When I googled it I found this definition and possible answer at freedictionary.com picture hat n (Clothing & Fashion) a decorated hat with a very wide brim, esp as worn by women in paintings by Gainsborough and Reynolds
Not the faintest idea, but this explanation sounds plausible. All the books I have that have good glossaries are either in German or in French... and the term doesn't exist as such in either language. We just call it a wide-brimmed hat. Karin
maybe its hat you would not be caught dead in as a kid so you wore it for the picture then tossed it after....... he he he
This from another source - "They're called picture hats because 18th century English painters like Gainsborough used to paint pictures of English ladies wearing ornate, wide-brimmed hats." I'll buy that.
Hi, Yes, that's it. Originally called a portrait hat, but known in more recent history as a picture hat. Large brim, usually with fancy trimmings, frames the face. The name does not really come from it being like a picture frame, although it surely does fit that. Portrait just became "picture" as it was a more common low class term for a painting. B
From an 1893 newspaper I found the attached (part of an) article. I found references to large picture hats from about 1888 onward. An 1888 article noted that picture hats had been around for a couple of years.
Hi, By recent times I meant the past 100 years or so. The origin of the term "portrait hat" goes back to Georgina Cavendish, AKA The Duchess Of Devonshire in the late 1700's. Here is a quote... "During her years in the public eye, Georgiana was painted by Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. Gainsborough's famous painting of her in a large black hat (a style which she made sensationally fashionable, and came to be known as the 'Gainsborough' or 'portrait' hat)" She was a direct relative of Lady Diana Spencer, Princess Diana. The term picture hat has replaced the more formal term of portrait hat in later years. I still prefer the original! Here is a photo of her. She was quite the rare bird. Barbara
I've always wondered that, too! The mystery is solved! Thanks for an illuminating, as Jonathan put it, discussion!
Very interesting and illuminating! Just for fun, here's Keira Knightley, plus hat, playing Georgiana Cavendish, in the 2008 film The Duchess. I haven't seen the film, but it looks to be a visual treat. Ruth
I thought the costuming was excellent for The Duchess. The costumer who did that film (Michael O'Connor) also did Jane Eyre just recently, which I haven't yet seen but the costuming looks amazing
I'd forgotten they'd made a film of Jane Eyre! It hasn't been released here yet. Looking forward to that.
I've seen the film. Costumes were beautiful, and I was fascinated by seeing how dress styles change through the film, as they would have at the time. I am no costume historian, but from what I know from my books, I think it was pretty well done. However, the story didn't move or entertain me quite as much as I'd hoped. Karin
