Augusta Auctions
Live Auction

KATHARINE HEPBURN CLOTHING, COUTURE, TEXTILES

Wed, Oct 24, 2018 08:00AM EDT
Lot 60

THREE DRAMATIC EVENING HATS, PARIS, 1930-1940s

Estimate: $300 - $500

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $25
$500 $50
$2,000 $100
$5,000 $250
$10,000 $500
$20,000 $1,000
$40,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
$500,000 $10,000
$1,000,000 $25,000
2 Paris labeled: 1 red felt, very high draped & folded crown, label "Marcelle Lely, Paris"; 1 black felt toque, upturned brim w/ bow, labeled "Noemi Lemoine, Paris"; 1 black silk shantung pleated turban, labeled "Bachrach's, Washington D.C."; all 3 excellent.Update from a fashion historian - The red felt '1940s hat by Marcelle Lely, is a modern take on the Phrygian bonnet of the French Revolution; perhaps that would've made it a very patriotic French fashion snub at the German occupying army. Because French women were deprived of clothing making materials, they got pushy with the height & volume of their hats, in defiance of the German soldiers in the streets. And this hat may be a very good example of that, especially being made of felt. So it might have some direct/precise historical significance. Or perhaps it was for the Liberation, when traditional hats of the allies were made & worn.