Episode details

Available for over a year
For centuries leaving the house without a hat would be like leaving the house without your phone or keys - you simply wouldn’t do it. But these days, headwear is an optional add on - a fashion choice, a weather protector, or found on the head of a wedding guest. Alice and Ben look under the brim of history to find out what on earth happened to the ubiquity of the hat? We’ll cover a parent’s desperate tactic to keep a son out of trouble, there are highwaymen, practical jokes, and a British supermodel. Key Sources: The Cultural, Social, and Ideological Role of the Hat in Early Modern England - Professor Bernard Capp Dress for Deference and Dissent: Hats and the decline of Hat Honour - Professor Penelope J. Corfield Hats - Fiona Clark
Programme Website