Pillbox hat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jacqueline Kennedy arriving in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963

A pillbox hat is a small hat, usually worn by women, with a flat crown, straight, upright sides, and no brim. It is named after the small cylindrical or hexagonal cases that pills used to be sold in.[1]

History and description[]

Historically, the precursor to the pillbox hat was military headgear. During the late Roman Empire, the pileus pannonicus or "Pannonian cap" – headgear similar to the modern pillbox hat – was worn by Roman soldiers. A similar hat was popular with the Flemish in the Middle Ages. In some countries, especially those of the Commonwealth of Nations, a pillbox-like forage cap, often with a chin strap, can still be seen on ceremonial occasions. The Royal Military College of Canada dress uniform includes such a hat, and similar caps were standard issue for the Victorian era British Army. Another cap called a kilmarnock is a modern version of the traditional headdress worn by members of virtually all Gurkha regiments.[2]

The modern woman's pillbox hat was invented by milliners in the 1930s, and gained popularity due to its elegant simplicity. Pillbox hats were made out of wool, velvet, organdy, mink, lynx or fox fur, and leopard skin, among many other materials. They were generally designed in solid colors and were unaccessorized, but could include a veil.[1]

Jacqueline Kennedy, First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, was well known for her "signature pillbox hats", designed for her by Halston, and was wearing a pink one to match her outfit on the day of her husband United States President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, Texas.[3] Actress Natalie Portman wore a pillbox hat to play Kennedy in the 2016 biographical drama Jackie.[4]

In popular culture[]

  • Pillbox hats are a satirical subject of the song "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" by Bob Dylan. The song first appeared on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde.

Gallery[]

  • A military precursor to the pillbox hat shown on a stained glass window in the Royal Military College of Canada

  • A publicity shot for the film Midnight Lace (1960), showing Doris Day in a pillbox hat

  • Japanese Princess Hitachi (Hanako Tsugaru) in a visit to the Netherlands in 1965

  • One of Jackie Kennedy's pillbox hats in the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum

See also[]

References[]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Pillbox Hats" on The Fashion Encyclopedia website
  2. ^ Wilson History & Research Center, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles Pillbox Cap Archived 2012-09-03 at archive.today. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  3. ^ Spurlin, William J. 'I'd Rather Be the Princess Than the Queen' in Kear, Adrian and Steinberg, Deborah Lynn (eds.) Mourning Diana: Nation, Culture and the Performance of Grief. London: Routledge, 1999. p.158
  4. ^ Ryan, Patrick (4 December 2016). "Natalie Portman on the 'symbolic' power of Jackie Kennedy's pink suit". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved 9 September 2018.

External links[]


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