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Hat and hat pin
Svend - Enlarge image
Hat and hat pin
- Place of origin:
Paris, France (made)
- Date:
ca. 1950 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Svend (milliner)
Jacques Fath (made for) - Materials and Techniques:
Cotton and paper on net, supported by wire and net
- Credit Line:
Given by Lady Alexandra Trevor-Roper
- Museum number:
T.191&A-1974
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Lady Alexandra Howard-Johnston (later Lady Dacre) was the wife of the Naval Attaché to Paris. She required an extensive wardrobe for the many formal dinners and state functions that she had to attend, and no outfit was complete without the appropriate accessories such as hats and gloves.
Lady Alexandra dressed exclusively at Jacques Fath. The designer lent her evening and day dresses each season, aware of the publicity that this would give his house. 'If there was a Fath dress I wanted to keep, I could pay sale price at the end of the season. I was not allowed to go to any other couturier, but I did not want to - Fath was perfection.'
This hat is very typical of its time, when small but elaborate hats were worn to cocktail parties or restaurants.
