As a young girl Norma Ingram worked in a haberdashery store in Motueka, which sold hats, and here she learnt millinery. Years later as the wife of Sir Keith Holyoake (Prime Minister and Governor-General of New Zealand), Norma had an extensive collection of hats. Many of her hats were designed and crafted by Agnes Barrie (mother of broadcaster Maggie Barrie) who had a small workshop in Wellington. Cocktail hats were generally worn perched forward on the head, often tilted over one eye and generally had a small veil, like this hat of Dame Norma Janet Holyoake. 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.