Tuesday 13 September 2011

Vintage Hats and Doris Day

I'm a picky movie goer. I don't like scary, sad or super intense movies.  Just give me something romantic, funny or inspiring and I'm happy.  A couple of years ago, I purchased this "Romance Collection" set of movies starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.  It included three movies: Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back and Send Me No Flowers.


When the movies arrived, I was too busy to watch them so I tucked them into a drawer and promptly forgot all about 'em.  About a month or two ago, my movie craving returned and I had myself a Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie marathon weekend.  I'll do a post soon showing the houses in the movies...they were a delight!

One of the most enjoyable parts of my movie marathon was gawking at all the wonderful hats and dresses Doris Day wore, particularly in the movies, Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back.  Today I thought we'd take a little hat tour.  I made an attempt to identify the various hat "styles" but I wasn't able to find all of them in my  research online.  If you recognize some of the styles, please share the names in the comments and I'll add that info. to the post.

If you enjoy this "hat" tour, you'll find a post showing all the wonderful ensembles/outfits Doris wore in these two movies, HERE.  You'll also find this link at the end of this post, too.


Lover Come Back:  
Lover Come Back, starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson was released in 1961 and was their second film together.  Tony Randall also had a big part.  In the movie Carol Templeton (Doris Day) and Jerry Webster (Rock Hudson) are big time rivals, working for competing advertising agencies.    Much of the plot/fun in this movie revolves around the old theme of mistaken identity...which is also a big theme in the movie, Pillow Talk.



Doris is very much the career/business woman, and she has a wardrobe that must have made women seriously green with envy when this movie was released.  In today's post, we're just ogling the hats.  I can't wait to hear what you think about these.  I've led a sheltered hat life...had no idea there were so many styles!  Here are just a few from the movie, Lover Come Back.

1.  Cloche Hat:  I believe this style is called the Cloche Hat.  It was apparently very popular because you can find them pretty easily online if you Google "vintage cloche hats."



2.  Bubble Hat:  It's pretty easy to understand where this hat got its name.




It reminds me of a pillbox hat but much more poofy...like a big ole bubble.



A back view...



3.  Cloche Hat:  I'm thinking this is a cloche hat, but it reminds me a bit of a style known as the Lampshade.  No, I'm not making these crazy hat names up. That's really a hat style.



Back view:



4.  No idea on this one...let's call it a Straw Tassel Hat.  Did folks really wear hats like this to the beach in the 60's?  See what I mean...this movie totally had me gawking in anticipation. What will Doris, I mean Carol, be wearing next?!



The back view...



5. Bucket Hat:  There was a hat during the 60's called the "Bucket" hat and I think this could be that style.  Not the loveliest name for a hat, is it?  It is shaped very much like an upside down bucket.



Side view...



Back view...



6.  Straw/Woven hat:  Wow!  Don't think you could pull this style off today.  It's approaching the Minnie Pearl look, if you know what I mean. :)



7.  The shape of this hat reminds me of the purple tassel beach hat.  Doris donned this hat for a day of horse racing.



That's it for the hat collection in Lover Come Back.  Let's take a look at the hats Doris wore in Pillow Talk.

Pillow Talk:




This romantic comedy was the first movie Rock Hudson and Doris Day starred in together...actually, the first of three.  Tony Randall was also in Pillow Talk.  It won the Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) and was nominated for several other awards.

Pillow Talk is set in New York city and Doris Day plays a very successful interior decorator named Jan Morrow. Unfortunately, Jan is stuck sharing a party line with Brad Allen, (Rock Hudson) who turns out to be a major lady's man and quite the phone hog.

The sparks fly and insults are exchanged when Jan can barely squeeze a phone call in between Brad's constant calls with all the women he's playing courting.  Things get really interesting when Brad accidentally meets Jan and finds her to be much more attractive than he ever expected.  He pretends to be someone else, knowing she would have nothing to do with him if she knew who he really was.  They begin dating and you can just imagine what happens when Jan discovers he's her party line Romeo.

Pillow Talk was named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2009.  It was found to be "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant and it's being preserved for those reasons.


8.  Breton:  Thanks to some savvy readers for sharing the name of this style hat.




9.  Leopard Hat:  Not sure about this little leopard number...could be a Bucket hat or perhaps it's another Cloche hat.  What say you?



10.  Pillbox or Beret Hat:  Jackie O made the pill box hat famous.Would you say this is a Pill Box hat or a Beret?  I'm leaning toward Beret because folks tend to wear those at a slight slant/tilt like Doris is wearing this one.  I think Pillbox hats are normally pinned on straight, aren't they?  Ummm, help me out.  Let me know what cha think.  Update:  You guys know your hats!   This is a soft sewn Beret that's designed in a blocked shape like a Pillbox hat.  Thanks so much for your input!



11.  Bucket Hat:  Pretty sure this is another Bucket hat.  Doris wore this hat in both Lover Come Back and Pillow Talk.  It was the only hat I remembered seeing in both movies.  Love the handbag!  Throughout the movies Lover Come Back and Pillow Talk, all of Doris Day's "outfits" were complete ensembles with coordinating hats, shoes, handbags and a multitude of matching coats.



Another view...



12.  Another fur hat...we're going to assume this is fake fur, although in the 60's fur hadn't become such a controversial clothing option as it would be today.




Check out the matching muff for keeping the hands warm.  Again, Jan (Doris) is wearing a coordinating coat.



Okay, this hat is adorable on Doris Day, but I know I'd look like a complete dork in it.  lol



13.  I saved this one for last because I have absolutely no idea what style you would call this hat.



It's different, isn't it?



Did you see a style you really liked or perhaps one that is/was similar to one you own now or had once upon  a time? Can you identify some of the ones I wasn't sure about?  I numbered each one, so if you have any ideas about the styles, please share them in your comments mentioning the number.  This movie definitely made me nostalgic.  I found myself wishing we all wore hats today like folks did back in the 60's.

Click HERE to view all the wonderful ensembles/outfits Doris Day wore in Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back.


Winner of the Giveaway from European Vintage:


The winner is Bill who blogs at WJC's Digital Designs.  Congrats, Bill!

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