When it comes to indoor hat tree, one may confuse about such an item. It should trace back to the late 19
th
?century. At that time, men’s hats were fashionable accessories while they were not allowed to wear hats inside private homes, clubs, offices, shops, etc. Put another way, they were forbidden to wear hats in interior spaces. Then, the indoor hat tree emerged to provide a temporary places for men to hang their hats. Subsequently, hat trees could be spotted in many places, such as reception areas, halls, lobbies, waiting rooms and the like. It looked like umbrella stands or coat racks in earlier times.
In elegant venues and vestibules of the affluent, exquisite carved wooden and beautifully forged metal stands were all essential furniture. In order to present a good first impression, the finest such furniture were carved or forged by exotic hardwoods or gleaming brass. Different with other trees, those hat trees doesn’t need pruning or watering.
Headscarf
Over centuries, for the practical purposes of working outdoors, European peasant women once wore simple cloths tied under their chins. Then, such headscarves have been regarded as headwear of poor rural women and that of urban working-class females. In the 1890s, some domestic servants broke established societal mores by wearing hats in public rather than prescribed headscarf or kerchief. In the 19
th
?and 20
th
century, more and more folk costumes of European women comprised decorated and distinctive hats rather than mundane headscarves. It was also a way to express freedom.
In addition to European women, such headscarves were often worn by Russian peasant women. In Russian, headscarves were called “babushka”, which meant “grandmother”?or “old woman”. Over decades, such headscarves turned to be routine articles in women’s daily life, especially when attending church services. By contrast, some modern peasant women challenged the old stereotype through performing on national television and travelling around Russia.
In history, women used to show their modesty through headscarves in religious traditions, especially for Jewish women. Over several centuries, Jewish women packed their heads or hair with three-cornered scarves.
Academic Headwear
Academy is derived from the place where Plato and his students met. For centuries, the word “academy”?means a place of training and leaning like universities, colleges and secondary schools. Headwear is connected to educational institutions from time to time, such as hoods and square mortarboards, which also known as Oxford cap. Originally, the hood were practical in three aspects, covering the head, shoulder and a collecting bag. In modern times, hoods will only wear during academic ceremonies, such as when holding a doctorates and master’s degrees. Meanwhile, it is not used to cover heads anymore. On the contrary, they are hung down in back and are taken as a symbol. The color of lining also reveals the degree conferring institution. Besides, trim color also indicates the faculty or the department where the graduate studied.