A favorite blog post from 2014
A CDV recently appeared that brought up how women wore their bonnets perched on the backs of their heads from 58ish to 63/4ish. (I want said cdv & will be bidding. Fingers crossed.) Here is a close-up:
See how the bonnet sit further back on her head? Her interior flowers land almost at her mid-line.
The question I am hearing is “how did they do that?’
There as a few aspects that help:
– A bonnet stay. This is a ribbon, strip or even wire inside the bonnet, positioned to act like a headband holding the bonnet in place. (These need to be fitted to the wearer.)
– The frill and interior decoration. The placement and fullness of these act like a catch or a band to help hold the bonnet.
– Balance. The front to back balance of the bonnet needs to put more weight in the brim and forward crown area of the bonnet rather than the back.
The placement of the hair can also be a contributing factor.
This is my first straw bonnet, years & years ago. While it has some early issues, it shows what a stay can do. These photos were taken after a parade marching into 40 mph winds that ended in a hail storm. During this walk, the force of the winds actually snapped a bone in my cage. But, the bonnet stayed put.
Here is Lily in the same bonnet. It sits further back on her. But, stays pretty well. (It finally got to retire after this.)
This next bonnet is a different shape, drawn. Instead of a stay, it holds put thanks to the frill and flowers. The frill is gathered like ruching in this one. The back edge sorta stands fluffed, holding against my hair.
This is my bonnet from last year. (How awful is my facial expression?) I think you can see the position of this one. This stays with the work of the frill and my hair.
Here is how I often wear my hair:
Now, Lily’s bonnet from last year does need a stay as she does have some issue with I staying put. Granted, se is also showing kids how o play with games including stilts much of the time. She also has far better posture than I do. Now that I think about it more, she has less hair in the back too.
Here is a photo of both of us from last month with the same two bonnets. (different ribbon on mine) This shows the fullness of the frill pretty well.
Tomorrow, I’ll be wearing my new soft crown. It has the ruched frill but no stay. Of course, the weight will be at the top. I will likely be wearing my veil turned back over the bonnet most of the day. I will report back on how well it stays.
Betsy Connolly sent me some beautiful photos showing excellent perch. (The photos are so pretty, I’m not going to crop them.) She says some have stays, some do not. She agrees that staying put is about balance.
Here is Lisa Springstube Lindsey in a mourning bonnet with the full frill helping hold it and a Marie Stuart:
Here is Beth Chamberlain with two good examples:
If you have a good ‘perch’ photo & would like to share it, please let me know (I think if you link it in the comments, I can grab it. Otherwise, email or message me.)
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 
I have some good photos of my bonnet that I bought from you and decorated myself. You can send me an email and I will send them to you.