I Made Hats

Now I know that may not sound all that exciting, but when I was a girl, Hats were a big thing!

Moving to California from the East, we were use to seeing ladies wearing a hat and gloves if she went out. There were no nylons back then, and women would not have thought to go bear legged. Oh, and jeans or slacks were never concidered proper dress for "ladies". In fact when Aunt Clara moved to California in around 1945, she was shocked to see me in slacks. They were just becoming common place wear at that time. Not that I hadn't had slacks before. I remember the folks bought me a pair of red wool slacks when my leg was broke. That would have been about 1937.

It was common to have Hat Shops in town, and every "Big Store" had a Hat Department. I loved hats. They were expensive. I believe hat forms were one of the first Craft Projects. Of course no decent Hat would have been caught without a veil, so there was a nice variety of veils as well as hat forms. I would buy a form, some flowers or other decorations and some veiling and I was off to the races. Now this was before glue guns as well. A needle and thread were the tools used to create a hat. I remember I was so good at it, I sold a number of the creations I put together.

Gloves had pretty well gone out by then. I think it was mainly because too many were lost and who could get by with only one glove from a pair? A lady was never seen without a matching handbag to go with her shoes. Every Shoe Store in town carried both Shoes and Bags. I remember going to town and window shopping in a number of Shoe Stores. The town usually had bout 4 or 5. The competition was pretty brisk. Styles were usually common, but it was the material and the colors that were offered that got the cumstomers through the doors. This was the time when Saddle Oxfords and the Penny Loafers were popular. Most every girl had Saddle Oxfords. They were either Brown on White or Black on White once in awhile you could find Navy Blue on White. Then there were the Spectator Pumps, which were High Heels with the same combinations. Every Spring the Ladies would haul out their Spectator Pumps and their dress clothes and make quite a fashion statement.

Dresses were longer back then. Nice Ladies didn't show their knees. Cotton dresses were worn during the day, they were called "house dresses". "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes were
reserved for special occasions and Church on Sunday. Men wore "work clothes" Kids wore "school clothes" and everyone had a pair of everyday shoes and "dress shoes" which were only wore on special occasions and Sunday for Church attendance.

It wasn't until we went to High School that we had Tennis Shoes and they were only worn for our PE class along with shorts and blouses that were embroidered with our names. We had to have them cleaned at least every other week. We had a locker in the Gym where these were kept. My High School had a swimming pool, but we didn't have to furnish a swim suit. The school had them, and they were awful. No style, but they covered us. We were issued towels and suits when we had to have swimming. We were only excused from "dressing" when we were ill. No other excuse for changing into your "Gym Clothes" would be accepted.

I didn't think much of it back then, but I am greatful we had a dress code. I suppose it was more because of the "depression". No one had a lot of money back then to have too many changes of clothes. I remember how it was special to be able to buy new Gym Clothes rather than get some used things left by the Seniors from the year before. Some of them were not all that great, and fit was sometimes a problem. They were required, so we did what we had to do.

I think the boys were much better off than the girls in that department. The biggest expense was if the boys needed special shoes for their sports. I know Ronald always had to have Basketball shoes. He had such a narrow foot they were ordered special and were expensive. The folks always seemed to be able to budget for them. Ralph was the swimmer, so he was not in need of anything special. His stuff always was furnished as I recall.

I notice that some hats are coming into fashion again. They are really expensive and not worn by the general female population. Times change, as do styles, but I have to admit, it would be nice to see the female population take just a bit more pride in their looks when they leave the house. Shoes seem to have gone out of style for a great many people. Men as well as women have taken the flip-flop as a regular footwear these days. So many younger girls are wearing shoes that have no support and heels that may make them feel grown up, but will cause more problems for them as they get older. I remember the Podiatrist telling me when I was about 12 to change my shoes from day to day and make sure all my shoes fit properly and supported my feet. If I would do that, as I grew older, I wouldn't develope foot problems or have female problems. That was good advice then, and still good advice now.

Written the 6th day of May 2009
by: Eileen Rosenberg