Looking For Hatpins - Jewelry Only Belonging To The Past

There is a very beautiful and strange kind of Vintage jewelry - they are magnified exquisite versions of needles, slender and tapered, focusing on the decoration of different forms at the top, about 5-8cm long, and most of the needle ends have plugs in the metal shell rubber (of course, to avoid people being poked). This kind of jewelry is strange to us, because we are far away from the "hat era". If people were in the early 20th century and even before the Victorian era, they would tell you that this is not“ Hatpin ”Well!

However, they also have many doubts: most of the gorgeous hand-made hat pins used in the Victorian era, like "decorative cakes", are 15-30cm long, and are made by hand. The cap tail covering the tip of the pin also appeared after 1910. The hat pins at that time and those sold by AliceinMod are naturally different in size and technology.

{page_break}

The vintage hat pins sold by AliceinMod were mostly from the 1930s to the 1960s. During this period, the shape of the hat went from a big hat as complicated and gorgeous as a decorative cake to a modern style with smaller materials and more streamlined materials. The hat pins naturally became smaller and more compact. Many times, they played the role of hat decorations or guest pins. By the 1970s, the more casual wide brimmed hat did not need a hatpin at all. The special shape of the hat needle and its nostalgic significance to the "hat era" have made the vintage lovers have always preferred it. But for hat needle collectors, the real "hat needle era" was in the Victorian era when women could not go out without hats. Most of the handmade hat needles were from that era.

The hat needle has a very practical function: it can fix the hat on the head at a special angle; Avoid a gust of wind blowing the hat off; Or you don't need to worry about whether the hat will fall in the crowded crowd. If you have a little knowledge of vintage hats, you will know that those vintage women's hats with unique shapes and various styles are difficult to stay on your head without relying on other forces!

{page_break}

Collier's, October 15, 1904

The history of hat needle can be traced back to 1400 years. In medieval Europe, people used needles to fix "wimples" (nuns Turban ）, and some women used it to fix the veil. This method has been used for hundreds of years.

At the beginning of the 19th century, hat pins were all handmade in family workshops, often by an entire family. Like all handicrafts, this is a very time-consuming and laborious process, and the output is very small, which can only be used by a very small number of people.

However, the society's demand for hat needles is growing, so in the 1820s Britain began to import hat needles from France to meet the demand. Some time later, in order to consider the impact of the import trade balance, the Congress made a bill to restrict the trade of hat needles, stipulating that only two days a year can be used for transactions - January 1st and 2nd. So British women always save some money in the whole year in order to buy a hatpin in January! This is also considered the source of the word "pin money".

In 1832, the machine for making hat needles was invented in the United States. The long tapered hat needles produced by the machine began to gradually replace the manual hat needles. In the next two years, Britain and France also began to use machines to make hat needles. The price of machine mass production also enables more people to afford hat needles.

{page_break}

In 1898, Lillian Russell

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the famous American opera actress Lillian Russell (Diamond Lil) set off the popularity of decorative and gorgeous top hats. For these hats, the matching big hat pin is indispensable.

Around 1909, the United States passed a law limiting the length of hat pins for fear of being used as a weapon by women's rights activists. Hatpins are considered "deadly weapons".

In 1910, another law was passed, stipulating that the needle end of the hat needle must have a cover, which is now the tail of the hat to prevent accidental injury. All kinds of hat needles were designed and manufactured, but women in poor families often used potatoes or corks to replace them.

Some suspense novels are based on "hat needle", which has turned it into a beautiful and evil jewelry

In the following days, as a very important accessory for women, the hatpin continues to be popular, and a large number of fine products are produced by hand and machine. The "Hatpin Holder" designed for daily storage of hatpins also has various styles. The design of the top of the hat pin has always been the focus. The materials include precious metals, various gemstones, rhinestones, rainbow glass, mosaics, enamel, hand-painted porcelain, ivory, jadeite, pearls, etc. The styles also vary from Baroque, Greek revival, Egyptian revival, Orientalism to Art Deco. Until the World War I, various materials were limited, the hat shape began to become smaller and relatively simple, and the hat needle began to decline gradually. Another kind of small cap needle made of military buttons without long awl needles became popular.

{page_break}

Various Hatpin Holders are designed and manufactured

By the 1920s, the popularity of cloche hats did not require a hatpin, so the long hatpin of ornate decoration in the strict sense disappeared (15-30cm). Many collectors of antique hat pins regard World War I as the end of hat pins.

In the classic traditional dress, the hat pin is still indispensable. The British Queen will wear a hat every time she shows up. Next time, you can pay more attention to the photos. Many of them can be found.

{page_break}

After listening to the history of hat pins, you know that long hat pins (15-30cm) are basically products of the Victorian era or even earlier. They are antique collections, and hat pins are also a favorite item of antique collectors. The collection can be classified by different materials, processes, themes, brands (after the hat needles entered the machine production, in addition to the jewelry brand Charles Horner, there are also Unger Bros., the William Link Co., the Paye&Baker Mfg. Co., Tiffany&Co. and other skilled hat needle manufacturers in the UK), and there are also collections of various unique design hat needles, For example, some of the needle tips are designed as foldable covers, equipped with mirrors, and designed as Ointment Box, etc.

?