Hat
The Breton-style hat, adapted from peasant headwear worn in Brittany, was a perennially favorite hat form in the twentieth century. Beginning in the eighteenth century, European peasants adopted national costumes that reflected their particular region and ethnic groups, which were often worn on Sundays and at festivals. Milliners often gleaned inspiration from these traditional, innovative designs. This particular hat form gained main stream fashionability in the nineteenth century when women wore it while participating in sports such as bowling and ice skating. During the 1940s, the Breton was especially in vogue, and was offered in many stylized shapes. This hat, made with high quality straw, is a beautifully crafted example made by Bergdorf Goodman, a New York department store known for their millinery designs. According to museum accession records, it is also a copy of a patent leather Breton-style hat by Balenciaga (see 2009.300.2379), an example of how retail stores often copied French designs, with and without permission from French couturiers.
Artwork Details
- Title: Hat
- Department Store: Bergdorf Goodman (American, founded 1899)
- Date: ca. 1945
- Culture: American
- Medium: straw, silk
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Babs Simpson, 1951
- Object Number: 2009.300.3502
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
House of Balenciaga
Cristobal Balenciaga
ca. 1948
Bergdorf Goodman
ca. 1969
Bergdorf Goodman
ca. 1953
Bergdorf Goodman
ca. 1935
Bergdorf Goodman
ca. 1965
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.