The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-05
horn Hat
AST season the leghorn reigned

= AST season the leghorn reigned
 supreme; this year 1t is to en- 1 joy equal if not greater favor.
 When the practical girl. many weeks ago. read this fiat of Dame Fashion, great was her complacency. Had the not a leghorn last sum e. and had she not at the end of the sea- son put it carefully away in its box with the whole hat carefully covered first with tissue paper and then with newspaper under the lid of the box to keep out dust? Therefore, was she not for once ready with hat to start the season?
 Alas, when that box is finally open ed in .he late spring! Somehow last year hat is just about as desirable an asset as a warmed-up buckwheat cake. Why, oh, why does headgear that retired to its hibernating period in the odor of responsibility look ut terly disreputable on its reappear- ance? Poor old Rip. after his~twenty years sleep, could have been no more seedy.
 The ordinary girl in her first disil- fusion will be very apt to give the hat to the cook, hoping for favors 10 come: but the practical girl knows better. After her first bitter pang of disappointment she realizes that her chapeau may be remodeled into very ultra .. cation. Especially Is this the case if it be leghorn, which has great wearing and cleaning possibilities.
 REMOVE THE TRIMMING
 The first thing to be done is to get rid of the trimming. This must be re- moved. and carefully. so as not to cut the straw. Rip with a sharp knife or small pair of scissors. and never, never, by way of economizing time, at- tempt to pull off facings as soon as the first stitches are cut.
 If the trimmings are fairly respectable they may be put away for future use. As a rule. it Is better to retrim hat in entirely different materials. These left-overs often are boons. however, to the home milliners.
 Now, the practical girl who is fairly we'll to do will at once send her leghorn to a professional cleaner and reblocker. If economy is necessary, or she is In hurry and wishes her hat within two weeks, she will do the work herself. Not the reblocking. naturally, but the cleaning and pressing that is essential in the renovation of a leghorn.
 The first step is a thorough brushing to remove the dust This requires a stiff brush. Later. the hat may be wiped off with a piece of velvet, to catch all ob- durate flecks This year, the burnt straw shades being highly desirable, bleaching may not be necessary. If tke hat Is not very soiled the dirt can be removed by rubbing with stalo bread. with the crusts attached by Wy of a handle. This s the simple cleansing process used with good effect on hundreds of hats in a fashionable millinery estab- lishment. If the leghorn happens to be black, wiping 1t off with alcohol has a startlingly revivifying effect.
 If, however. the hat is very grimy more vigorous methods are nee ed. A leghorn may be washed with any of several different solutions OXalic acid, used in the proportion of about an ounce to a quart of water. Is an excellent cleanser; so is boracic acid or peroxide of hydrogen diluted in the same proportions Even ordinary lemon and water IS eHectudl' APplJ the liq Id with a stiff nail trush and go over the hat thoroughly inside and out. Do not rub too vigorously, how ever, or the straw will be roughened.
 BLEACH FOR A DAY
 Now put the hat out in the hot sun to bleach for a day. Choose a place where soot and dust do not abound or the cleaning may be wasted effort.
 When sufficiently white-and. remem- Der, this season the yellowish tone is preferable-press the brim carefully. It is a good plan at this stage to hold the hat over a teakettle or big pot of boiling water to steam before ironing. A damp cloth should be put over the rim and the pressing be done with an iron that is not too hot.
 If hat pins have not been used care fully and unsightly holes result, a stiff piece of buckram slipped inside the crown will stay the weakened strands of the straw.
 The hat Is now ready for trimming