Women's black fur hat

Until the 1950s, men and women wore hats’s socially in rural areas and cities. It was socially unacceptable for people to appear hatless in certain places, such as churches. The decline in this etiquette was demonstrated by British model Jean Shrimpton, who caused a scandal in 1965 by attending the Melbourne Cup wearing a mini skirt, without gloves or a hat! Nowadays, hats are considered an optional extra, or particularly in New Zealand, protection against the sun. For the more formally attired, the Cossack-style hat was fashionable during the 1960s, popularised by Princess Margaret, and the 1965 film, Doctor Zhivago. Read more about wearing the colour black in the New Zealand Fashion Museum publication Black: The history of black in fashion, society and culture in New Zealand.

Details

Credit: Diane Comber
Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence
Garment type: Hat
Material: Fur, satin lining
Colour: Black
Label: Hyde Park
Date: Circa 1960