In ancient times

Tanagra representing a woman with her parasol hat, 4th century BC AD ..
There are no prehistoric hat tracks, but it is possible that they existed.

Hats are in any case worn since ancient times, including the Greek petasus and pilos, common headgear in ancient Greece. This same pileus covers freed slaves in ancient Rome. Greek women prefer to wear tholia, a broad-brimmed, round-brimmed straw hat in the center, and frequently placed on a veil as shown by the Tanagra figurines of the fourth century BC. J. C.5.

In his thresor of the French language, published in 1606, Jean Nicot quotes the "hat against the tan / hasle of the Sun" (Causia, Vmbella), that of wheat straw "made of spotted wheat" (Corona spicea), the "flower hat, or Bouquet" (Sertum, Strophium), the "Hat of intertwined and piled up" (Pactilis corona).

In the Middle Ages, according to Philippe Le Bas, their use is attested from the reign of Charles VI, where hats frequently worn in the countryside are adopted in the city "but only on rainy days". We know that Charles VII, for his entry into Rouen in 1449, wore a beaver hat. Louis XI is frequently represented with his hat adorned with signs, "lead images of saints to whom he had the most devotion." Social marker, it is an accessory mainly male, women wearing rather veils, scarves or hats, which can however reach extravagant proportions, such as the hennins.The wearing of a hat by the woman is then considered frivolous, except for its use during travel.It was in the sixteenth century that women appropriated the hat, imitating male courtiers6.

Evolving at the option of fashion, it continues to be used, although in the eighteenth century, because of voluminous wigs, men carry their bicorne arm. In France its use is little by little reserved for women before the eighteenth century the ladies of the court do not show the creations of their fashion merchants.

The hat continues to be worn by both sexes until the end of the second world war. Today, it is more than a fashion accessory, worn on special occasions (wedding, burial) or to protect itself from the elements (rain, sun).                                                               
               The evolution of the forms of hats


Evolution of the beaver-skin hat in Canada, cause of strong regression of this species.
The shape of the hat evolves on three elements: the edge of the hat, also called "wing", the height of the cap, the shape of this cap (round, square, pointed).

In the first half of the sixteenth century, French fashion was in the hat with a very flat cap and a very narrow edge. The cap gradually increases in the second half of the sixteenth century, forming the toque covered with pleated fabric and small edges that characterize particular portraits of Henry III. At the very end of the sixteenth century, the hat saw its cap diminish and its edges widen for a time.

From 1610, but especially in the years 1620-1630, the fashion is under Dutch influence, with the hats in "bread of sugar", namely to cap high and conical and with the narrow edges. From 1630, however, the size of the cap decreases while that of the edges increases. At the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV, fashion is the cape of musketeer, namely a small cap, square, masked by a large plume, and very wide edges. As early as the 1670s, at the Court, men preferred to wear hats with small caps and medium or small brimmed edges.


Beaver hats were so popular that they contributed to the sharp decline of this species in Europe, but also in Quebec and Canada, where European demand has been growing.
It was then perceived that its extended edges hampered the handling of arms; "Then we imagined for the troops the three-horned hat, which is the military hairstyle, and the hairstyle of etiquette in the high ranks of society. Under the ministry of the Comte de Saint-Germain it was decided to style the cavalry brigadiers with four-headed hats; but this use did not last. For a little more than thirty years, the troops have left the hat for the naked hat, the shako or the helmet, when they are under arms. In the world, the general hairstyle of the citizens today is the black round hat; that of the functionaries, in public ceremonies, is the black horned hat, adorned with feathers. That of the soldiers in uniform is the same hat, with or without feathers, according to the rank. The ecclesiastics also wear the hat with three horns, but give it a particular shape.


Man with hat, 1860 photography.
As often in tumultuous times, the hat can be used for political expression or support for a diet. In July 1815, after 100 days, you had to wear white. We can read in the Journal de Rouen of July 13, 1815, a notice in the form of instructions for the new fashion: "The hats of white straw of the last form have the squared pass, very prominent, and a flat bottom that overflows with a fingertip, and form bead on the pass. Between the pass and the bottom, we put a tiara garland, much thicker in the middle than the ends. It is composed of white roses or lily, myrtle or jasmine. (...) Milliners pose on these hats three white roses and three downy feathers. "7

In 1845, the encyclopaedist Philippe Le Bas added2 that the generalization of the hat "necessitated the establishment of large factories, especially in Lyons and Paris, and there was soon such a consumption of beavers, that those who were found in France, and especially in the Rhone Islands, being destroyed, it was necessary to pursue these industrious and harmless animals as far as the icy lakes of Canada "(...)" It was thought to supplement their fur by that of native animals ( hare, rabbit and even the poodle dog). They have also made light hats, cheaper than felt, in "fluffy silk," and in the summer gray hats made of felt, hats made of straw, wicker, lace, and fabrics of silk or cotton of which the shapes vary with the fashion. For hauliers and seamen, hats made of wool or common wool are made, which are coated with several layers of varnish, which give them brilliancy and duration, and render them impenetrable to rain. "

Twentieth century fashion
Until the First World War, the hat is an indispensable element of the toilet. Her absence signals to the look, the worker who goes out "in hair". In all cities milliners meet the demand of a huge clientele by creating their own models or adapting those of Parisian fashion8.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, the silhouette changed. The big hat appears with the tailor suit around 19009. It balances the brand new bell skirt. The trim is set very high on hats wider and wider. They are held by hat pins, new accessory.

The links between haute couture and hats date back to Worth and his collaboration with Mme Virot in the 1890s                         
                                  
1920s

Under the influence of Paul Poiret the dresses become simpler from the 1910s. The silhouette lengthens and flattens. New hairstyles are created for sports activities: automobile, bath, boating. Women cut their hair. A new hat appears, the hat closes beside the capeline and the hat. Among the big names of this time, we find Rose Valois, Suzanne Talbot9.

Coco Chanel started as a milliner before embarking on haute couture. His hats were like his clothes, unusual both in the purity of their line and in the. Unlike Elsa Schiaparelli who "liked to shock and adore the paradoxes of the surrealists. She used hats as an exclamation point, a "craze" that crowned a look and gave room for discussion. The concept of immoderation had entered the history of twentieth-century fashions.

1930s
The hair and the hat will constitute essential elements of the feminine aesthetic, symbolizing perhaps the best this time9. There is a hat for all the events of the day. The trimmed hats are in the spotlight. The trimmings are placed near the face. Hats regain their height at the end of the 1930s. The vertical lines are thus in the spotlight and are further accented by high drapes, hulls, egrets, wings, knots arranged at the top of the cap. With Schiaparelli, the great millinists of this period are Rose Valois, Louise Bourbon, Germaine Page, Rose Descat, Gaby Mono, Agnes and Claude Saint-Cyr.

Second World War
The world of fashion is in crisis during the war. Some haute couture houses are closing. The scarcity of materials affects those who continue their activity. This is the era of alternative materials: fibranne, rayon, wood, straw, cork. "Modeling accommodates these difficulties better than sewing and is very innovative. This upheaval allows the emergence of young talents: Albouy, Gabrielle, Gilbert Orce "8. "It's time for performances: Albouy newsprint hat, Agnès wood chips hat" 11. According to the historian Dominique Veillon: "... the creative exuberance of headgear can be explained as the diffuse manifestation of a revolt against the harshness of the time" 12. Hats also provide concrete solutions to the cold (hood), the difficulty of maintaining his hair (turban and scarf).

Main article: Fashion under the Occupation and Fashion of the 1950s in France.
After war
The end of the war and the gradual disappearance of shortages mark the return of beautiful materials, a desire for refinement and opulence, like the creations of Christian Dior requiring meters of fabric. The little hats alternate with the big ones, depending on the large dresses and the thin suits.