Accessories in the spotlight

ON THURSDAY, February 5, Mrs. Deirdre McGowan from Rushcliffe, Nottingham gave a talk and display on”Hat Pins and other Ladies’ Accessories”, to members of the Charnwood Antique and Collectors’ Club.

She said that during the 1880s, bonnets gave way to hats, and the popularity of hat pins soared. They remained a standard women’s accessory through the 1910s and were produced in a vast range of materials and types. Hat pin holder boxes were also manufactured. The pins were around 6 – 8 inches (15-20cm) in length with a decorative head. The pin shaft was generally made of steel, but some of the more expensive ones could be of silver.

A lady would never go out in public without a hat and as fashions changed, so did the hats. At first they were rather small, but gradually became larger, mainly due to the larger hair styles. The hats therefore, had to be pinned to the hair in order to stop them falling off or getting blown off. The pins also became longer, some up to 16 inches in length.

The designs of the heads also changed with fashion and with the type of hats worn.

There were mainly three period styles

a.) Edwardian and Victorian Hat pins.

Pins of these eras usually had brass shafts with elaborate heads, including silver, gold, gold-plated filigree, rhinestone, precious gems, elaborate metalwork, and all kinds of themes. From the very elegant to sporting events, to family crests, to souvenirs, women bought and wore hat pins for every occasion. b. ) Art Nouveau Hat Pins Art Nouveau hat pins took off in 1897 after an art exhibition in Boston and reached their height in 1905. Art Nouveau pins featured smooth curves and themes of nature, including human figures and faces, flowers, animals, and celestial designs.

Art Nouveau pins were made possible by advances in machinery. They were often intricately detailed. c.) Art Deco Hat Pins. Begun in 1900 in Paris, Art Deco Hat pins reflected the architecture of the times often featuring geometric designs, some with curves and colour. Unlike Art Nouveau, which seemed to centre around intricate detail, Art Deco hat pins could range from finely detailed to simple—and yet bold—statement pieces. This trend lasted throughout the 1940’s!

The manufacture of the pins was a dangerous job undertaken in the first stages by men who made the pins and ground them down to a small point. Some of the enamelling, and even glass-blowing was then performed by women.

A variety of materials were now being used. Although a type of plastic was made in the 1800s, through invention and scientific intervention, it was refined and became known as celluloid. Bakelite was also developed, as was tortoiseshell. All throughout her talk, Deirdre produced an array of hat pins for members to view that illustrated the item and design she was describing.

She then moved onto “Other Ladies Accessories”. These included hair combs and slides from the Georgian era. These too were made of Bakelite, or wood or fine metal. Buckles and clasps followed Some enamelled and very ornate, made for special occasions, or fashions of the time. Then came buttons in a variety of materials that included enamelled, glass, bone, porcelain and silver ones. These were followed by button hooks, visiting card cases and a variety of hat pin holders and boxes, She ended her display and talk with some beautiful fans in various sizes that would have been used during the same period as all of her items she displayed.

A vote of thanks was given by the chairman, after which he told members that the next meeting would be on Tuesday, March 5, when David Siddons would present “Uppingham. Secret Gems of Ancient Rutland”.

Visitors are welcome and should anyone be interested in this subject, then please come along to the Rosebery Street Old Primary School, situated in the Rosebery Street Medical Centre, Loughborough for7.30pm.

RFT.