Tag: Edwardian Fashion

A Feather in Her Hat

Published on by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

Rebecca’s dress was entirely appropriate and becoming. She had gone out from her father’s house very well supplied with clothes, and her ability to re-make them herself had stood her in good stead, so that now her dress of fine black cloth, made severely plain, but with minute attention to details, became her well. So did the black felt bonnet, with its three stylish plumes, which she had herself dressed over.

from Wanted, by Isabella Alden, published in 1894

In her stories, Isabella often used the latest fashion to define a character’s financial and social status, and Rebecca Meredith’s outfit was an excellent example. Because her dress was plain and black, her bonnet “with its three stylish plumes” was the centerpiece of her outfit and called attention to her pretty face.

Bonnets with plumes were very much in style when Wanted was published in 1894. Women’s magazines, like Godey’s Lady’s Book and The Ladies Home Journal showed that hats were be made from a variety of materials—straw, for example, or stiffened fabrics like velvet—and that they were quite modest in size.

Black and white illustration of a young woman wearing a long gown in the fashion of 1895 with extremely large puffed sleeves, and a high collar with a large bow at the back. On her head is a bonnet with a short brim, decorated on top with flowers, gathered ribbons, and an aigrette of short bird plumes.
From Godey’s Lady’s Book, August 1895.

Though small, hats at that time were heavily adorned with ribbons, bows, artificial flowers and, most importantly, bird plumes.

A black and white drawing of a woman wearing a short belted coat with long sleeves and a collar that stands up to cover her neck. On her head is a small hat with a short brim, adorned with ribbons, flowers and a cluster of curled bird feathers at the top.
From Godey’s Lady’s Book, October 1897.

Bird feathers were the most desirable decorative elements on a lady’s hat. In 1894 The Ladies Home Journal predicted that actual wings displayed on bonnets would be “all the rage,” while another magazine wrote that “almost every second woman one sees in the streets flaunts an aigrette of heron’s plumes on her bonnet.”

Color illustration of a woman dressed in a coat and hat from about 1900. Her hat has a wide brim and is piled on top with arrangements of ribbons and two long bird feathers set at an angle pointing toward the back of the hat. A wide red ribbon tied beneath the woman's chin keeps the bonnet in place.

Milliners used feathers from egrets, hummingbirds, herons, and even song birds of all kinds as adornments.

Black and white photo of a woman wearing a dress from the 1890s. On her head is a flat brimmed hat; the crown of the hat is covered with flowers, gathered ribbon, and a single large bird feather in the front. The feather stands straight up on its stem and is adorned with beads.
From Godey’s Lady’s Book, 1898.

The more exotic the bird, the more desirable their feathers; and the millinery industry was willing to pay top dollar to anyone who would supply them, no questions asked.

But some people did ask questions and raise alarms, after nature lovers in England and the United States discovered that some birds, like ospreys and egrets, were hunted so mercilessly, ornithologists feared they would soon be extinct.

Newspaper clipping: BIRDS VICTIMS OF PRIDE. We have received some letters from our readers enforcing the words of Mrs. Aria as the the cruel price that has to be paid for the osprey's feathers, which are in vogue just now in women's headgear. Mrs. Phillips writs to point out that these feathers can only be obtained at breeding time. The plumage is torn from the living parent birds on the nest, which are then flung aside to die, while the young birds are left to starve. Could anything be fore horrible! The bare recital of these facts should be enough to put an instant stop to such a merciless trade.

In London, a Society for the Protection of Birds was formed. Members pledged to never wear feathers of any bird not killed for the purpose of food. Similar organizations were formed in Europe, Canada, and the U.S.

Newspaper clipping: BIRDS IN OUR BONNETS. In response to many inquiries, we would draw attention to the Society for the Protection of Birds, 29 Warwick Road, Maida Hill, London, of which Miss Hannah Poland is the secretary. There is no subscription fee, but any one wishing for a card of Membership can have one by sending two stamps to Miss Poland. Members promise not to wear feathers of any bird not killed for the purpose of food, the ostrich excepted.

The public outcry began to pay off, as women around the world pledged to stop wearing hats with real bird feathers, and American lawmakers enacted state and federal laws to protect certain species of birds by banning them from use in hats and garments.

One bird that was exempt from protection was the ostrich, because its feathers could be harvested without killing the bird. So it was natural that the millinery industry would turn its attention to ostriches as a source for adornments.

Black and white photo of a woman wearing a hat with a wide brim of 12 to 14 inches deep. The crown of the hat is covered in ostrich feathers that are piled about 12 to 14 inches high, giving a waterfall effect.

Ostrich farms that had been established in the southern United States in the late 1890s in hopes of selling feathers to the millinery industry suddenly saw an increased demand for their wares.

Color photo of a herd of about 40 ostriches running across a fenced enclosure.
An ostrich farm in southern California.

And because ostrich feathers could be plucked every eight or nine months, ostrich farmers with large herds enjoyed a regularly replenished inventory they could sell.

Black and white photo of a woman wearing a short-brimmed hat. A wide ribbon circles the crown of the had and is arranged in multiple loops in front. The stems of two long ostrich feathers are tucked into the ribbon arrangement and the feathers drape back cross the crown of the hat.

With the turn of the century, hat styles changed, and the small bonnets that were popular when Isabella wrote Wanted fell out of fashion. The new bonnet styles of the 1900s featured wide brims and brilliant colors.

Ostrich plumes suited the new styles beautifully. Because of their size, the plumes could cover a large hat’s crown and brim.

Hand-colored photo of a woman wearing a hat with a wide brim of 12 to 14 inches deep. The crown of the hat is covered in ostrich feathers that are piled high, with some parts of the feathers spilling over the brim of the hat.

Even more importantly, ostrich feathers could be dyed to match almost any color. Women and conservationists rejoiced, feeling confident that they could use ostrich feathers for fashion without feeling guilty.

Color illustration of a woman wearing a wide brim bonnet about 14 to 18 inches deep. The bonnet is black but the lining is a brilliant blue. A wide orange-gold ribbon circles the crown of the hat and is tied with a large bow. On the opposite side of the crown feathers of the same brilliant blue are arranged in a cluster across the brim.

In her 1912 novel The Long Way Home Isabella made sure her fashionable characters wore the latest style in bonnets. Newlywed Ilsa Forbes wore a wide-brimmed hat when she boarded the train with her new husband Andy:

But Andrew had no words, just then; never was the heart of bridegroom more filled to overflowing, and he could not yet think about decorations or supper.
“My wife!” he murmured, as his arm encircled her. “Really and truly and forever my wife. Do you realize it, darling?”
She nestled as closely to him as her pretty, new traveling hat would permit and laughed softly.

There was, however, a problem with those stylish large hats adorned with ostrich feathers. In 1908 a letter to the editor of the Oregonian newspaper applauded the ban on exotic bird feathers, but raised a new and troubling concern about ostrich feathers:

Newspaper clipping: The only plumage I have cared to wear is the ostrich feather, and I may yet become convinced that this practice is incompatible with my convictions. Having witnessed many times the plucking of ostriches in Southern California, I have been unable to see that there was any special cruelty attached, though I have no doubt the sensation experienced by the ostrich might be much like we would feel in having a deep-rooted molar drawn.

The letter-writer wasn’t the only one wondering if an ostrich felt pain when its feathers were plucked. Soon the Audubon Society and other conservationists began asking the same question and took their findings to state legislators.

In California, where Isabella was living and where many of the country’s ostrich farms were located, the question was answered by lawmakers. In 1900 the state updated its penal code to make it a crime to intentionally mutilate or torture a living animal, which included plucking live birds like ostriches.

Profile of a young woman wearing a black bonnet with a wide brim turned up in the front. At the back of the crown is a cluster of long, fluffy, pink ostrich feathers.

So ostrich farmers stopped plucking and began snipping feathers, instead. A 1911 article in the Dallas Morning News explained the process:

Newspaper clipping: While the term "plucking' is given to the harvesting of the feathers, the fact is that they are not plucked or pulled out, but are snipped off by means of shears. This process is gone through every eight months, and the quality of the plume depends largely upon how it is cut. There are twenty-five long white plumes on each wing of the male bird. The rest of the feathers are black on the male and a grayish color on the female. Harvesting the plumes is no easy task.
From The Dallas Morning News, November 12, 1911.

Once again, stylish ladies (and Isabella’s equally stylish characters) could wear hats adorned with feathers and maintain a relatively clear conscience.

It’s interesting how Isabella’s attention to details, like hat sizes and adornments, brought her stories to life. While she didn’t preach about fashion in her novels, she paid close attention to these niceties, and used them to bring authenticity to her characters and their world. Contemporary fans of her novels would have noted the subtle changes as keeping up with the times.

Cover of The Ladies' Home Journal magazine. The color illustration shows a stylish young woman seated, wearing a white dress. A gold colored cape is drawn open with one of her hands. In the other hand she holds a matching pair of gloves and an umbrella. On her head is a wide-brimmed hat fashionable in 1909. Covering the brim of the hat and cascading over the brim at the back is an arrangement of feathers dyed gold to match her outfit.

For us in 2025, it’s fascinating to learn there’s a whole complicated history behind Rebecca Meredith’s feathers—a history about women who were determined to write wrongs and find ways to be fashionable without compromising their conscience.

You can learn more about Isabella’s novels mentioned in this post by clicking on the book covers below:

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