Local History Matters: "Easter" Bonnets

In your Easter bonnet

With all the frills upon it

You’ll be the grandest lady

In the Easter Parade.

I’ll be all in clover

And when they look you over

I’ll be the proudest fella

In the Easter Parade.

This picture of Mr. and Mrs. Dana Weeks of Porter and Brownfield may not have been Easter finery but it brings to mind this familiar song by Irving Berlin. They certainly do look “grand”.

There was a time when both men and women wore hats and their “dress” clothes whenever they appeared in public or attended a social event and proper etiquette dictated that women always wear a hat or other head covering in church. At one time there were two or three millinery shops in Kezar Falls. By the 1970’s dressy hats were pretty much out of fashion. Now hats for women and men are worn mostly for practical reasons. Following are a few more examples of when hats were in style.