Bergère Hats Are Back!

         If I could, I would wear 18^th century garb everyday. But as a working woman in the year 2017 I feed this urge by incorporating small bits of Georgian glam into my look. Huge hair with a pouf just so? Historically accurate beauty products? Georgian jewelry?  Check, check, check. So imagine my surprise when I opened the latest Vogue and discovered that bergère hats are back!

         Quick crash course: A bergère hat (Wikipedia tells me this is French for shepherdess) is a flat-brimmed straw hat with a shallow crown. Often trimmed with ribbon or flowers it sits just so on the head, often at a jaunty angle.

The Swing

It can be seen in countless 18^th century paintings, most famously The Swing by Fragonard. Other than looking cute as heck it also helped keep the sun off women seeking creamy pale skin.

         The majesty of a well done bergère isn’t lost on many a historical costumer. One need look no further than Demonde Couture’s Kendra or the spectacular Lauren THE American Duchess. Nor has the bergère been ignored by Hollywood- Milena Canonero famously reused one from the 1975 film Barry Lyndon for Sofia Coppola’s 2006 gem Marie Antoinette.

Yaaaas Queen!

       It was 18^th century It Girls who set the trends then, so unsurprisingly when Kendall Jenner rocked a bergère in Cannes Vogue noticed. I hadn’t even seen the pictures from The Met Gala where Viceland host Hailey Gates ignored the “look” of the night and turned it up to 11! I’m not really sure who the designer Jacquemus is. A quick Google search reveals a broken website- but if he’s the next big thing and he’s promoting 18^th century glam, then who am I to judge?

          Want a bergère of your very own? You can find one at Burnley & Trowbridge or a Fashionable Frolick. 

Love,

AAA

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