The morning times., 1896-11-15
WORN BY FAIR ONES.
The Theater Hats of an Entire
Century.
They Began, and rlay End, in a
Poke.

most fashionable woman that ever lived,
not excepting picturesque Queen Bess,
with her high-neck ruffs, declared her
self of the belief that fashions cycle rolls
around in precisely one hundred years and
that the fashions repeat themselves with
the century and the year, and with the
season and the month.
| Nearly one hundred years ago, when
Martha Washington was in mourning, the
| gay world was wagging along, getting
| ready for 1900. FASHIONS tnen were IN ue
steele, as now, and the new century was To
usher In something very nice and different
| from the old century, that all had known so
! long.
| when 1900 dawned it brought with 1t
| a great change in style. 1t brought the
| poke bonnet, the loose robe-the Empire
we now call it-and the elbow glove.
| Martha, though an old woman, wore this
| costume all in black. Before that hats
had been round and small. The new CEN
tury brought the big hat and its waving
| plurnes.
There were theaters then, as now. And
| this was the theater hat. The first one
| seen in the new Republic Of the United
| States, which was then not genera ton
| old. Joe Jefferson, who was stage
| child at two years then, had father
| and mother on the stage and grand
| father lived before them. This theater
hat was the sight that met their eyes,
| glancing from the footlights into the
| theater.
The theater hat in those days was as
| great nuisance as now. Addison wrote
| a great deal in satirical vein in the Spec
| tator even in 100 against the wearing
| of unseemly toppings' to ''obstruct the
vision and deprive the behind stall Of its
| legitimate due" There really was no
sense in it, those awfully big theater hats.
| And that is probably the reason why
| N
leaves when she attended theatrical per
| formances at Nalmason. To get the fit
| ting headgear She went back precisely
| 100 years and took away the neck ruff
| from those days.
| Josephine's theatcr hat was made Of
| artificial leaves of silk. They We're faS-
ened upon band OF black velvet, which
| was strapped around the head in very
| tight fashion. on each side the leaves
stuck out in 4 brusque way. II was almost
a crown, and no one liked TO keep the
| reminders of Il crown around her aS well
| as Josephine When Napoleon was ex-
pected TO visit Malmaisun there Were
extravaGant theatrical performances in the
| little theater; and then Josephine put ON
her theater hat and attended, by the
| emperor's side.
| But that dId not prevent the thcater hat
| from growing larger. America began To be
| a powerful and a handsome country about
| that time, and in 1890, when the theaters
began tos spring up in every city, hat
OF distinctive American origin was evolved.
| II was called the turban, and it became
a favorite Immediately. 1t was speedily
Imported into England. where it had i
| greater run than here
| All Walter Scott's heroines Were the
| turban hat. In their pictures the turban
| Is band of fine cloth wound around the
| head and finished with jewel at the top.
| From the jewel there springs the feathers
| of falcon or the plumes OF paradise bird
1t was very beautiful theater hat, and
| was better liked tnan any that went be-.
fore it or after, for there are pictures Of
| ladies' in these wrinkled turbans. sitting
| for their family portraits, ten years later
The old-fasbioned head-dress was so very
becoming.
In 1880 the theater hat diminished. The
elder Booth was playing to crowded
| hoHSes,' and the theater became plac..
! where ladies went to show their good
clothes. They sat in boxes and had theater
parties afterward. Mrs. John Jay had
| shown American society what it was to be
| elegant, and the tone OF her leadership was
upon everything. Hats We're small and set
well back from the face. They were sof
velvet and birds and fruit and flowers.
IL was just previous to the Victorian
| age, and the best styles came from this
country, for there was no great leader
in England about that time. 1t was too
| early for Eugene in France-and Jose
| phine was deadi The leadership came
| from the United States, and very pretty
| were the styles sent out from this country
In the whole country you will see nothing
as dainty and sweet as the 1880 styles
| when grandmamma was young
| matron herself. Grand opera was being
sung here, and this was the ideal opera
| hat.
The 1910 was the Victorian styIe.
Queen Victoria Wore this hat on her first
| public appearance after her marriage TO
Prince Albert. She appeared in it at the
theater in the royal box, entering by the
private staircase. The first intimation
..s.it the people had of her presence was
when the queen, waiting until the first