The
cloche hat is a fitted,
bellA bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
-shaped
hatA hat is a head covering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
that was popular during the 1920s. (
Cloche is the French word for bell.)
Caroline Reboux Caroline Reboux was a well known Parisian milliner and French fashion designer. She had white hair and a "girlish" look.Reboux made an art form out of high fashion hats which were re-emerging in France to supplant the bonnet in the mid-nineteenth century...
is the creator of the cloche hat.
Cloche hats were usually made of
feltFelt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any color, and made into any shape or size....
so that they conformed to the head. The hat was typically designed to be worn low on the forehead, with the wearer's eyes only slightly below the brim. By 1928-1929, it became fashionable to turn the brims on cloche hats upwards.
The
cloche hat is a fitted,
bellA bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
-shaped
hatA hat is a head covering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
that was popular during the 1920s. (
Cloche is the French word for bell.)
Caroline Reboux Caroline Reboux was a well known Parisian milliner and French fashion designer. She had white hair and a "girlish" look.Reboux made an art form out of high fashion hats which were re-emerging in France to supplant the bonnet in the mid-nineteenth century...
is the creator of the cloche hat.
Cloche hats were usually made of
feltFelt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any color, and made into any shape or size....
so that they conformed to the head. The hat was typically designed to be worn low on the forehead, with the wearer's eyes only slightly below the brim. By 1928-1929, it became fashionable to turn the brims on cloche hats upwards. This style remained prevalent throughout the early 1930s until the cloche hat became obsolete around 1933-1934.
Often, different styles of ribbons affixed to the hats indicated different messages about the wearer. Several popular messages included: An arrow-like ribbon which indicated a girl was single but had already given her heart to someone, a firm
knotA knot is a method for fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or more segments of rope, string, webbing, twine, strap, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object—the "load"...
which signaled marriage or a flamboyant
bowA bow, meaning a sort of knot, can mean:-*See rosette .*Bow tie: a piece of decorative clothing .*An ornamental knot made of ribbon...
which indicated the wearer was single and interested in mingling.
Cloche hats' popularity and influence were overwhelming.
CoutureHaute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques...
houses like
LanvinJeanne Lanvin was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house....
and
MolyneuxEdward H. Molyneux was a British fashion designer whose fashion house in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950.- Overview :...
opened ateliers to join milliners in manufacturing the hats. The hats even shaped hairstyles: the
Eton cropThe Eton crop is a type of short, slicked-down, blunt crop hairstyle. It became popular during the 1920s because it was ideal to showcase the shape of cloche hats. It was worn by Josephine Baker, among others....
(the short, slicked-down cut worn by
Josephine BakerJosephine Baker was an American expatriate entertainer and actress. She became a French citizen in 1937. Most noted as a singer, Baker also was a celebrated dancer in her early career. She was given the nicknames the "Bronze Venus" or the "Black Pearl", as well as the "Créole Goddess" in...
) became popular because it was ideal to showcase the hats' shape.
In the late 1980s, inventive models of the cloche, such as
Patrick KellyPatrick Kelly was a native of Vicksburg, Mississippi. As a fashion designer, he was based out of New York City/Paris...
's version with a buttoned brim, made a minor resurgence. Cloche hats were also featured in many designers' Fall 2007 collections;
ElleElle is a worldwide magazine that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she"....
magazine called the cloche hat the "
hauteHaute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques...
accessory of the moment" in its September 2007 issue. Recently, the cloche hat has been worn by actress
Angelina JolieAngelina Jolie is an American actress and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award. Jolie has promoted humanitarian causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work with refugees through...
in the 2008 movie,
ChangelingChangeling is a 2008 American drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski. Based on real life events in 1928 Los Angeles, the film stars Angelina Jolie as a woman who is reunited with her missing son—only to realize he is an impostor. She confronts the city...
.
Following the Cloche's resurgence in 2007, modern versions of the hat have emerged, often reflecting the region of the milliner. In 2009, Violina Couture Millinery of California introduced the demi-cloche, a variant of the cloche which allows more of the wearer's hair to be exposed.
In pop culture
When
Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III holds the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and, as of October 10, 2008, once again became the all-time leading money winner on American game shows. In 2004, Jennings won 74 Jeopardy! games before he was defeated by...
appeared on the game show
JeopardyJeopardy may refer to:* Double jeopardy, a legal concept* Jeopardy!, a television game show* Jeopardy , a dramatic BBC-TV series* Jeopardy , a 1953 film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ralph Meeker...
for the 75th time, two incorrect responses to the Daily Doubles in Double Joepardy led to his loss to Nancy Zerg. The correct response to the second one was "What is a cloche hat?"