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BONING UP ON BONNETS: Goliad museum pays homage to the practical, pretty head covering.

Victoria Advocate (Victoria, TX) January 7, 2007 Byline: Sonny Long Jan. 7–GOLIAD — While the headgear most associated with the settling of the West is the 10-gallon cowboy hat, women of the day also often covered their pates with a cover that has a colorful history of its own — the bonnet. The bonnet is not as popular today as in the 1800s, but can often be seen being worn by women working in the yard or garden and in historical re-enactments. The most common kind of bonnet worn today is a soft head covering for babies. They are shaped much like the kind of bonnets women used to wear. They cover the hair and ears, but not the forehead. About a dozen bonnets are currently on display at the Market House Museum in Goliad. The display includes a bonnet worn by 85-year-old Annie Williams back when she was a teenager picking cotton on the family farm in Fannin. Another bonnet turns into an apron when unfolded. Actually, the original bonnets were a headgear for men, usually noblemen and clergy. In the 1770s, when huge wigs and hairstyles for women were fashionable, the “calash” bonnet was worn to protect the high hairstyles from the weather, according to an Internet article on Vintagefashionguild.org, by Jonathan Walford of Kickshaw Productions. Collapsible bonnets, they were made of strips of wood or whalebone sewn into channels of a silk hood. A front ribbon allowed the wearer to hold the calash securely over her face while walking in the wind. A taste for simpler fabrics in the 1780s brought the more democratic styles that followed the French Revolution. Cotton was introduced as a fashion fabric. Simple cotton house bonnets ornamented with a separate ribbon became fashionable for all echelons of society. website hairstyles for women

In the early 1800s, straw bonnets were de rigueur, or socially obligatory. Inexpensive “bonnet board” was often used. It was made of cardboard, then pressed in a roller machine to create a design. Bonnet board was also a response to a lack of trade goods from Italy, the traditional source for quality straw bonnets. Experiments with silk-covered buckram also proved successful for creating bonnets.

By 1830, bonnets grew to huge proportions. A large brim framed the wearer’s face from the front, but hid her profile from the side. A veil protected her identity as well as her delicate skin from the sun’s rays. Brim size decreased dramatically in the 1840s but still covered most of the wearer’s hair and much of her face. As a bonnet developed a peak, it would extend from the entire front of the bonnet, from the chin over the forehead and down the other side of the face. Some styles of bonnets had a large peak, which effectively prevented women from looking right or left without turning their heads, like the “coal-scuttle” or “poke” bonnet. Others had a wide peak, which was angled out to frame the face. In the 1840s it might be crimped at the top to frame the face in a heart shape. As the bonnet became more complicated, a lace cornette to hold the hair in place might be worn under the bonnet. From the mid-1850s the bonnet’s depth reduced to expose more of the face and hair. The “Bavolette” was a ribbon frill at the back of the bonnet. Its purpose was covering the neck, which was considered an erogenous zone in the mid-19th century. According to the Walford article, by 1860 parasols had become a fashion staple and bonnets, except for cold weather wear, became purely ornamental. Due to their reduced functionality, bonnets decreased in size throughout the decade. Styles included the “spoon” bonnet, named for its shallow shape. It had a peaked crown that could be decorated with a small bouquet of flowers. The bonnets remained one of the most common types of headgear worn by women throughout most of the 19th century. Silk bonnets, elaborately pleated and ruffled with fine fabric, were worn outdoors or in public places like shops, galleries, churches, and during visits to acquaintances. As parasols continued to take the place of bonnets for protection from the sun, bonnets became smaller and smaller, until they could only be held on the head with hatpins. As hats came back into style, bonnets were increasingly worn only by women who wanted to appear modest in public. Bonnets began to be known as dowager (a widow who owns a title or property) wear, and dropped from the fashion scene except on the prairies. Most middle-class women in the 19th century would have had at least two bonnets, one suitable for summer weather, often made from straw, and one made from heavier fabric for winter wear. Wealthier women would have many more bonnets, suitable for different occasions. The Market House Museum, 205 South Street in Goliad, is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Call 361-645-8767 for more information. Sonny Long is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-275-6319 or cueroadv@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com. in our site hairstyles for women

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