The Vogue of Hats: The Cloche, or When “Chic Started at the Eyebrows”*
Vogue September 15, 1927 cover, illustrated by Harriet Meserole
Voluminous plumes, bouquets of blooms, avian taxidermy, and wide swags of ribbon were among the typical adornments of women’s hats in 1909, when Condé Nast became the publisher of Vogue. At the dawn of the 20th century, the large, heavily embellished hats that characterized women’s fashion millinery sat on top of complex arrangements of hair, to which they were often precariously anchored with hat pins.
Vogue December 4, 1909 cover, illustrated by Will Foster
Vogue April 15, 1911 cover, illustrator unknown
Vogue October 15, 1912 cover, illustrated by Sarah Stilwell Weber
Vogue November 6, 1909 cover, illustrated by Vivien Valdaire
Vogue June 15, 1910 cover, illustrated by H. Heyer
Vogue April 1, 1911 cover, illustrated by Frank X. Leyendecker
A collision of life-accelerating events in the 1910s resulted in a stripped-down design that quickly turned hats like these into outmoded reminders of old world taste. Industrialization, which brought machines and products to make household chores easier, suddenly allowed women free time. They were no longer tied to the home. When World War I began, this free time propelled many women into the workplace to take over jobs left by men gone to war. Suddenly women had their own money to spend. Advertising, which happened to be a thriving new business, coached women on what they needed to buy, and hats were among the many temptations.
Vogue February 15, 1919 cover, illustrated by Helen Dryden
Vogue November 1, 1914 cover, illustrated by George Wolfe Plank
The design of the cloche hat was attributed to the milliner Caroline Reboux in the first decade of the 20th century. It had a high crown worn deep on the head, sometimes nearly covering the eyes, and was usually short-brimmed. Cloches became fashionable in the mid-1910s, a time when it was considered unpatriotic to wear anything very elaborate or embellished due to the war, and they also perfectly complemented the modern woman’s newly cropped hair.
Constance Bennett, photographed by Edward Steichen in the July 6, 1929 Vogue
Halles Stiles, photographed by Edward Steichen in the September 15, 1925 Vogue
Edythe Baker, photographed by Edward Steichen in the April 1, 1925 Vogue
Irene Castle Treman, photographed by Baron Adolphe de Meyer in the January 1, 1921 Vogue
A cloche was easy and functional for a woman who worked. It was simple to pull on, did not need to be anchored to the head, and almost completely covered the popular bobbed hairstyle, so it required no hairdressing gymnastics.
Society’s eye was particularly focused on young women during the 1920s. The “flappers,” as modern young women were often labeled, sought a look that was as different as possible from what their mothers wore at their age. The streamlined cloche was the answer.
Along with work, free time for the new woman left her with more hours to enjoy life. The easy, close-fitting cloche was the perfect accessory for sports, dancing, and riding in automobiles – activities relished by flappers.
June Cox and Elizabeth Miller aboard George Baher's yacht, photographed by Edward Steichen in the July 15, 1928 Vogue
Models aboard George Baher's yacht, photographed by Edward Steichen in the July 15, 1928 Vogue
Five actresses from the cast of "Florida Girl" seated on the beach, photographed by Edward Steichen in the January 15, 1926 Vogue
Thion de la Chaume, photographed by George Hoyningen-Huené in the July 1, 1927 Vogue
Dancer Ann Pennington, photographed by Maurice Goldberg in the September 1, 1923 Vogue
Joan Clement, photographed by Edward Steichen in the December 15, 1926 Vogue
Vogue October 15, 1927 cover, illustrated by Eduardo Garcia Benito
Illustration of woman holding rifle, by Eduardo Garcia Benito in the September 1, 1928 Vogue
Vogue March 16, 1929 cover, illustrated by Pierre Mourgue
Illustration of two women on a golf course, wearing Paul Caret ensembles, by Raymond de Lavererie in the May 11, 1929 Vogue
The cloche became a symbol of the new woman with freedom, the vote, money in her pocket, and much power to wield. It is no wonder that this hat style dominated through the 1920s. The prevalence of the cloche led Edna Woolman Chase, in a Vogue article of the era, to refer to ‘20s hats as “alike as two million peas.”
The spell of the cloche was finally broken by the Depression, when this modern hat began to look outmoded and was seen as a symbol of a life that was irresponsible and frivolous, rather than strong and free.
* Chase, Edna Woolman, and Ilka Chase, Always in Vogue. (New York, 1954) 168.
Model wearing angora felt hat designed by Marie Alphonsine, photographed by George Hoyningen-Huené in the November 10, 1928 Vogue
Mannequin by Siegel, wearing pale felt cloche with ostrich feathers by Patou (the "Moucheron"), photographed by George Hoyningen-Huené in the September 15, 1928 Vogue
Peggy Fish in Condé Nast's apartment, photographed by Edward Steichen in the February 1, 1928 Vogue
Princess Jean-Louis de Faucigny-Lucinge, photographed by George Hoyningen-Huené in the December 8, 1928 Vogue
Model in felt cloche by Rose Descat, photographed by Charles Sheeler in the March 1, 1927 Vogue
Model in black felt cloche from Reboux, photographed by Charles Sheeler in the March 1, 1927 Vogue
Model Dorothy Smart, photographed by Charles Sheeler in the October 1, 1927 Vogue
Frances Mitchell in Palm Beach, photographed by Cecil Beaton in the April 13, 1929 Vogue
Model in coat, dress, and hat by Jean Patou, photographed by George Hoyningen-Huené in the October 26, 1929 Vogue
Dancer Leonore Hughes, wearing felt hat with ribbon designed by Mercedes, photographed by Edward Steichen in the March 1, 1927 Vogue
Actress Ann Andrews in taffeta hat by Hermance, photographed by Edward Steichen in the March 1, 1924 Vogue
Two models, photographed by Edward Steichen in the November 1, 1926 Vogue
Renée Adorée, photographed by Charles Sheeler in the September 15, 1926 Vogue
Princess Jean-Louis Faucigny-Lucinge, wearing felt toque by J. Suzanne Talbot, photographed by Cecil Beaton in the August 3, 1929 Vogue
Model in Rose Descat cloche, photographed by George Hoyningen-Huené in the March 1, 1930 Vogue
Vogue March 15, 1927 cover, illustrated by Georges Lepape
Woman sitting in profile, with white dress, matching cloche, and red sunshade, illustrated by Porter Woodruff in the January 15, 1928 Vogue
Two women in cloth felt hats, illustrated by Porter Woodruff in the November 23, 1929 Vogue
What a delightful post! Such beautiful images and lovely, yet practical, hats! I’m surprised the cloche didn’t remain coveted during the Depression. Though they do have flair, they also seem so simple compared to the extravagant-sized hats from which the flapper generation distanced themselves. I guess all accessories are frivolous when you don’t have money. Even in this economic climate, I can always scrape something together for a great accessory though! In times of financial strain, I go fashionably hungry for a finishing touch that makes me feel put together in a time of need. But, then again, I don’t have any babies to feed. That would be very different. Thanks for this great millinery history lesson!
Very cool! I love the pictures and the writing is making me want to know more – now!! I can’t wait for the forties – beautiful! I am really inspired to at least aspire to one day be glamorous and stylish – I wish my history lessons had had an option to have been viewed through this lens – it’s so true that fashion is a strange mirror of the political and social world.