A real lady will not show up without her hat on, while an ornamental composition of elements on the brim changes from season to season and depending on the occasion. Choice of the right hat is the ultimate proof of good taste or simply lack of it.
Herse Fashion House imports hats from Paris – they stock Virot, Reboux, Loys, Esther-Mayer, and Lewis. There are some that are casual and some that are smart and dressy. There are bonnets, toques, round summer hats with a high crown, and Stella hats with a wide brim turned up on one side.
The autumn collection features hats made of felt, with the additions of velvet, plush, or adorned with short feathers, wings or even a whole bird. There is a stock of feathers and flowers in the hat department with which each of the hats can be completed, be it a dressy or a simple model. Feather boas remain the most popular – “warm, fluffy and ornate, in the daintiest of shades.” Entire garlands of flowers can be attached, gathered in bouquets and floral compositions, and complemented with straw ornaments and jewellery.
Hats can also include one of their selection of veils in different shapes and sizes made of tulle, mesh, lace and sznela - an old sort of embroidered silk fabric. Older ladies should definitely go for some covering – that is, an ornate bonnet of some sort. Herse Fashion House also offers a range of hats ideal for country getaways, playing tennis and hiking, which includes original Basque seamless berets in navy, white and red as well as Scotch ones in similar shades.
Herse’s models smile on the pages of their catalogues – they resemble the contemporary ideal of feminine beauty, the Gibson Girl, first portrayed by illustrator Charles Dan Gibson.
The illustrated models sport hats of different shapes – some of them look like a sponge, some look like a soup bowl turned upside-down, others remind one of flowerbeds.
Each of them is adorned with a band, a feather or a precious stone, precisely embedded in the models' bun. Even if the hat is not the focal object on a page of the catalogue, it complements the presented dresses, outfits, fur or any other piece of clothing. Hats – a dressy must-have, so unnecessary from a practical point of view, have become well-established as a symbol of the fashion of that time.
Author: Karolina Sulej, May 2014.
Translated by: Kasia Dolato, 16/06/2014.
