For the love of hats

Bowler Hat Day in the City of London England is February 11, 2010

Bowler Hat Day in the City of London celebrates the age old tradition of white collar workers wearing a Bowler in the City. There are still Bowler Hat wearers today but I do not believe that the practice is as prevalent as it used to be. It was the custom for even lower level workers to wear bowler hats even if there was only a packed lunch and newspaper in the briefcase. It was a kind of uniform. (The man in the picture seems to have left his briefcase at the office? Perhaps one takes a laptop computer there now - to play games over lunch perhaps? But I digress. Of course they are all hard working men.)

Bowler Hat Day is organised to raise money for SOS Children’s Villages, who care for orphaned children, during World Orphan Week. The focus this year is of course the dreadful situation in Haiti but even under “usual” circumstances the Charity notes that
Every 2.2 seconds a child loses a parent.

So what happens on Bowler Hat Day? Felt and Plastic Bowler hats are offered for sale with proceeds going to the charity. You can also buy a pin if you wish. The festivities take place in Leadenhall Market in the City. This year the a choral sensation Eschoir will be performing along with a great jazz band and everybody will be having fun with plenty of games and activities. There are a number of other events also. For more information please visit the Bowler Hat Day website. Sounds like a fun event if you are in the City of London on February 11. And such a good cause too - you can of course donate even if you are unable to get to the City of London.

You may wonder where the Bowler Hat was invented. Word is that it was devised in 1849 by the London hat makers Thomas and William Bowler to fulfill an order placed by the firm of hatters Lock & Co. of St James’s. Lock & Co. had been commissioned by a customer to design a close-fitting, low-crowned hat to protect his gamekeepers’ heads from low-hanging branches while on horseback. The keepers had previously worn top hats, which were easily knocked off and damaged. (From Wikipedia). The firm of Lock & Co is still in the hat business today and has been since 1676.

(Props to How2Hats for the lead on this story)

Image Credit

From Wikimedia Commons

under GNU Free Documentation Licence - with attribution

Photographer Fredrik Tersmeden

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These are all pictures of girl’s fashions from October 1897 taken from the pages of The Standard Designer Magazine. The Standard Designer was a New York City fashion magazine that seems to have focused on publishing patterns. The magazine seems to have been discontinued in 1926.

Enjoy!

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A picture of the enemy - the clothes moth

Tinea Pellionella

This is an illustration from a 19th century text obtained from Wikimedia Commons

A is the head of the beast

B are the eggs on the weave they are very tiny and hard to see

C is the worm emerging from the egg

D is the larvae the stage at which the moth eats your clothes

Beware of the vicious hat eating moths

Why do clothes moths eat clothes?

People are very aware of termites eating wood much to the devastation of houses and other buildings. In their case it is the cellulose in wood that they are looking for. In the case of clothes moths it is an ingredient called keratin. (Not to be confused of course with carotene from carrots this is a good thing). Keratin is the protein ingredient in skin, hair and fingernails in humans. In the animal world it is contained in horns, hoofs, and in the hat materials such as fur and feathers, and hair (including wool).

The ability to consume keratin is rare in the insect world or so I have read. In the USA and Canada we have two common clothes moth species and some carpet beetles that have this “ability”. Getting itchy yet? Some other species chew fabric as collateral damage if they are actually after residue of human oil, food stains and other unmentionable things.

It is mostly natural products containing keratin that the clothes moths target. You should be careful that your precious clothes (including your hats) made of synthetic fibers are stored clean of residues that may be attractive to a variety of bugs. They will eat the residue and chew on your clothes, including hats, to get what they want. Too gross to contemplate eh?

Only the children of clothes moths eat clothes.

Just like a butterfly the clothes moth goes through a complete metamorphosis  - from egg to larvae to pupa and then to adult. The feeding takes place at the larvae stage. They are cream colored with brown heads.

Identification of clothes moths

Not all moths species eat clothes. It is only certain moths that will eat your clothes. If you have a passion for entomology, you might like to consult this Wikipedia entry in the first instance.

Clothes moths are generally very small with a wingspan of less than ½ inch (approximately 2.5 centimeters). They are very difficult to spot unless you disturb them. They are shy and cowardly creatures, certainly nocturnal in habit. They hide in dark places such as attics and closets and the folds of old fabric. They are rarely seen flying about. Obviously if you see one it is a call to action to make sure your stuff is stored appropriately since these may not be eating your clothes but they certainly lay eggs yuck!

It is the larvae that do the eating as I noted. These are cream colored with brown heads. You can see one in the illustration above. It may be too late but you will be able to take steps to protect other hats or other clothes. You might spot the pupa which looks like a silk bundle. Of course the pupa you spot may not be a clothes moth but do you love bugs that much? Perhaps you do and then you can investigate further. For my part I prefer not to take any chances.

To learn more about identification of clothes moths and there various incarnations you can go read Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet. The illustration above is one of the clothes moth species.

How do you protect yourself from clothes moths?

Numero Uno is good housekeeping practices. This sounds good if you are a Martha Stewart type sadly many of us are not. Nevertheless we should make an effort lest our precious items fall prey to these pests. Keep your closets clean and tidy. Do not leave your clothes in a neglected pile. Launder clothes prior to storing. Make sure your hat is clean before storing, such cleaning depending on the fabric. Check out nooks and crannies such as between carpet and baseboard (these pests are also partial to your wool or silk carpets). Keep those rugs and carpets clean especially next to the baseboard.

Most damage is often done to stuff that is left for long periods of time. You must inspect these items periodically and if you wear them a few times they are less likely to attack. Perhaps you should  send your old items to a thrift store?

By the way be VERY careful will stuff purchased from thrift stores. Ensure they are clean before putting with other items. Inspect those vintage hats very carefully and clean them well according to the type of hat. Take particular care by storing them in tight boxes. If there is an infestation in the item you do not spot at least you will be somewhat protected from infection of other items. This is not a guarantee and you must accept the risk. Perhaps you store the items in a separate area of your home?

Inspect potential problem areas of your home periodically, looking for larvae and pupa. Y0u may need to use a flashlight and nail file in the baseboard area.

Some people urge proper climate control in your home and avoid humidity, the insects friend. Other measures include illumination of closets and the use of tight fitting doors and drapes.

In my great aunt’s day (she was born in the late 1800s) there was a great fondness for moth balls. When her closet and drawers were emptied there were enough moth balls to fill a hardware store. These kill the moths and larvae but have a negative effect on you hats and other clothes and may make these unwearable. Baron hats refer to the two chemicals naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene as being very toxic to hats. Well their very names suggest they be handled with care. They can damage delicate stuff like hats by close contact and there is a significant transfer of fumes to the item. Best to avoid these chemicals at least for hats and many other clothing items.

How to store your hats

In the words of Baron Hats you do not want your hat to look like something that resembles more like something SpongeBob SquarePants would wear! Or, it will make a great spaghetti strainer

Baron Hats provide some useful pointers on this subject of protection from moth damage.

First of all do not use moth balls (see above). I certainly agree with their advice on this point.

Barons suggest using cedar as  moth ball substitute. Perhaps cedar shavings used in hamster care and available from the pet store could be employed as part of the packing process? You must keep the cedar away from contact with your hat. Wrap the hat accordingly using tissue. I would look at some plastic barrier in addition provided the hat is not tightly wrapped. It is the aroma of the cedar, pleasant to humans, but unpleasant to moths, that is the protection but only effective in a container that is tightly sealed. Hopefully your hat box sits snugly You could also employ cedar blocks around the area of your hat storage as an additional countermeasure Barons suggests.

In addition to the excellent advice from Baron Hats please note the general precautions I have found in my research. Be very careful of the neighboring area of your hat storage. I would avoid damp dark basements or attics or less used areas. If you must use such areas clean and inspect them frequently is my advice. You must inspect your hats periodically to make sure all is well.

What do you do in case of infestation?

Even if you follow this advice you may well still get infected. It may be time to call a professional exterminator – it probably is.

Here are some sites that offer advice:

http://www.epestsupply.com/moths.htm

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-moths.htm

Input and experiences

Please comment on this article and let us know what clothes eating insects you have in your country and your experiences with them. Perhaps you have other advice on how to protect your hat from these pests?

Disclaimer

This information is provided for educational and information purposes and I am not accepting any responsibility for damages that you may incur and no endorsement of other websites referred to in this article is implied. I have no relationship to the owners of those sites.

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This is part 2 of the interview with New York Milliner Lisa Shaub last year. Please be sure to check it out the original post of Part One.

In this part Lisa tells about when Britney Spears came to her store you wont want to miss it!

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This was the first podcast interview on Many Hatty Returns and I am reproducing it here to make it available to iTunes users. Lisa Shaub a New York Milliner was kind enough to give me her time and discuss some aspects of the hat business and her background and business in particular.

The interview is presented in two parts and here is the first part.

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Please right click here to download the mp3 file to your computer

Please refer to the prior post for more information.

I will post Part Two tomorrow.

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I want to run a series of blog posts about religious headcoverings. This could be approached by my doing the research and writing and finding suitable illustrations. If I did this I would not be comprehensive enough likely and I would certainly be missing the soul and passion about the particular headcovering.

I want to cover the major religions and various sects. What do the clerics wear and what do the followers of the religion or sect wear? I would need to know the history of the particular headgear and if it was associated with a particular historical individual.

Could you provide me with some thoughts on this, including some contacts who might be willing to contribute a guest article? There is no pay - just exposure and understanding. Anything I can do to foster understanding among religious groups would be a joy to me. I want to make it informative and respectful.

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Add a personal touch - send a Note card to someone.

Snail mail as we have come to call it has become increasingly rare. You know people used to hand write their letters and send them in the mail. People would wait in anticipation for a letter, the mail was special. Now we want to communicate instantaneously via email. Let’s dash off a quick note of thanks by email. People are busy let’s cut through the graces some people might say.

Worse still let’s text the person ( a “skill” I have yet to learn), send them a Tweet or post a note to a Facebook Wall. Of course these methods have their place but there are times when a personal note will be treasured and even kept for posterity. I sure will not archive my emails for all time.

I once had occasion to ask a Member of Parliament to sign some legal papers for me. When he sent me a handwritten note asking how it all turned out I was completely bowled over. In this competitive world we should make sure we send a thank you note after an interview or just when someone gives us advice. You will be sure that a hand written note on a classy card will really impress the interviewer.

So here is my list

Ten Reasons to Send a Note card.

1. Just to drop a note to a friend that you have not seen for a while to give them your love and to stay in contact.
2. Tell your Mother(or Father) you love them. Don’t wait for Mothers Day and you can celebrate both the British and American Mother’s Days. Parents can do the same for their adult children who live far away.
3. Send written thank you notes for Christmas or Birthday presents.
4. Use a plain card as a cover for a printed note inviting the recipient to an event - sign the card by hand.
5. Send a special “Get Well” card.
6. Enclose a special handwritten note card with a gift instead of a little gift tag.
7. Send a handwritten note card to your business contacts thanking them for their business.
8. Write your own birthday note in a plain note card.
9. Thank a prospective employer (or client) with a handwritten note. (This will have you stand out from others who don’t thank you or just send emails).
10. Send a handwritten note in a card thanking a friend or contact for their advice.

Hatty Note Cards

Please drop by my store on Cafe Press. It has many cards with vintage images that you can purchase and you will know that you are supporting this Blog.

Please pay a visit even if it is for window shopping. As well check back often as I will be adding more items over time.

Available for purchase (all rights reserved)

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This post is a rebroadcast of an interview with Milliner Lisa Battaglia. Lisa has a very different (from the usual blocking approach) way of hat making which she describes on her site http://www.lisabattaglia.com as follows:

Lisa uses the traditional technique of free-form draping to create her hats. Using a wooden hat form, she drapes, twists and sculpts the material, and then hand stitches the folds to create her signature looks. Each piece is an intricate, beautiful work of art in and of itself. Most of Lisa’s hats can be worn several different ways to fit the occasion or match your mood.

Enjoy the Broadcast:

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Please right click here to download the broadcast

(Choose the “Save Link As” option)

I continue to rebroadcast the interviews from last year to faciliate readers to hear them through iTunes on their iPods.

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With the popularity of the recent Sherlock Holmes movie and Robert Downey Jr winning a Golden Globe it would be interesting I thought to take a look at the hats supposedly worn by the fictional characters Holmes and Watson. Sherlock Holmes is frequently portrayed wearing a Deerstalker Hat (seen in the accompanying illustration). It’s a kind of country gentlemen’s hat with two flaps at the side. Watson, a doctor by profession is often portrayed in a bowler hat, quite common in the late Victorian period. Both Holmes and Watson wore top hats of course when out to the theatre.

Did you know that there is actually a Sherlock Holmes Museum actually located at 221b Baker Street, the fictional location of the rooms occupied by Holmes. I thought it would be fun to do a quick video tour of the website and the hats available at the museum store.

I have embedded the review below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dteAC2EYPCY

You can view the trailer for the Sherlock Holmes movie on you tube at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQbmFAE5WI”

In the trailer the Holmes character played by Downey wears a kind of nondescript hat. Does anyone have a description other than “appears unkempt”? Did Downey’s hat get any respect? I plan on seeing the movie soon.

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