Vintage 1950s Pillbox Hat Pierre Balmain Reproduction - Blue Velvet

$110.00

Brand Poppy's Vintage Clothing

Here is a a very lovely hat from either the very late 1950s.
It is a very high pillbox form. The coloring is a very rich shade of a royal blue color and it is lined in a satin acetate which has an abstract patterning to it.

It is line stitched throughout and has a petal shape motif on the crown of the hat. There is a small silk faille bow at the back of the hat.

The label reads Reproduction of Chapeaux Pierre Balmain - Paris.

It measures 21 1/2" inner circumference and 4" in height.

It is in very good condition, there is some soiling to the label and it could use a blocking.

A little history about the use of the "Reproduction" on the label

It became a practice even going back to the 20s, to use the term "adaptation" on labels of certain articles of clothing when couture houses began to sell styles to US high end department stores. These stores would then be allowed to reproduce these styles. These were generally of a high quality. These firms would then be allowed to sell the articles with the label indicating they were an adaptation or reproduction of the Parisian couturiers style.

The actual  term reproduction came into use in the 1950s.

The couturiers came to the realization that it made more sense to sell the style and be somewhat compensated rather than just have their design stolen. Copying was a problem even back then.

A lovely hat to add to your collection!