* American girls' United States headwear chronology 20th century
American Girls' Headwear: Chronology--The 20th Century
Figure 1.--This was a family snapshot from the Shillaber family. It looks to be one of the girls' birthday party. Notice the birthday cake in the background. The boys are probably brothers. The photogrph was taken during the spring or summer in Sanbornton, New Hampshire or Lynn, Massachusetts. The girls all wear white summer frocks and highly decorate straw wide-brimmed hats. The dealer though the portait was taken in the 1890s, but the 1900s seems more likely. The photographic print had a white border.
We still see girls wearing elaborate headwear in the early-20th century. Hats continued to common and we see girls with the same highly decorated hats as their mothers. Girls were much less likely to wear caps than boys. Winter called for different headwear. A good example is all the elborate hats we see girls wearing in an Iowa primary school in 1909. Headwear began to become plainer and less common, however, in the 20th century, especially after World War I in the 1920s. We still see more headwear in the 20s than is common today, especially when dressing up like the girls on th previous page dressed for church, but they headwear is much less elaborate than we see at the beginning of the century. Here the process of less elaborate headwear was only beginning. A complication here was religion. It was still proper for women to cover their hair in Church. We notice girls wearing a wide range of hats. The styles varied over time, but many styles were variation on sailor wide-brimmed hats. We also notice girls of all ages wearing berets in the first half of the 20th century, often called tams at the time. Only very young boys wore berets. Perhaps coincident with bobbed hair we sudendly see the helmet-like cloche cap. They were hats with small or non-exisent brims. Group pitures in the 1920s show women and girls wearing these hats and the boys wearing flat caps. Headwear became much less common as the 20th century wore on, especially by the second half of the 20th century. Only in the late-20th century do we see some girls wearing caps to any extent mostly baseball caos. We see Brownies (junior girl Scouts) wearing beanies in the mid-mid-20th centuty. Both boys and girls wore stocking caps with a range of gender differences. Some American girls began wearing baseball caps in the late-20th century.
The 1900s
We still see girls wearing elaborate headwear in the early-20th century. Hats continued to common and we see girls with the same highly decorated hats as their mothers. Girls were much less likely to wear caps than boys. The birthday party girls here are a good exmple (figure 1). We see even more elabirate hats at a Detroit picnic about 1905. Winter called for different headwear. A good example is all the elborate hats we see girls wearing in an Iowa primary school in 1909.
In the 19th century both boys and girls wore hats. Yonger boys wore wide-brimmed hats, older boys rounded-crown hats. Boys also wore caps, but hats were very common. Thus changed after the turn of the century. Boys began wearing primarily caps. This was not the case foir girls. Girls never wore caps and this did not change at the turn of the 20th century. We see some bonnets--meaning true bonnets--not fancy hats. Berets would become pooular in the 1920s, but caps for whatever reason never became popular for girls through the post-World War II era as boys and girls aw well as men stoppped wearing headear as they had done for centuries. Girls at the beginning of the decade were still commomly wearing the same wide-brimmed hats that were popular in the 1900s. Those who were not wearing hats mostly did not because they wanted to wear stylish hairbows -- generally large hairbows. The decade was the most popular decade for hairbows, both the size of the bows and the prevalence. Headwear is perhaps the most difficult garment to research. This is because most people took off their headwear when they had their potraits taken. Moms wanted their little darlings to be fully photpgraphed and this included hair styles which after all is a very important part of how a person looks. Children headwear in the 19th century might be placed some where in the portrait, but was usually not worn--a hint as to how precalebt headwear was. We not longer see that to any extent after the turn of the century, especially by the 1910s. School photography is an important part of the photographic record and almost always the photographer had the children take off their caps and hats. Fortunately we a have a wonderful portrait from Waycross, Georgia showing children's headwear at the beginning of the decade--both boys and girls.
Headwear began to become plainer and less common, however, in the 20th century, especially after World War I in the 1920s. We still see more headwear in the 20s than is common today, especially when dressing up like the girls on the previous page dressed for church, but they headwear is much less elaborate than we see at the beginning of the century. Here the process of less elaborate headwear was only beginning. A complication here was religion. It was still proper for women to cover their hair in Church. We notice girls wearing a wide range of hats. The styles varied over time, but many styles were variation on sailor wide-brimmed hats. We see some destinctive styles. The most destiunctive. virtally an icon of the decade, is the cloche hat--with a helmet look. we continue to see bonnets. We also notice a soft hat, but the brim was usually folded up. A reader refers to a daisy hat, but we do not think that was the actual name. We also notice girls wearing berets, usually called tams, in the first half of the 20th century. The berets appeared in the 1910s. The berets had become much more important earlier in Britain. Unlike France, only very young boys wore berets in America. Perhaps coincident with bobbed hair we sudendly see the helmet-like cloche cap. They were hats with small or non-exisent brims. Group pitures in the 1920s show women and girls wearing these hats and the boys wearing flat caps.
The 1930s
The 1960s
Headwear became much less common as the 20th century wore on, especially by the second half of the 20th century. Only in the late-20th century do we see some girls wearing caps to any extent mostly baseball caos. We see Brownies (junior girl Scouts) wearing beanies in the mid-mid-20th centuty. Both boys and girls wore stocking caps with a range of gender differences.
The 1980s
Some American girls began wearing baseball caps in the late-20th century.
