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Fashion always reflects the values of its time, but perhaps none with such
clarity as the styles of the 1920's. The end of World War I and women
winning the vote set the stage for a focus on youth, the pursuit of pleasure
and the casting-off of many of the previous era's social, economic,
political and moral restrictions on women. Reflecting these changes in
women's roles and behavior were significant changes in women's fashions.
Corsets were abandoned and hemlines rose to the knee, giving women greater
freedom of movement. Clothing was loose-fitting and favored lightweight
materials that draped and moved with the wearer. The fashionable ideal was a
slim, boyish figure that Vogue described dryly as having "a
curveless similarity to a boa constrictor."
In the 1920's women's hats mirrored the changes in dress styles. Most of
the wires and stiffening were taken out, leaving them lightweight, flexible
and more comfortable than their predecessors. Rather than having their own
shape, they conformed to the shape of the woman's head.  The
most popular hat style of the period was the cloche -- a soft (most
often felt), close-fitting helmet-like hat with a small brim -- which copied
the new sleek bobbed hairdos. Hats for sports and casual daytime wear were
trimless and low-key, set off with a plain ribbon or other minor garnish.
Evening cloches and formal spring and summer hats with droopy wide brims
were embellished with a wealth of detail that included beading, applique,
embroidery and festoons of ribbons, feathers and artificial flowers.
Although inexpensive hats could be purchased through mail-order catalogs and
at the large chain stores, wealthier women, or those seeking a hat for a
special occasion, would go to a local milliner whose handcrafted, high
quality hats reflected her artistic interpretation of the latest Paris
styles. In the 1920's, Auburn had two millinery stores, one of which was the
Auburn Hat Shop, owned and managed by Mrs. Emily (Wachtman) Hall. Mrs. Hall
was born in Tacoma, and in 1915 began working as a trimmer in Miss Richards
Hat Shop at 319 West First St., Auburn. In 1918, Emily bought the store from
Miss Richards and renamed it the Auburn Hat Shop, which she ran with the
assistance of her two sisters, Minnie and Lilly. In 1921 they moved to 25
East Main. Betty Bradshaw Ulleberg recalls visiting the Auburn Hat Shop with
her mother,
"It was a small place filled with hats -- hats on stands and piles
of soft berets on the counters. At the rear of the shop was a tiny sitting
room area where Mrs. Hall would serve tea to her customers. She had her
workroom behind a curtain in the back. I remember the shop as being warm and
comfortable -- it was a social place for the ladies of Auburn to meet."
The business was sold to a Mrs. Steele in 1926.
The Auburn Hat Shop will be featured as one of the new exhibits at the White
River Valley Museum. The display should include a large selection of hats of
the period, both the cloche-type, and formal large-brimmed hats.
Unfortunately our collection of hats from this era is quite small, so we
would like to make a special request for donations of 1920's hats to help
create an exhibit which is visually rich, realistic and informative. Call me
at (253) 288-7438 if you know of available twenties style hats.
Dr. Tina Brewster Wray
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