Six Bonnet Styles from 1819

There was a stunning variety of hats, caps, and bonnets in the 1810s. White cambric or muslin day caps were worn indoors by married or older women. Outdoor hats and bonnets ranged from the face-shielding poke bonnets, to tall conical hats inspired by the shakos worn with hussar uniforms. Overall, millinery grew in size and trimmings as the decade wore on. C.W. Cunnington wrote: “as the Gothic taste grew, from 1812 onwards, they shot up into the air with extraordinary exuberance.”