--- title: Easter Hat Inspiration: Vintage Photos of Hat Fashions description: Find Easter hat inspiration in this selection of hat fashions captured by LIFE magazine photographers. canonical: https://time.com/4258197/easter-hat-vintage-photos/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-25T12:00:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:16.131Z og:title: Let These Vintage Hats Inspire Your Easter Bonnet Game og:description: Find Easter hat inspiration in this selection of hat fashions captured by LIFE magazine photographers. og:url: https://time.com/4258197/easter-hat-vintage-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f9409ff0c3cabe6/69888ae20b72e345026e885a/160314-easter-sunday-hats-20.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hats for Easter og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Let These Vintage Hats Inspire Your Easter Bonnet Game twitter:description: Find Easter hat inspiration in this selection of hat fashions captured by LIFE magazine photographers. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f9409ff0c3cabe6/69888ae20b72e345026e885a/160314-easter-sunday-hats-20.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Let These Vintage Hats Inspire Your Easter Bonnet Game  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 25, 2016 12:00 PM CUT  A woman wears a party hat with two flowers decorated in the traditional garden style as part of the Gainsboro fashion collection, 1956. A woman wears a party hat with two flowers decorated in the traditional garden style as part of the Gainsboro fashion collection, 1956.Sharland—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 25, 2016 12:00 PM CUT For all its religious significance, Easter has also long been associated with springtime and renewal and an opportunity to don some fine new duds. Though the item’s popularity is on the decline, the Easter bonnet was once the staple of the holiday’s festive garb, often embellished with pastel ribbons and symbols of the season. For those inclined to bring a little vintage flair to this year’s Easter fashion, there is much inspiration to be found in the LIFE archives—from eyelet embroidery that casts floral shadows on its wearer’s face to a hat that doubles as a bird’s nest. And for a song to match these throwback fashions, none fits the bill better than Judy Garland and Fred Astaire’s Irving Berlin-penned duet “Easter Parade,” from the 1948 film of the same name: _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Postilion hat made of lizard skin, 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Katharine Hepburn wearing a hat on the set of her Broadway play "The Philadelphia Story," 1939. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A war-inspired hat, 1939. George Karger—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  A hat with eyelet embroidery casts floral shadows on the face, 1940. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A woman models a Sally Victor Hat, 1940. George Karger—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  A woman models a new spring hat, 1941. Herbert Gehr—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  A lady wears an extravagant hat with flowers and a veil. 1945. George Karger—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Checkered fashion at the horse races, 1945. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A woman adjusts her flowered hat while looking in a trick one-way mirror, 1946. Yale Joel—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  On model Marjorie Henderson's hat, the early bird catches the worm, 1947. Charles E. Steinmeimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Teenagers wear "Penny" hats, 1948. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A new french hat for spring, 1948. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Brightly dressed spectators attend an event in England, 1950. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  An image from a story on college Hats, circa 1950s. Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Models on the beach wear different designs of straw hats, 1950. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Miss Sweden Anita Ekberg sports a severely styled sailor hat during her hat-buying spree while visiting the U.S., 1951. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A well-furnished hat is trimmed with table, chairs, rug and kitchen equipment, 1951. Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A hook-fastened John Frederics hat allows space for the model's ponytail. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Actress Mamie Van Doren sits in her Jaguar wearing a hat, 1954. Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A woman wears a party hat with two flowers decorated in the traditional garden style as part of the Gainsboro fashion collection, 1956. Sharland—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  An image from a series on wives of missile men celebrating their husbands' work on satellites with silly hats, 1958. Hank Walker—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Spring hats in a Japanese department store, 1962. Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  English comedienne Hermione Gingold models a derby-style hat, 1963. Bob Gomel—;The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  A German girl wears a Beatles hat at a resort near the Baltic Sea, 1964. Walter Sanders—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Actress Brigitte Bardot wears a hat during the filming of the movie "Viva Maria," 1965. Ralph Crane—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4258197/easter-hat-vintage-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4258197/easter-hat-vintage-photos/"},"headline":"Let These Vintage Hats Inspire Your Easter Bonnet Game","datePublished":"2016-03-25T12:00:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:16.131Z","description":"From French inspiration to bird nest simulations, this headwear comes out on top","url":"https://time.com/4258197/easter-hat-vintage-photos/","keywords":["fashion","photography","Easter","LIFE Magazine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f9409ff0c3cabe6/69888ae20b72e345026e885a/160314-easter-sunday-hats-20.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f9409ff0c3cabe6/69888ae20b72e345026e885a/160314-easter-sunday-hats-20.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hats for Easter","caption":"A woman wearing a party hat with two flowers decorated in the traditional garden style as part of the Gainsboro fashion collection. 1956.","creditText":"Sharland—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/fashion/","name":"fashion"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4258197/easter-hat-vintage-photos/","name":"Let These Vintage Hats Inspire Your Easter Bonnet Game"}}]}] ```