The Edwardian fashion era is often remembered by large over-sized hats stacked with plumes of feathers, bows, flowers, birds, lace, and tulle. The “bird nests,” as Coco Chanel called them, were held on with large hat pins stuck through piles of hair on the crown. They were called Gainsborough or Picture hats for how they framed a lady’s face.
1910 wide brim picture hat
In 1907, The Merry Widow hat took the world by storm after appearing in a show with the same name. This hat was even wider and the crown taller than in the previous decade. Some people complained these hats were too big and obtrusive in public places like the theater or picture shows. Nonetheless, high society women loved them and wore them for daytime events.
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- 1901
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- 1910s
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- 1910
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- 1910s
If a hat wasn’t just excessively wide, it was obnoxiously tall and wide! Think of them as huge pot or bell shaped hats that sat perched on the large pompadour hairstyle and covered the forehead almost down to the eyes. In the summer, these hats featured huge dried flowers or lace sewn flowers and sometimes real leaves and twigs! No doubt the “Garden” hat was a fitting name.
1900
The popularity of large feathers and stuffed birds on the hats caused concern for the welfare and population of birds. Many protective laws took effect and milliners (hat makers) used more ribbon and tulle and only the largest of feathers to decorate a hat. The largest plumes came from ostriches, which were farm raised and their feathers collected as they fell naturally.
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- 1907 bird wings
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- 1907 whole bird
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- 1905 feathers and birds
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- 1901 birds and feathers
Edwardian Small Hats
Moving pictures had the greatest influence on Edwardian hat fashion. After the release of The Three Musketeers, all ladies wanted to wear tricorn and bicorn shaped hats. They were still very large, but now had shape other than just “round.” Hat brims were folded up to the side, at an angle, or all around to create drama. Veils disappeared in the early 1900s only to come back again as a long scarf that wrapped over the hat and under the chin for the new sport of driving, aka motoring.
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- 1900
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- 1900
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- 1902
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- 1911
For evening affairs, the influence of the Orient was seen in brightly colored turbans. These often had just one feather or bow or perhaps a family brooch clasped to one side. They strongly resembled the cloche hat of the 1920s, although not as tight because they were still worn around mounds of thick puffy hair.
1910 evening hats and hairstyles
The Tudor beret was another favorite evening hat. It was inspired by men’s Renaissance hats made of velvet and plush. A single tall wispy feather attached at the front and stood straight up, adding height to the already elongated dresses.
A headband and a turban hat
The movement towards smaller hats began around 1913, when hats still had high crowns but smaller brims. Straw boaters, small top hats, and mini versions of picture hats were very common.
1903 outdoor hats- sailor or boater shapes
Just like the Titanic, the era of opulent hats came to end.
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- 1901
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- 1910s
1911 hats for mature ladies
The time of day and class you want to dress as will determine the type of hat. Hats that were worn on the Titanic by first class women would have been the very large picture hats for day wear. They would match or compliment the outfit in color. Eveningwear didn’t normally include hats. However, a nightly stroll around the deck would require a warm fur hat or wool scarf wrapped around your head.
More hats:
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- 1900
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- 1900
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- 1900
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- 1900
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- 1902
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- 1902
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- 1905
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- 1906
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- 1911 has for brides
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- 1911 hat trends
Where to buy Edwardian / Titanic Hats
There are many hats on the Edwardian style hat shop page that are inspired by the era. Most are modern, but could look Edwardian by adding a bit more decoration. Others are reproduction Titanic era hats ready to wear now.
Here are some milliners that can make you a custom Edwardian hat:
- Rue de la Paix – Has two very nice Edwardian Turban and Torque hats.
- Emily Way – Many varieties of hats. I just bought a small French hat for my wedding.
- Victorian Trading Co – A large variety of Victorian/Edwardian hats in a range of prices.
Debbie Sessions has been teaching fashion history and helping people dress for vintage themed events since 2009. She has turned a hobby into VintageDancer.com with hundreds of well researched articles and hand picked links to vintage inspired clothing online. She aims to make dressing accurately (or not) an affordable option for all. Oh, and she dances too.
