Apoke bonnet(sometimes also referred to as aNeapolitan bonnetor simply as apoke) is a women'sbonnet,featuring a small crown and wide and rounded front brim. Typically this extends beyond the face. It has been suggested that the name came about because the bonnet was designed in such a way that the wearer's hair could be contained within the bonnet.[1]Poke may also refer to the brim itself, which jutted out beyond the wearer's face.[2]
Characteristics
editThere were many variations of the style, which remained popular throughout much of the 19th century.[3]TheMetropolitan Museum of Artnotes that the poke usually had a small crown combined with a large brim extending beyond the face, providing a large surface for decoration.[4]
This prominent brim shaded the face and, over time increased in size so that the wearer's face could only be seen from the front.[5]Typically, the bonnet would be secured by ribbons tied under the chin, which might also wrap around the bottom of the bonnet's crown, similar to ahatband.An 1830s version of the poke bonnet with ornate ribbon wrapping forms part of theVictoria and Albert Museumarchive.[6]
History of the design
editThe poke bonnet came into fashion at the beginning of the 19th century. It is first mentioned in an 1807 fashion report inThe Times;the report describes designs made ofwilloworvelvetwith long ribbons and full bows on one side of the hat.[7]
By the 1830s, Englishwomen had adopted the poke bonnet. The new styles became widely popular and made the aristocracy less visibly distinct from the respectable middle classes.[8]The style is modest and was in line withEnglishfashions after the ascension ofQueen Victoria.[9]
A poke bonnet features prominently in the illustrations ofBeatrix Potter'sTale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.Another appears in theFirst World War-era music hall song "In your little poke bonnet and shawl".[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Poke Bonnet".nga.gov.National Gallery of Art.Retrieved23 July2015.
- ^"Poke".collinsdictionary.Collins Dictionary.Retrieved23 July2015.
- ^Brooks Picken, Mary (1999).A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern(1999 ed.). United States: Dover Publications. p.27.ISBN0486402940.Retrieved22 July2015.
coal scuttle bonnet.
- ^"Poke bonnet".metmuseum.org.Metropolitan Museum of Art.Retrieved22 July2015.
- ^"Poke bonnet".britannica.Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved23 July2015.
- ^"Poke Bonnet".vam.ac.uk.Victoria and Albert Museum.Retrieved23 July2015.
- ^"Fashions for November".The Times.No. 7219. 1 December 1807.
- ^Judith S. Lewis (2003).Sacred to Female Patriotism: Gender, Class, and Politics in Late Georgian Britain.p. 184.ISBN0415944112.
- ^Metropolitan Museum of Art,Mourning Poke Bonnet Collection.
- ^"1914, English, Printed music edition: In your little poke bonnet and shawl / written and composed by Alf. J. Lawrance. [music]".trove.nla.gov.au.National Library of Australia.Retrieved23 July2015.
