Femme au chapeau: Art, Fashion and the Woman's Hat in Belle Epoque Paris

Abstract

This thesis examines the images of hatted women in the early 1900s among Paris-based artists, when the fast pace of the fashion industry and changing media revolutionised the image of a fashionable woman. The first chapter examines the hat in portraiture of the early twentieth century, in both academic and avant-garde art, with emphasis on the depiction of glamour, and how a woman’s identity might be altered by a hat. It draws a comparison between commercial portraiture, and portraits of women by avant-garde artists. The second chapter addresses the images of the popular Montmartre dance hall, the Moulin de la Galette, both in paintings and in print media. The focus is on the “fantasy,” whereby a temporary and alternative identity is created for a woman through her headgear. The final chapter examines the evolution of the hat to its largest and most elaborate state at Parisian horse-racing events, addressing the obsession with size, and the environmental impact of the millinery trade in its pursuit of ever-increasing grandeur.