Museum Matters

With motor cars coming of age just after the turn of the century, ladies hats had to make a change. A horse or a wagon generally did not go very fast, so ladies could wear the current fashion hats without a problem. But with motor cars they might travel upwards of 40 miles an hour. With those kind of speeds, women needed a hat that would not blow off.

Starting around 1907 to 1919 ladies wore a new kind of hat with a scarf that could be tied under the chin. The scarf secured the hat so that it wouldn’t blow off at high speeds. For hats, coats and gloves they needed a way to protect themselves from the elements in a way that was stylish.

Motor cars were mostly open during that time. It wasn’t until the early 1920s that enclosed automobiles were built that solved the problem.

Motoring hats had a wide brim and were tied under the chin. They might have had a face veil that went over the hat. The wide brim was fashionable but also protected them from the sun. The tie across the top of the hat and under the chin was sheer enough to easily see through it. On a long trip some type of eye protection was needed to block the dirt thrown up by the car. Some wore goggles. Dusters, apparently a type of coverall, were worn even for horseback riding and were easily adapted to automobiling.

This group of stylish ladies visited the Edmund Photography Studio in downtown Dublin to be photographed. The woman on the far left is Ellen Harris as identified by her granddaughter in 2010. Images are from the Ralph and Dossie Rogers Collection/ Historical Museum and the Library of Congress.

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