A Braided Polypropylene-Paper Hat With a Purple Pleated Band by Frances Original

A hat braided from shiny polypropylene-covered paper wears a mauve satin hatband gathered in five pleats. Its label reads "Frances Original of WASHINGTON D.C.," and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture dates it to about 1965 in the Black Fashion Museum collection.

The hat (Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture).

How it is made

The body of the hat is woven shiny polypropylene covered paper. The crown is ovoid, with an indented center. The hatband is mauve acetate satin ribbon with five pleats, and a decorative pleated loop of the same satin sits at the center front, slightly toward the proper right side; it also secures the edge of the band, which extends off the crown. The brim is flat and slightly upturned at the edges.

Inside

The hat is unlined. A green petersham rayon ribbon is stitched inside at the edge of the crown, and a label at the center back, along that ribbon, reads [Frances Original of WASHINGTON D.C.] in black ink with pinked seams.

Record details

Sources

• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Braided hat with purple pleated hatband, object record 2007.3.575, Smithsonian Open Access (CC0); rewritten in hubnx's own words.