Fruit hat
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Afruit hatis a festive and colorfulhattype popularized byCarmen Mirandaand associated with warm locales. This type of hat has been worn byfashionistas,in films, bycomic stripcharacters, and forHalloween.The fruit used tends to sit on the top or around the head, and varies in type, e.g. bananas, berries, cherries, pineapples.
History
[edit]A fashion report inLos Angeles Timesfrom 1895 called the use ofmendiantthe "newest trimming" for hats, and noted that hats were "tipped far over the eyes".[1]The Chicago Tribunereported on fruit ribbons, along with feathers, flowers, and frills, as trim forEasterhats.[2]A report on artificial fruit used on hats was in a 1918 edition ofThe New York Times.[3]Fruit and vegetable trim on "gay hats" featured in the firstmillineryshow of the season at New York's Saks Fifth Avenue in 1941, and overshadowed flowers.[4]Lil Picard,a millinery designer for the custom-made department of Bloomingdale's, sought inspiration from nature for her hats and while on vacation "listening to the birds, gazing through the lacy outlines of foliage and watching the ripening fruits, she dreamed of trimmings."[5]
Brazilian"bombshell"Carmen Miranda,who "made a habit of wearing exotic headdresses/hats often adorned with fruit", appears as a singer named Dorita in the 1943 filmThe Gang's All Here.The movie includes a musical number called "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat" with barefoot chorus girls dressed in yellow turbans, blackcrop tops,and ruffled yellowminiskirtswho manipulated giantpapier-mâchébananas and bounced inflatable strawberries off their toes at the whims of legendary choreographerBusby Berkeley.[6]
Use in marketing
[edit]Inspired by Carmen Miranda's costumes,[6]theChiquita Bananalogo featured a cartoon image of an anthropomorphic banana with a human face and a selection of fruit adorning its hat. The logo was created forUnited Fruit Companyin 1944 byDik Browne,who is perhaps best known for hisHägar the Horriblecomic strip.[7]In advertising of the 1940s, the logo character's voice was supplied by vocalistPatti Claytonfollowed byElsa Miranda,June ValliandMonica Lewis.The concept was created by aBBDOadvertising team headed by Robert Foreman with the song lyrics written by Garth Montgomery and music composed by Len MacKenzie.[6]The original Chiquita Banana advertisement was produced byDisney Studiosand ran inmovie theaters.[8]
The company later becameChiquita Brands Internationaland would use a banana wearing a fruit hatheaddresson its logo for decades.[6]In 1987 the banana character was replaced with a woman by artist Oscar Grillo, creator of thePink Panther,to reflect "the image the public had of Miss Chiquita as a real person."[6]
References
[edit]
- ^"'September Styles' by Nina Fitch ".Los Angeles Times.ProQuest.August 4, 1895. Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2011.Retrieved2022-05-31.
- ^"Feathers, Flowers and Fruit Ribbons, Frills and Quills Trim Hats Every Way for Easter Says Louise James".Chicago Tribune.March 14, 1915. p. C8.Archivedfrom the original on October 25, 2012.RetrievedJuly 6,2017.
- ^"Artificial Fruit Used on Hats".The New York Times.December 5, 1918.Archivedfrom the original on March 5, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 8,2017.
- ^"Milady's New Hat Full of Vitamins; Fruit and Vegetable Trims Overshadow Flowers That Bloom in Spring, Tra La".The New York Times.March 18, 1941. p. 18.Archivedfrom the original on July 23, 2018.RetrievedJuly 23,2018.
- ^Pope, Virginia (September 2, 1943)."Leaves and Fruit Bedeck Fall Hats; Lil Picard Finds Inspiration in Nature for Trimmings for Her Collection".The New York Times.p. 22.Archivedfrom the original on May 17, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 8,2017.
- ^abcde"TV Acres".TV Acres.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-22.Retrieved2010-06-29.
- ^"Chiquita website".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-01-19.Retrieved2011-08-14.
- ^"Chiquita Banana commercial".Youtube.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21.Retrieved2010-06-29.