Please help w/unusual 60s/70s (?) hat...

[cmpollack]

Maybe someone out there has run into this kind of hat before, or knows when they were popular. Best way I can describe it is as a skullcap crocheted from cord trim, with two sheer poly chiffon scarves woven through...

I get a late 60s into 70s vibe from it, but I'm really grasping at straws...

Dating thoughts or KW, anyone?

Many thanks!

(Note: The last pic is of the inside of the hat).

 

[MyVintageCocktail]

Carrie, that is a lovely hat--very unusual and elegant! I'm by no means an expert on hats, but I get an earlier feel to it. Definitely 60s, I "think," though. No earlier, but I don't see 70s in it.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

I agree with Anne, definitely not 70s. I would go with late 50s, early 60s on this one.

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

Cute 60s. Maybe hand made?

 

[cmpollack]

Thanks a bunch, ladies! I really didn't have a clue on date for this...

But now that a consensus has formed around 60s--and early 60s at that--I guess I can see it fitting with the genre of unstructured turbans that were in vogue around then... (I'd been thinking "gypsy", but I guess "artiste" is more apt!)

Any suggestions on how to describe it?

 

[lkranieri]

Actually, my first thought when I saw your sweet hat was "Camelot!" As the play came out in 1960, I wonder if that influenced the maker of that hat.

 

[cmpollack]

Oh, I'll bet you're right, Lynne! I hadn't thought of that, but the hat certainly does have some damsel-in-a-medieval-castle flair to it!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

I agree: early '60s. I've seen some really wacky hats of this era, it's almost as if the clothes were plainish so they had to express their creativity in their headware.

Nicole

 

[cmpollack]

Yes, there were certainly some (ahem) interesting designs...

Thanks, Nicole!

 

[Siri]

Hey Carrie, that is an unusual and amazing hat. Might be it is of early 50's.

 

[cmpollack]

Thanks for your kind words, Siri!

I wonder what gives it an early 50s vibe for you? (My very imprecise first impression was 60s or later just because I haven't seen the scarf fabric turn up earlier than that...)

 

[vertugarde]

This is a really odd hat Carrie and unless there is a label it looks to be crocheted by hand. The scarves are too bulky to be threaded through and the colours in my opinion don't complement the hat.

I don't think it is from the 1950's. It could be any period from the late 60's onward. Someone was trying to be creative.

 

[cmpollack]

Thanks for your reply, Vertugarde. No label; I think you and Suzanne are probably right that it was homemade. (Funny, though, I actually like the scarf colors--I'm a sucker for tonal neutral palettes, I guess...)

I'm confident in dating this to the 60s. I even found a couple of (earlier) 60s examples in my hat books that this one can easily have been riffing off of (sorry about the giant photos; I really tried to figure out how to adjust):

 

[vertugarde]

Those are two good examples. The 'turban' shape lent itself to being made in various fabrics during the 1960's. Ruching , pleating, that raffia straw and crochet were popular. The style of the pleated taffeta hat with the tail if I recall correctly was worn by Princess Margaret. I can't dig up a picture of her wearing one but here is another picture of her. The hat is quite something;

http://tinyurl.com/dmrf2k

 

[Linn]

"Quite Something" is an understatement!

Linn