Halo hat

A halo hat (sometimes halo brim hat) is a millinery design in which the headgear acts as a circular frame for the face, creating a halo effect. The design is said to date back to the late 19th century, when it was known as the aureole hat; this name is sometimes still used. It may also be known as the angel hat or bambini – the latter said to derive from Italian for terracotta plaques depicting the infant Christ.

A halo hat may be a wide range of sizes – some lying close to the head in the style of a bonnet or cloche and others that are similar in dimensions to a picture or cartwheel hat. Typically, designs are worn towards the back of the head to create the 'halo' effect. Some designs with open crowns may also be referred to as halo hats or as diadems. Popular from the 1930s on, the halo hat was created in a variety of fabrics – knitted or crocheted versions could be made at home – and could be a circle or semi-circle in shape. The halo became popular with brides; one of the most famous examples is the blue straw half-circle halo created for the wedding of Wallis Simpson by the Parisian millinery house of Caroline Reboux.

The halo hat is said to have first come into fashion the late 1880s, when it was usually known as an aureole hat (a synonym for halo), and this was a name that continued to be used to describe the circular or semi-circular shape into the 1930s. The Milwaukee Sentinel used the term to describe a new hat style in 1937. Similarly, describing the outfits worn by racegoers at a Sandown Park meet in 1937, The Times referred to an: "aureole-brimmed" hat design.

The halo shape became popular again from the start of the 1930s in both the United States and Europe. It was a distinct move away from the cloche style that was worn low over the brow, as the halo exposed the face and brow, also showing off more elaborate curled hairstyles becoming popular during this era.

"Halo hats are so new" declared an advert in a US newspaper in 1931. A 1934 Sears catalogue featured a halo hat design as part of its Loretta Young collection, adding: "Take advantage of Loretta Young's fashion judgement and wear this new off-the-face hat! It's different...There's something of the angel's halo and something of the bucaneer's bravado in its dramatic, folded-back brim".

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Wikipedia