While this hat appears complex, it is a very simple design where a lightweight mesh form has been completely covered with curled strips of lacquered black raffia which move subtly with every motion. This makes the hat feel light and airy despite its sombre colour. It was possibly inspired by designs from the Paris couture house of Balenciaga, such as the late 1950s cellophane and ramie hat (Museum number T.61-1974), where dramatic headgear elevated beautifully-cut understated clothing.

Dolores (active c.1940s-1970s) was the name of a wholesale milliners based in Marylebone, London. A wholesale milliner manufactured and sold fashionable hats to boutiques, department stores such as Harrod's, and other retailers, including some in Paris. This let Dolores imply that their hats were desirable Paris models by naming that city on their label. Photographs of the actress Tsai Chin in Dolores's London showroom in 1959 show her modelling similarly constructed hats.