Hat

Mme. Pauline

ca. 1911 · straw, linen, silk · Costume Institute

Oversized hats of the years around 1910 were the perfect stage for opulent display of large and exquisite flowers, and the naturalism and delicacy of the flowers on this elegant hat is particularly notable. By the early 20th c., the manufacture of artificial flowers was a large and highly specialized trade, employing some 25,000 workers in more than 2,000 establishments in Paris alone. The firms were grouped geographically by their specialty (blossoms of various quality, leaves, clusters, blossom-and-leaf assemblers, and so on) and the manufacture divided between "natural" and "fantasy" flowers. Moreover, within each firm, each worker specialized in a particular type of flower. The rose was the most popular and prestigious flower, and rose makers were the most skilled and highest paid in within the company.

Artist

Mme. Pauline

Date

ca. 1911

Medium

straw, linen, silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Frederic G. McMahon in memory of her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert C. Halsted, 1975