Wednesday, March 27, 2013

1940s Wartime Hat


A few weeks back I bought a navy blue, wool felt hat at the local antique mall.  While I'm not sure of the actual vintage of this hat, I definitely got a 1940s war-era vibe from it.  The short brim and close-fitting crown seem 'no nonsense.'  I immediately pictured a gal headed off to the munitions factory.




I didn't have to do much in the way of refurbishing.  I took off the ratty ribbon, washed the hat and stitched on new grosgrain.  The snood, by the way, is from Arthelia's Attic.  Love them!!


It was tempting to add frills, but I wanted to keep the color and style simple so it would match more than one outfit.  I don't own any baseball hats, but I can appreciate the necessity of a brim when working outdoors.  So this is intended to be a practical, knock around hat.


The fun part was digging through my jewelry box to find a few pins to add a bit of color.  The Victory Girls pin declares that "I am enrolled."  The Red Cross pin says, "I serve."


But my favorite is the Reddy Kilowatt tie tack.   My grandfather worked his entire career for Wisconsin Electric in Milwaukee.  He had a few Kilowatt souvenirs that have been passed down.


So unlike all my other, slightly more fancy hats, I am going to make a concerted effort to actual wear this one.  It's comfortable and should look nice with my 1930s overalls (that I still need to post about). And it will be perfect for those days when my curls are not up to par! 

3 comments:

  1. The hat looks great. I remember that little guy from commercials when I was very young.

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  2. I love hats, and am tempted to find an excuse to wear them as often as possible. What a good find, and a lovely addition for your wardrobe!

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  3. I love that hat. I checked out your other hats, and I really like them, too!

    Fantastic. I wish we had a good thrift store around here--all people seem to own here are crappy 1970's things, and I don't think anything from that era should be brought back!

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