’s wardrobe in the 1950s and early 1960s. They remained an essential part of the outfit of the well-dressed business woman, and were worn for social events ranging from picnics to formal weddings. Women of all denominations continued to wear hats to church in the 1950s, invariably purchasing an especially fine hat for Easter Sunday. By the 1970s, women’s hats had virtually ceased to function as essential fashion statements, though they remained in use as utilitarian objects for protection from the heat of the summer sun and the cold winds of winter.
The Connecticut Historical Society Collections contain hundreds of items related to the G. Fox and Company Department Store. You can learn more by visiting its Research Center, checking out the online exhibition “Remembering G. Fox & Co.” (http://www.chs.org/finding_aides/fox/welcome.html), or contacting Anne_Guernsey@chs.org about scheduling a presentation of Elizabeth Abbe’s popular talk, “From Hula Hoops to High Fashion: G. Fox in the 1950s,” for your club or organization.