Edwardian Ladies in Vintage Straw Hats

​Looking back on the Edwardian era, when women wore wide brimmed   picture hats  festooned with flowers, feathers and other goodies.

​Note the high crown which balances out the lavish floral decoration. and broad brim.  In those days, a hat was an integral part of an outfit and a lady never, ever went outside bare headed during the day.  A lady also wore gloves and didn't show her ankles.  I love the hats of this era with their broad brims and lavish adornment.

This one has a down-turned brim which leaves lots of room for  fruit and floral decor and flatters the rather narrow face of the wearer. The wide brims and high crowns balanced out the elaborate bouffant hair styles of the day.  Long, often ornate, hat pins secured the hat to the wearer's hair and kept it in place.​

This one is my favorite.  I love the ribbon and cabbage rose decoration and the rounded crown. Note that the fashion of the day decreed that these hats should be worn with high collared blouses to set off the wearer's face, hair and to make the hat look its best.  The idea was that a lady should have a long, swan-like neck and that her hat, like her hair, should be her crowning glory.  ​I don't know who this lady is, but she has a quiet elegance about her that I find quite appealing and I love the simple heart shaped locket she is wearing around her neck.

In the blink of history's eye, these hats came and went. Only a decade later the roaring twenties gave birth to the flapper, with her bobbed hair, short skirts and cloche hats and the lovely Edwardian ladies above were out of style.  Time and fashion moves on.​