Lewis & Belle

Couple on left: Lewis and Belle Way

Couple on right: George and Ruth Way

An outing, abt. 1905, "probably taken at Put-in-Bay or some such gay place"

During the Edwardian period, lavish brims swept around the face creating an illusion of a hat suspended as if by magic on the head. The hat was often an amorphous mass swathed in tulle and smothered in flora, ribbon rosettes or plumage. By 1902 supports called pompadour frames were easy to buy and these were used as a base for the style and a woman’s own hair was built up and smoothed over the base. The combings were added when extra matching hair was needed to get just the right effect. The volume these contraptions enabled meant that the hats had a great support to rest on and so they gave an impression of often appearing to be hovering when in fact they rest on a substantial and fairly firm structure. Even so hatpins were essential. With the pompadour frame in place hatpins could be threaded through and find a safe anchor.