Figure 1.--Here we see an American Daguerreotype showing twin suisters wearing identical clothing, including matching bonnets. The portrait is not dated. We would guess the portrait was tken in the 1840s. Notice the use of ribbon and the shawls they are wearing. They look to be about 11-12 years old.

There have been destinctive gender trends in headwear over time. Peopleof all genders and ages very commonly wore headwear in the 19th century. Girls in the 19th century mostly wore bonnets and hats. Our information on the early-19th century is limited. Paintings are our primary source, but there are problems in using them. Not only are there really small numbers of paintings, but because of the cost they are primarily limited to the upper strata of socirty that could affiord them. Thanks to the invention of photography, by the mid-19th century we have for the first time a great deal of information on headwear and for a broader strata of society. The photographic record is somewhat limited by the fact that most people removed theur headwear for a photo shoot. And mothers did the same for the children. Even so we gave more images of headwear than when were still relying on painted portraits. We still see girls commonly wearing bonnets at mid-century. Sailor-styled hats became popular after mid-century. Straw hats could be elaborately decorated. A good example is an unidentified family in the 1870s. Caps often with military styling were more for boys. We occassionaly see girls wearing Scottish caps, but this was not very common. Tams and berets began to become popular in the late 19th century, but were not a major style until the early-20th century.

Created: 7:25 PM 6/26/2018
Last updated: 7:25 PM 6/26/2018