The Washington times., 1907-12-06
Lecturer DiScourSeS
Upon Fashion, and
Many Secrets Are
Revealed.
BY AMER MANN.

Art in Millinery was the subject OF
a lecture by Miss Qaintreu at the Arts
and Crafts Institute. 100 Ninteenth
street northwest. The history Of the
art was traced from 45o B. c., when
hats are believed 10 have first come
into use, until the 1907 horse show. when
the feminine headgear is said to have
cbscured the horses from view.
Z It was refreshing. to say the least, 70
learn that hat-mal1ing is considered art
] confess / was disillusioned by the leo
ture. having long cherished the idea that
most women's hats were nightmares.
anything but artistic. Now that where
I'm the art" lies has been elucidated,
all is as clear as Potomac river mud
There's an art in being artless, and
makers OF the stunning creations OF this
season Seemed to have established per
manent claim to pre-eminence in that
branch OF art.
Miss Quaintrell had much to say about
the size. elaborateness, gaudiness, and
Queerness Of hats OF ye olden dsys.
and as I sat there IN the sea Of
fcmininity I scanned many faces for
indications Of pinching shoes. Evident
" there was no pinching. The adverse
comment anent hats was directed to
milady of ages embalmed. buried. and
forgotten. The idea of a twentieth
century girl or women wearing a large
gaudy, or queer hat Is ABSURD, and that
accounted for the fact that no dis
comtture was experienced by any OF
the ladies who sat IN rapt attention lis
tening 10 what Miss QuaintreH had to
say.
"Art Is Long"
As 1 rose TO leave, 1 came upon a
young damsel wearing on her head an
inverted dishpan with a yard long black
plume slung carelessly over her shouI-
der. Here I detected art In millinery,
for has it not been said that Art is
Lcng?t Among other things Miss
Quaiutrell said:
Hats Of today can be summed UP
in three words-large. larger. largest.
think never before since the world be-
gan have women tried TO wear such
enormous hats. 1 looked backward 10
find something about head covering, and
kept pushing further and further back
until / reached a spot where / could
find nothing authentic about headgear
at all. Perhaps they wore none during
these days.
IF we go back to the earliest men
ton Of feminine costume, we must be-
gin our inquiry with the Greeks, about
45O B. G. We will confine ourselves 20
the outdoor garments worn by the
Greeks. They had not begun to wear
hats, but wore a garment called the
himation, which they wore much as
a Scotchman wears his plaid or shawl.
with the exception that the women wore
f. up over the backs of their heads In
some indescribably graceful fashion.
Dissatisfaction Starts Fashion.
Dissatisfied with this head covering.
the fair Athenians brought into use a
separate piece OF cloth. The next step
forward was the cap which covered the
hair entirely. protected it. and held it
in place. The first actual hats came
next. They were circular IN shape. made
OF GONE sim. unwieldly material. and
we're perfectly fat. without crown OF
ANYTHING else to fit the head. This was
called the Thessalian hat, and may be
round I'm terra cottas from Tanagra and
in Pompeian paintings.
I'VE started our search for hats with
the year $50. we have now reached the
year 305. About this time appeared a
high pointed hat OF Persian origin. and
aso the tiara. which answered the double
purpose of head covering and hair or