Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 November 1874 — Hats. [ARTICLE]

Hats.

As a part of a woman’s garb the new hats are unique. Their prototypes have existed among men’s head coverings for several seasons, but nothing quite so eccentric has been seen for women’s use for many a day. The modish hats are of all shades of felt; have high crowns (like the quondam Alpine hat, without its dent) and rather wide brims. It is in the brims alone that one can be individual. They are turned up before, behind, on the sides, at the corners—wherever fancy prompts, in short. Velvet and repped silk, of shades contrasting with the felt, with short feathers of all kinds—ostrich, heron, cock, duck, peacock, partridge, robin and every other variety of wing—form the principal portion of the trimming. Inevitably, there is an abundance of jet interspersed, in the form of buckles, pins, sprays and fringes, while blue steel holds its own. But, as jet and steel are not happily adapted to. every color, there is now and then a surcease of them. The brims of these hats are not wired; consequently they are so softly flexible that, while they are turned up on one side, they can be turned down upon the other, producing a singularly “rakish” effect. These hats have in fact too great a tendency in this direction, and require unusual taste and discretion in their use. The usual garniture is a binding of velvet, wide or narrow, as preferred, piped with repped silk; finger wide band, also of velvet, round the crown; a, bunch of loops of the combined silk and velvet securing the brim against the crown—these, in turn, surmounted by such feathers as may be used, and the flowers and leaves, if any are employed, tucked in with the rest, forming a general conglomerate. Flowers are rather less in favor than usual just now, though it may be_only because everybody is wearing felt; and felt and flowers are naturally incongruous. Such flow r ers as are 1 worn, however, are mainly of a deep rich red — a color, by the bye, especially fashionable this season. Bonnets do not differ essentially from: those of last year, except in being rather larger"- They have the same irregular shapes and superfluous decoration as before, but are chiefly of darker tints; even reception and opera hats being black or nearly so, picked out with white or some very pale contrasting hue. — “ Home and Society ,” in Scribner's for December.