While considering a blog post for Trove Tuesday, I thought perhaps I would search for images relating to Victorian era fashion (a favourite topic of mine). I picked a year (1887), searched using the word ‘ladies’ and refined my results so that only the pages with illustrations would be listed. The below image was at the top of the list and after looking at the image my first thought was, “Why are there cats on their hats?”
I then read the caption and quickly realised that the cartoon related to the terrible trend in which whole birds were placed on ladies’ hats, all in the name of fashion. While I am unsure if the newspaper was in earnest with respect to the use of cats or was actually writing tongue-in-cheek, it nevertheless sparked my curiosity with respect to the use of birds on hats and I turned my attention towards searching for historical images.
The fashion trend began in the 1880s and consisted of the use of various parts of birds (feathers, beaks, wings, or the whole bird) mounted on hats. Such was the demand throughout the Victorian era (and into the early 20th century) that concerns soon arose that the continuous killing of the birds could result in the extinction of various species. Conservation movements began which eventually resulted in the creation of legislation to protect birds from being killed.
Of course Australia was no exception and exploring the illustrations in the historical newspapers on Trove shows the many ways in which birds were used in millinery fashion.
While I am grateful that birds are no longer used as fashion ornaments, it’s important to note that, even today, we are not completely blameless. According to BirdLife, many birds are still under threat from a variety of different issues such as destruction of habitat, climate change or feral animals. We may have come a long way from our Victorian era counterparts and their disturbing millinery trend, but all of us still must do better to protect birds and their environment. For more information on Australian Birds, please visit BirdLife: http://www.birdlife.org.au/
Sources:
- 1887 ‘Ladies’ Headgear.’, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 – 1907), 15 January, p. 31. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71679244
- 1889 ‘CARRIAGE HAT.’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 – 1912), 23 March, p. 601. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161933730
- 1884 ‘Felt Hat.’, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 – 1907), 26 April, p. 34. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71011170
- 1888 ‘Black Velvet Hat.’, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 – 1907), 17 March, p. 34. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71095558
- 1895 ‘LONDON FASHIONS AND FRIVOLITIES.’, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 – 1954), 21 December, p. 28. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87168586
- 1886 ‘Ladies’ Pages. Fashions.’, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 – 1907), 14 August, p. 34. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71066328
- 1885 ‘Hints About the Tiny Folk.’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 – 1912), 21 March, p. 603. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163276819
- 1886 ‘Hats and Bonnets.’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 – 1912), 23 January, p. 178. , viewed 07 Feb 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162813282
The Dusty Box 