English Costume

1923

Storage GT730 C4553

London: A. & C. Black

Hair and hat styles were but one indicator of what was in or out in the Georgian period (1714-1830), a time of rapidly changing fashions. The towering hair ensembles made of horse-hair and hemp-wool and numerous perfumed potions took many hours to dress. The result: a fashion ‘Art’ piece. Indeed, one Georgian hairdresser commented: ‘Three weeks is as long as a head can go well in the summer without being opened.’ An endless array of hats and bonnets followed suit. The illustration on the right depicts a few known creations fashionable during the years 1786 to 1790. And it is very doubtful that the young woman opposite can see them, given that her hat is perched in front of her eyes.