19th Century Hats: 1840 – 1850

The bonnet took front and center in this decade and, in fact, stayed front and center the entire time, a rather unusual phenomenon. Technically, there were hats, but as Cunnington points out, “the hat could do no more than imitate [the bonnet and capote] so closely as to be practically indistinguishable…” (Cunnington, English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century, 156.) A more demure style, but still filled with trimmings, McClellan quotes an original source as saying, “…the congregations of the fashionable churches looked like beds of lilies and roses. The latest style is really very beautiful, or as the ladies say ‘sweet’.” (McClellan, Historic Dress in America, 1800-1870, 231.)

Quick Overview

More Details

• Bonnets: Bonnets and Capotes were both most popular, at least out of doors. They became very close-fitting throughout this decade, and often had veils or voilettes over them, although an 1840 description says, ” This little veil does not fall over the face, but merely covers the bonnet, being frequently brought from underneath the front…” (McClellan, 213.) The veils were often the same shade as the silk of the bonnet. The brims did change slightly as the decade wore on, first with smaller brims, then flaring slightly, and then becoming smaller again. Cunnington mentions that the decade started with the shape as an oval and ended in a round sphere. The bonnets were usually lined with gauze to protect hair from the straw and, despite being close-fitting, had a fair amount of trimmings. Ruching or quilling often trimmed the inside of the brim, while flowers and ribbons decorated the outside, though those could certainly be reversed as well. Feathers were also still used, but often mentioned as a single feather rather than the plumes so popular in the 1810s. Aside from flowers and ribbon, tulle, velvet, and silk were all mentioned as common materials used to line or trim straw bonnets. On a more mechanical note, bonnet and brims were now one piece instead of the brim being attached to the bonnet separately, and capote crowns were often stiffened by canvas or other materials.
  • Example (1842): ” Bonnet of rice straw trimmed with pink ribbon; a large veil of white gauze, drawn into fullness by a ribbon in a hem, is fastened round the crown, and thrown back over the shoulders. Hair is in full ringlets at the sides.” (McClellan, 225.)
• Caps: Caps were universally worn as well, though the style of the cap might change significantly depending on if it was worn in the morning or evening. McClellan comments that in the early part of the decade, there were three new caps: “La Coquette, a half cap with a deep fancy border trimmed with marabout tips; La Religieuse, a nun’s cap made of fine materials; Marie Stuart cap, with point in front, made of lace for morning wear and of velvet for evening dress.” (McClellan, 222.) Caps were typically pretty small and the most common materials mentioned were muslin and lace. They might be plain or decorated with flowers and ribbons. They were typically reserved from married women, leaving wreaths and the like to the unmarried.
  • Example (1844): “But another and decidedly more becoming style [of cap] was of plain India muslin, trimmed with two rows of Valenciennes, and ornamented with a broad blue ribbon in the front, and shaded with a second row of lace, falling over the ribbon. A rosette of blue silk with long ends, placed on the left side, was also a tasteful trimming.”
• Evening: Flowers seemed to be the most popular headdress for the evening, particularly for young women. Wreaths made of flowers (possibly attached to silk or velvet) was often mentioned. Caps, the occasional turban, and Petit Bords (I think this means a small-brim hat, but please feel free to correct me!) were all also talked about, but were commonly very small and decorated with flowers and ribbons. While the evening wear was all somewhat consistent in terms of simple elegance, there was just enough variety that the various types might be better described with a few examples:
  • 1840: “Evening petits bords of velvet with pearls and aigrette. Small toque-hats or ”toquets’, of satin or velvet, worn far back, with a shallow brim in front, turned up and ornamented with ostrich feather.” (Cunnington, 157.)
  • 1842: ” Embroidered tulle cap trimmed at each side with a single rose from which small flowers descend en gerbe; band and coques of a rose ribbon. (Cunnington, 159.)
  • 1845: “Turban of green and white satin worked with gold thread, front and ends of white satin, crown of green vandyked, each vandyke finished by small gold ball.” (Cunnington, 160.)
  • 1848: ” Simple garland of pink roses over the front, with blond lace deepening behind.” (Cunnington, 162.)

Men’s Hats

Similar to the first half of the century, tall hats were still in vogue, and could have a 7-8 inch brim! Toward the later half of the decade, one might see curled brims, and in the country a man might wear a wide-brimmed felt hat.

Resources

• Cunnington, C. Willett. English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century. Courier Corporation, 2013.
• Franklin, Harper. “1840-1849 | Fashion History Timeline.” Fashion History Timeline. Accessed March 12, 2025. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-1849/.
• McClellan, Elisabeth. Historic Dress in America, 1800-1870, 1910.
• Peacock, John. Costume 1066 To the Present 3e. National Geographic Books, 2006.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Costume Institute Fashion Plates,” May 19, 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/libraries-and-research-centers/watson-digital-collections/costume-institute-collections/costume-institute-fashion-plates.