Back in the 1900's, ladies would often wear hats. Hats were fairly expensive. For that reason, a lady wouldn't buy a new hat for every season. Instead, she might just buy a new ribbon for it. Ladies would wear their hats to special occasions, such as weddings or church. They would also wear them just going to the store or to see a neighbor. The purpose of hats was to keep sun out of your eyes, and also just to be fashionable. As you can see, my picture is of a wedding at St. Dunstan's church, and almost every person there is wearing a hat! It shows that they were really popular. You would buy the ribbon and hats at a general store or at a millinery store. Ribbon would be very cheap (around 15 cents for enough to go around a hat). Hats would cost around $5.00.

Wedding party of Alice May Sullivan and William Lewis Scott outside St. Dunstan's Cathedral, 31 July 1900.
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