The well known cloche hat was invented by the Parisian milliner and French fashion designer Caroline Reboux (1837-1927) in 1908. Due to the fitted, bell-shaped form of her invention, she named her hat – “cloche” hat, a French translation of the English word “bell”. The hat even shaped hairstyles and became especially popular during the 1920s, and continued to be commonly seen until about 1933.
Reboux promoted the hat as an essential accessory for women’s fashion and made an art form out of high fashion hats which were re-emerging in France to supplant the bonnet in the mid-19th century. She was the “Queen of the Milliners” in the later part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century in Europe and the United States.
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3_Fashion Backstage: Interview w/hat designer Cindy Steffens |