Saturday, September 5, 2009

McCall 4480 Ladies' Misses' and Girls' Quaker Bonnet and Tyrolean Hat


At a guess, first half of the nineteen-teens.

Technically speaking, this bonnet would probably be better called a cap. By the time this pattern was published, few Quaker ladies were plain dressing and wearing caps, and it's doubtful that those that were would have purchased a McCall pattern to use for making their caps. But late in 1910 the operetta Quaker Girl opened and was very successful. Here's Ina Claire as the Quaker Girl:

The Quaker Girl, by Tanner & M... Digital ID: TH-45074. New York Public Library

The Quaker Girl, by Tanner & M... Digital ID: TH-45075. New York Public Library

The Tyrolean hat, generally in a nice loden green, is still with us, though less exuberantly styled than this version and, if the Google image search is to be believed, much more commonly worn by men than by women. Millinery can be a tricky art, so the somewhat relaxed shaping of the Tyrolean make it a good candidate for a home seamstress with a desire for a casual, sporty chapeau.

2 comments:

Little Black Car said...

Just goes to show you that commercialism and historical inaccuracy perpetuated by popular media are nothing new under the sun. You're right that very, very, few Quaker women were still Plain at that time; the few that were were generally elderly ladies. One occasionally sees photographs of young women in Plain clothing, but they're almost always playing dress-up in grandma's things.

Actual day cap and outer bonnet. The outer bonnet is very much an 1840's holdover.

It's a cute little bonnet pattern, anyway.

andrea.at.the.blue.door said...

This is why I find fashion history so darned interesting. Quaker sectarian dress, which shows signs of fossilization is itself fossilized in theatrical costume which is then popularized in a home sewing pattern.

Pattern company tie-ins to popular culture (plays, movies, books) have been with us for a very long time!