Figure 1.--Here we see English girls enjoying a zoo visit, probably London's Regent's Park Zoo with a range of fancy hats. The basic hats were similar, it was the decoration that varied. The dealer suggested the magic latern slide was taken in the 1890s. We also think the 1900s is possible.

We see English girls wearing a variety of headwear. We note bonnets, hats, berets/tams, and to a lesser extent caps. Sailor hats were popular in the late-19th and early-20th century. Some were plain like the ones worn bu boys. Others were heavily decorated. We also note large frilly hats of varied design. We see some of them here, we think in the 1910s (figure 1). The fancy, highly decorated hats seem very preavent here. Theybvsee almost comical to the midern eye, but they were the heighth of fashion in the early-20th century. Younger boys also wore sailor hats, but not the decorated wide-brimmed hats like the girls. At mid-cntury we begin to see sun hats. Some of the more popular styles in the 20th century besides hats were berets, boaters, and tams. The prevalence and styling of the varid types varied chronologically. Stocking caps were popular for winter wear. Some headwear seems primarily associated with schoolwear, at least after World War I in the 1920s. We see schools with destinctuive styles such as berets, boaters, and rounded-crown hats. Several styles were poular for schoolwear, but with varied colors (primarily with the hat bands and the addition of crests) they were mase detinctive. Unlike boy' school caps, girls school headwear were not done in bright colors. Boys commonly wore caps to match their blazers. This was not the case for girls. While hats were very commn in the early-20th century. We no longer see headwear to any extent by the end of the century. The primary headwear we see in the 21st century is the stocking caps popular for winter-wear. We also see sun hats.

Berets/Tams

While we have found very few images of English boys wearing berets. We see many Engkish girls wearing bertets during the inter-War era (1920s-30s). Hair bows often quite large dominated girl's dress in the the 1910s, but this changed in the 1920s and we begin to see large numbers of berets. This is the same period when berets wre very popular in America and as in England, mostly by the girls. American girls called them 'tams'--derived from tam o'shanter. That if course was a British term, so this may have also been used in Britain. They were so popular with gurls that some schools adopted them as past of the school uniform. We see far fewer after World War II in the 1940s and 50s. The Beret wreakind of every day wear. When girls dressed up they were more likely to wear hats. We see girls of all ages wearing berets, kncluding teenagers. We are not sure about colors, athough we do note a number of white berets. There are various ways of wearing berets. We mostly see girls pukking thenm down toward the wears. That may be because they seem to have been seen as a cold wethrer garment to keep warm. We see them being less commonly worn durung the summer.

Bonnets

Bonnet is a headwear term that has been used for many different headwear garmebts, including garments for both both genders, although generally it has been most commonly ued for female headwear--both girls and adult women. The term originated in medieval France where it referred to a type of fabric. It has been used for such a wide range of headwear that it is difficult to make any general statement, but usually meant a soft material cap without a brim, especially an all-round brim. But the term is so ambiguous is that the term for steel helmets was a bommet. And it was especially popular in Scotland. Scottish Glengarrys and Balmorals were commonly called bonnets. Over time the term in England came to mean sotwear headwear tied under the chin with a string or material strap. Commonly the forehead was not covered while the back was covered. There was a social-class element in England. The English bonnet for some time meant informal headwear worn by the well-to-do women at home in domestic situations. Suddenly we see the bonnet becoming fashionalble headwear (18th century). And this continued for some time (late-19th century). The term bonnet was the dominant term used for female hats. Actual bonnets were worn in the 19th century. Queen Victoria was known to wear elegant bonners, but gradually it became a child's style. We see school-age girls wearing bonnets in the late-19th century. This seems to have been more common than in America. Eventually the age trends declined and the bonnet became seen as baby headwear, often described as 'baby bonnets'.

Caps

Stocking caps were popular for winter wear. A stocking cap was not a true cap, but we include it here as it was called a cap. We also see some girls wearing Scottish caps called bonnets--Balmorals and Glengaries. Several styles were poular for schoolwear, but with varied colors (primarily with the hat bands and the addition of crests) they were mase detinctive. Unlike boy' school caps, girls school headwear were not done in bright colors. Boys commonly wore caps to match their blazers. This was not the case for girls. The primary headwear we see in the 21st century is the stocking caps popular for winter-wear. We also see sun hats.

Hats

The principal headwear worn by English girls was hats. The most common hat we have noted was a rounded-crown hat with brims of various widths. Wide-brimmed hats were the most common for both women and girls. They were often highly decorated. The basic design of the hat was fairly standard. The decorations were endlessly varied. Plainer sailor hats like younger boyswore were popular in the late-19th and early-20th century. Some were plain like the ones worn by boys. Others were heavily decorated. We see some of them here, we think in the 1910s (figure 1). Note the decoration. The fancy, highly decorated hats seem very preavent here. They seem almost comical to the midern eye, but they were the heighth of fashion in the early-20th century. Younger boys also wore sailor hats, but not the decorated wide-brimmed hats like the girls. We also note large frilly hats of varied design. We note one fancy hat that looks like a lace hat, but are not entirely sure how to describe it. At mid-century we begin to see sun hats. We also see school styles, boaters and rounded-crown styles. The rounded-crown school hats had narrow brims. While hats were very commn in the early-20th century. We no longer see headwear to any extent by the end of the century.

Created: 4:36 AM 1/13/2019
Last updated: 11:44 PM 8/7/2023