From Head to Toe

Our town museum opened a new exhibit that I am participating in. Or I should say, my grandmother's hats are. The exhibit is called From Head to Toe and features hats, shoes, and accessories among other things. Several of my grandmother's antique hats are on display, and I'm sure that she would have never dreamed that that would happen. My sister and I had a good time as we got them ready for the exhibit. We tried to imagine her wearing each hat and where she got it. We never knew her as the fancy Italian hat wearing kind, so it was an interesting exercise.

One of the best parts of having a local museum, besides being able to participate in the exhibits, is listening to others tell stories about what they have brought for display. One person associates hat shopping with her mother as a happy time which wasn't always the case. Another person wore hats and gloves when she went shopping and to church. The stories abound and maybe I'll tell more of them another day. In the meantime, below is a sampling of a few things from the exhibit.

The museum is in a small, portable building. Some day they hope they can raise enough money to have a permanent place.

My grandmother's hats. Also, notice the hat box on the end and how the word "Exclusivery" (Exclusively) was translated from Japanese to English. That box is from a hat Miss Landers got when she was living in Japan.

This may have been the fanciest hat there. Certainly, one of the most colorful.

 

This Beaver Hat came with a very fancy cushioned hat box. All of the hat boxes I knew about before this were made of cardboard.

The dapper man who wore the fancy beaver hat above probably carried this fancy umbrella with a mustache comb in the handle. The other side of the handle had a mirror.

If these shoes are any indication, our feet have gotten a lot wider over time.

These two ladies may be dressed in their finest hats, but it didn't look like they were taking the situation too seriously.

Apparently, one size does not fit all.