Interesting Hat Facts
- "Mad as a Hatter": in order to bind felt fibres the millinery industry used mercury. Felt fluff would be inhaled by the milliners and over time the mercury would drive them mad.
- The word "milliner" was first recorded in 1529 and referred to Milan, the premier source for straw hats.
- Chanel, Halston and Adolfo all started out as milliners.
- You lose 20% of your body heat from your head...mainly from the forehead as it has no insulation.
- Panama hats actually come from Equador. The workers on the Panama Canal wore the imported straw hats but the Americans thought they were wearing locally made hats.
- Hat wearing declined after WWII due mainly to the popularity of the car. People moved from urban areas with mass transport to suburbs built for the car.
- In the mid-80's the baseball hat kicked off the current trend for hat wearing. Since 1985 hat wearing has increased by 15% a year.
- The Audubon Society was founded in order to protect the bird population from Edwardian millinery trends, sometimes whole birds were put on the hats.
- The oldest hat center in America is in Danbury Ct. It was founded by 8 families in 1684. Again because of the mercury poisoning people would refer to "The Danbury Shakes".
- John Jacob Astor made his fortune from beaver pelts for the European millinery trade. If you go to Astor Pl. subway station you will see Beaver mosaic tiles in tribute to him.
- Rotten Row, London's famous riding area, was the gathering place for Victorian courtesans. When Skittles one of the most famous courtesans appeared in a dashing riding bowler she set of a fashion frenzy.
- Rose Bertin, Marie Antoinette's milliner, helped her client lose her head by designing such extravagant creations. She yielded enormous style power at the court and can be considered the world's first stylist
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