Glamorous Turbans in the 1920s

Silver lame turban. Labeled “Miss Dolores, London, Paris. Made in England.”

[8/24/14 Correction:  Thanks to Christina — see comments —  for pointing out that, based on interior construction and the label,  this is probably not an authentic 1920s turban, but a 1970s version.]

Turban worn with velvet cape, Delineator, March 1924.

I associate turbans with Paul Poiret, cocoon coats, and evening wear, but they remained fashionable throughout the 1920s, and were worn with day dresses, as well as with evening clothes. This turban is being worn with a bathing costume in 1924:

Turban with bathing costume, Delineator, June 1924.

Butterick sold the pattern for this turban, #4748, in 1924 [the number dates it to late 1923,] and illustrated it being worn with simple day dresses and more formal outfits:

Butterick #4748 with a satin blouse; this is office or afternoon wear, but it is not an evening dress; satin was often worn in the daytime.

Butterick pattern 4748, Delineator, March 1924.

Turban pattern #4748, from Delineator. Left, April 1924; right, March 1924.

Turbans were worn earlier in the 1920s, too. Remembered Summers shared this photo of her mother, dated 1921. This turban is being worn with a summery white dress, by a 17 year-old girl.

Turban worn by 17 year old woman, dated 1921. Photo courtesy of RememberedSummers.wordpress.com

(These young people eloped at about the time of the photo.) Her turban doesn’t have a feather — they are posed in front of a palm tree, and those are palm fronds.

This “turban hat of twisted ribbon” by Paris milliner Marcelle Roze was featured in Delineator magazine in May, 1924. It’s definitely more structured and hat-like than the turbans made from pattern #4748.

Turban Hat by Marcelle Roze, Delineator, May 1924.

This turban was shown with a day dress in the summer of 1925:

Turban worn in pattern illustration, Delineator, June 1925.

A new turban pattern, Butterick #6634, was shown with a dress suitable for stout women; Summer, 1926.

Butterick pattern #6634 for a turban, Delineator, May 1926.

That doesn’t mean the turban was going out of style. This gold lamé turban by French designer Agnès was illustrated in 1929. The jewelry is by Patou. The illustrator’s initials are D.R.

Snug-fitting gold lame turban by Agnes, January 1929. The Delineator.

Which brings me back to this beautiful silver lamé turban from the collection of a friend.

Silver lame turban, jeweled, with feather. Miss Dolores label.

Styr0foam wig heads are smaller than human heads, so this turban would fit a person snugly and smoothly. The jewel was enormous, sparkly, possibly paste, and hard to photograph — it was not dulled or darkened. The silver fabric was not noticeably tarnished. The feathers were soiled and worn; I think they were white, rather than gray, originally. They may have stuck up more when new.

Silver lame turban by Miss Dolores. Top and Back view.

You can see the small piece of cloth at center back that comes from inside the hat to cover the fabric joins.

Inside of silver lame hat, showing label.

The brand name, Miss Dolores, of London and Paris, was apparently still appearing in felt hats in the 1980s, judging by the few photos I have found online, but this turban seems to be a 1920s style. I couldn’t find out much about the Miss Dolores label, but everything about this hat — with the exception of the “Miss Dolores” script — suggested the twenties to me. I could be wrong. Comments? [Corrected 8/24/14: I was wrong. Thanks for your expertise, Christina! See Comments.]

P.S. In the theatre, we usually build turbans on a close-fitting felt base. That makes them easy to put on, and the folds can be stabilized with stitching inside the creases  — I mention this just in case you’re inspired to make a turban to go with your 1920s outfits.

 

Tam-O’-Shanters for the 1920s, Part 1

Butterick Tam-o’-Shanter pattern # 3157. Pictured in Delineator magazine, March, 1924.

1920s Alternatives to the Cloche Hat

Although the cloche is the definitive “Nineteen Twenties” hat style, there were alternatives – including wide brims, turbans, “very small hats” (almost brimless), and the Tam-o’-Shanter. (For more about the history of Tams, click here.)

Other Paris hat styles — besides the cloche — for May 1925. Delineator magazine.

Above, from left to right:  1) “a wide hat of lacquer-red straw,”  2) “a turban-hat of twisted ribbon,”  3) “the very small hat turned up at the front or back.”

Two more “very small hats” from the article on Paris styles, May 1925. Delineator magazine.

 Tam-o’-Shanters for Women and Girls, Mid-Nineteen Twenties

Butterick Tam-o’-Shanter pattern #5458. Delineator, September 1924.

A very good article about twenties hats, “1920s Hat Styles Beyond the Cloche,” by Vintage Dancer, mentions that the tam was usually worn by young women and girls, but it also appears occasionally with rather dressy outfits on adult women:

Dressy Tams on Women, from Delineator magazine, 1924 & 1925.

Butterick’s tam-o’-shanter patterns were usually sized for “Ladies, Misses (i.e., ages 14 to 20), Children and Girls.”  Tams could be made from wool flannel, silk velvet, satin, cotton velours, taffeta, and other elegant fabrics. Although a pom-pom was the traditional trim, tassels, ribbons, feathers, embroidery, jewels, and other ornaments decorated 1920s tams for women.

1920s Tams decorated with jewels, embroidery, and ribbons. Delineator magazine.

Magazines usually featured tam o’shanters in fall and winter, but this summer tam appears to be made of lace or, possibly, popcorn-knitted or crocheted silk ribbon:

A large summer tam worn with a sheer dress trimmed with drawn threadwork. June 1926. Delineator magazine.

The Tam:  Simple to Sew

A basic tam-o’-shanter shape; Vogue pattern 7980, dated 2004. The pattern calls it a beret.

Butterick offered many Tam-o’-Shanter patterns during the 1920s, perhaps because the tam was easier for a home stitcher to sew than a cloche (although four- and six- gored cloche patterns were also sold.) In fact, I have come across so many 1920s Tam-o’-Shanter patterns that I can only describe a few in this post.

In an era when women and men rarely left the house without wearing a hat or cap, the tam-o-shanter was a quick, un-fussy hat to put on for the trip to and from school, or to the local shops. A schoolgirl or telephone operator could take it off and hang it with her coat, and there was no danger of a tam-o’-shanter being crushed; they looked crushed to begin with!

A Tam-o’-Shanter pattern from Butterick, March 1924.

Butterick Tam-0′-Shanter Patterns, 1921 to 1925

These three tam patterns were featured in Butterick’s Delineator magazine in 1924 and 1925. Their numbers, in the three- and four- thousand range, indicate that they were first issued before 1924, but they were still being included in pattern illustrations for 1924 and 1925. Although some Butterick hat patterns are for children or girls only, these tams were intended for ‘Misses’ (ages 15 to 20) and adult women (“Ladies”) as well.

Butterick Tam-o’-Shanter Pattern # 3157

Butterick Tam-o’-Shanter pattern # 3157. Pictured in Delineator magazine, March, 1924.

Three views of Butterick Tam pattern # 3157. April to June, 1924. It can be worn with the band tucked in (left) or showing (right.)

These full-length pictures show them with appropriate daytime clothing:

Butterick Tam pattern #3147 as illustrated in April to June of 1924. Delineator magazine.

Butterick Tam Hat Pattern #4886

Butterick Tam Pattern # 4886, issued late 1923; illustrated in Delineator in March 1924 (L) and January 1925 (R).

The two-headed pin which goes through so many 1920s hats is called a “cliquet” or scarf / jabot pin. The Cartier and America Exhibition in San Francisco included several superb art deco examples. You can see some of them  here, at a Yahoo image search.

Butterick Tam pattern #4886. All were illustrated in April 1924. Delineator magazine.

Here are the full-length illustrations of the outfits tam #4886 was shown with:

Butterick tam pattern #4886 as worn in April, 1924. Delineator magazine.

Butterick Tam-o’- Shanter Pattern # 4898

Butterick Tam pattern # 4898, issued in late 1923, but illustrated in 1924 and 1925. Delineator magazine.

Although all four of these illustrations show girls or teens, pattern #4898 was sized for Girls, Misses, and Ladies.

Sidelight: The girls on the left have a hair-do associated with Mary Pickford, (“Little Mary”) the silent star who played child-women well into adulthood. She played Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm the year this picture was taken (1917), and Pollyanna in 1920, when she was 28 years old. She finally bobbed her hair in 1928. Mothers who were fans of Mary Pickford movies were probably responsible for their daughters’ long, long curls in 1925.

Mary Pickford in an Ad for Pompeian Hair and Face Massage Creams. 1917.