Vintage Fashion Forward – The Cloche by, Gilded Cage Design

Vintage Indie would like to welcome you to the latest Fashion Forward Feature. The lovely and talented  Robin Hand from Gilded Cage Design, is here as our special guest. A talented artist and designer herself, she’ll give us an inside look into the history and life of the Cloche, that continues today as a fashion style icon.

Cloche, the French word for bell best describes the iconic
style hat of the 1920’s. While the
cloche hat invokes images of carefree bobbed haired flappers, the hat was
actually worn as early as 1910 and continued into the 1930’s. As with all great design, the Cloche evolved
from a looser fitting, larger brimmed variety of the Edwardian period to the
extremely close fit of the middle 20’s. The bell shaped hat now conformed so tightly to the head, it made a
bobbed haircut necessary. The Cloche hat of the 1920’s was intended  to be worn low on the brow nearly covering the
eyes. This required the wearer to tilt the head slightly
back in order to see in front of her. This exaggerated posture caused one to look at the world from down the
end of the nose.

 

Cloche hats were made from a variety of different material
with the most common being wool felt. Felt was utilized in the hats mass production for its ease in conforming
to the bell shaped form. Typically, the
hat’s surface decoration was kept to a minimum and was held to one side. That side most often was on the right. Feathers, simple bands, flowers and art deco
appliqué were popular embellishments. Many women applied their own style through the use of a brooch or
diamond clip for adornment.

 

 

 

This hat became so popular that many couture houses opened
atelier shops. These new hat shops
allowed customers to purchase complete ensembles from one source.

Great design endures the test of time and the Cloche hat is
no exception. Fall of 2007 showed the
cloche hat on many fashion runways. The
September 2007 issue of Elle magazine referred to the modern cloche as “the
haute accessory of the moment”. This
glorious hat can be purchased today from talented milliners like Boring Sidney
on etsy. While the style has been
altered for current times, the essence is still the same making the cloche hat
of the 1920’s a true fashion icon.

Thanks again Robin for a fascinating look into this timeless accessory. Head over to Gilded Cage Design for an amazing line of accessories and Victorian inspired handcrafted items from Robin.