Not currently on display at the V&A

Hat

1950s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This small shell shaped hat with matching hat pin is designed to fit closely to the head. By the mid 1950s snigly fitted cap-styles of hat were extremely popular as they worked perfectly with fashionable hairstyles, short and often set with curls at the front and sides. The hat pin was used to fix the hat into the hair.

The milliner Svend was born in Denmark and opened his first shop in Copenhagen. Aage Thaarup, milliner to the Queen and a fellow Dane recalled meeting Svend in 1946 on a trip to Copenhagen straight after the war. Thaarup was one of London's most noted milliners at the time and recalled that Svend 'begged me to look at his hats during my visit...To me the talent was apparent even in that first year...'.

Svend went on to move to Paris to create hats for the designer Jacques Fath and by 1956 he had established his own millinery label in Paris.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Hat Pin
  • Hat
Materials and techniques
Straw, metal and velvet
Brief description
Velvet hat with hat pin, made by Svend, Paris, 1950s
Physical description
Black velvet hat with a straw base and unlined interior. The hat is made in the form of a scallop shell and has a matching hat pin with a velvet end.
Credit line
Given by Mrs Vere French
Summary
This small shell shaped hat with matching hat pin is designed to fit closely to the head. By the mid 1950s snigly fitted cap-styles of hat were extremely popular as they worked perfectly with fashionable hairstyles, short and often set with curls at the front and sides. The hat pin was used to fix the hat into the hair.

The milliner Svend was born in Denmark and opened his first shop in Copenhagen. Aage Thaarup, milliner to the Queen and a fellow Dane recalled meeting Svend in 1946 on a trip to Copenhagen straight after the war. Thaarup was one of London's most noted milliners at the time and recalled that Svend 'begged me to look at his hats during my visit...To me the talent was apparent even in that first year...'.

Svend went on to move to Paris to create hats for the designer Jacques Fath and by 1956 he had established his own millinery label in Paris.
Collection
Accession number
T.292&A-1982

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Record createdMay 21, 2009
Record URL
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