The cloche hat or simply cloche () is a fitted,

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

-shaped

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

for women that was invented in 1908 by milliner

Caroline Reboux Caroline Reboux (circa 1840–1927) was a Parisian milliner and French fashion designer. She opened her first boutique at 23 rue de la paix in Paris in 1865, which she continued to operate throughout her life. Reboux opened other shops in ...

. They were especially popular from about 1922 to 1933. Its name is derived from ''cloche'', the French word for "bell". The popularity and influence of cloche hats was at its peak during the early twentieth century.

Couture Couture may refer to: People * Couture (surname) Places Belgium * Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium Canada * Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada ...

houses like

Lanvin Lanvin () is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialel ...

and

Molyneux Molyneux (; Old French: ''De Molines'' or ''De Moulins'') is a French surname. The surname has been linked primarily to a large French family that settled in Lancashire, England. By the 14th century the Molyneux family had split into three mai ...

opened

ateliers An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

to join

milliners Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

in manufacturing hats that precisely matched their clothing designs. The hats even shaped hairstyles: the

Eton crop The Eton crop is a type of very short, slicked-down crop hairstyle for women.Vargas, Whitney. "Head Start." ''Elle'' (Sept. 2007): p190. It became popular during the 1920s because it was ideal to showcase the shape of cloche hats. It was worn b ...

– the short, slicked-down cut worn by

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

– became popular because it was ideal to showcase the hats' shape.

Design

Cloche hats were usually made of

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

so that they conformed to the head, and were typically designed to be worn low on the forehead, with the wearer's eyes only slightly below the brim. In later years, a summer cloche might be made from

sisal Sisal (, ) (''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The term sisal ma ...

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...

. Cloches could also be made of beads or lace for evening wear, for cocktails, dancing or even for bridal wear. The contemporaneous

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style often influenced the outline of the brim or the style of seams. While commonly worn plain, allowing the cut and shape of a well-made hat to take precedence, a cloche could be decorated with

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

s, embroidery, jeweled

brooch A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with vitreous enamel, ...

es, scarves, fans of feathers, or similar accents. By the end of the 1920s, it became fashionable to turn the brims on cloche hats upwards. This style remained prevalent until the cloche hat went out of fashion around 1933 or '34. Often, different styles of

ribbons A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...

affixed to the hats indicated different messages about the wearer. Several popular messages included: An arrow-like ribbon which indicated a girl was single but had already given her heart to someone, a firm

knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

which signaled marriage or a flamboyant bow which indicated the wearer was single and interested in mingling.

Later fashion

The cloche enjoyed a second vogue in the 1960s. In the late 1980s, newly invented models of the cloche, such as

Patrick Kelly Patrick or Paddy Kelly may refer to: Politicians * Patrick Kelly (Irish politician) (1875–1934), Irish soldier, farmer and politician, Teachta Dála (TD) for Clare 1927–1932 * Patrick Kelly (Canadian politician) (1846–1916), Prince Edward I ...

's version with a buttoned brim, made a minor resurgence. Cloche hats were also featured in the Fall 2007 collections of many designers; ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' magazine called the cloche hat the "

haute Haute may refer to: People * Nicholas Haute (1357 – c.1415), English knight, landowner and politician ** William Haute (MP) (1390-1462), son of Nicholas, Member of Parliament, English politician ** William Hawte Sir William Hawte (also Haute or ...

accessory of the moment" in its September 2007 issue.

References

Notes

External links

*Photographs of cloche hats from the 1920s at the University of Houston Digital Library
Photo 1Photo 2Photo 3
{{Hats Hats 1920s fashion History of clothing (Western fashion)

Design

Later fashion

See also

References

External links