Antique Doll Hats

Made from delicate French silk, gorgeous interwoven straw and elegant pressed wool, antique doll hats are an important part of a doll’s beautiful finery.

Read about Collectible Dolls

Doll collectors consider dolls made before approximately 1930 to be antique dolls. One of the main reasons for choosing that year as the cut off date are the bisque dolls of Germany. Many of the German manufacturers made their dolls from the 1890s to approximately1930. Without the original doll clothing it is often extremely difficult to tell when the German bisque doll was actually manufactured. Very few of the older dolls are found wearing their original clothing and accessories.

Most of the antique dolls of today are from approximately 1850-1930. Dolls that were created prior to that were usually carved from wood by a craftsman that also painted the doll’s features and costumed it. These English wooden dolls are known as Queen Anne dolls and are very rare. The antique dolls that followed are made in many different styles and materials including:

• Papier mache
• Wax
• China
• Parian
• Bisque French and German fashion dolls
• French Bebes with composition or kid bodies and bisque heads
• German Dolly-faced dolls of porcelain

Antique doll clothes, hats, shoes and accessories are highly sought after by doll collectors as well as those that collect the lovely antique garments themselves. For doll collectors knowing the type of doll and its manufacturer are important to insure that the doll’s clothing, hat and accessories are as true as possible to the original styles used when the doll was made.

Hats for antique dolls were created using a variety of different materials.

• Silk
• Silk satin
• Wool
• Straw
• Horse hair
• Cotton
• Velvet
• Corduroy
• Felt
• Lace

Many antique hats for dolls were decorated with ribbons, ruched fabric and cloth flowers. Other decorative hat accents include:

• Feather plumes
• Bead work
• Embroidery
• Bows
• Openwork
• Netting
• Lace

• Antique dolls were made in many different sizes and their hats were sized according to the style and dimensions of the doll. For example, a tiny wool tam is perfect for a small Bebe or all bisque German or French cabinet doll, while a large silk hat looks great on a 30 inch Tete Jumeau. Always try to match the correct size and style hat to the type and dimensions of the doll.
• Various styles of doll hats have wires around the outer edge to hold the hat’s shape and to allow the hat to be posed in the best position.
• Hats for French fashion dolls look best when sitting tipped downward placed forward on the doll’s head or set on an angle.

• A stunning doll hat from the 1800s is made from interwoven natural straw. Its embellishments are exquisite and original.
• A bonnet made of French silk with ruffled tiers and silk embroidery is made for a larger size doll.
• A French mop bonnet made with delicate layers of lace and a beautiful silk ribbon would look beautiful on a French Bebe or a large size Jumeau doll.
• A Corduroy hat complete with its Marshall Field and Company label inside.
• A black mourning hat for a French fashion or china doll measures 2 1/4 inches high and is from the 1870s.

• Dolls and Lace features a beautiful array of antique dolls, hats and accessories for sale.
• Hatton’s Gallery of Dolls offers a nice selection of antique hats, clothing and accessories for antique and vintage dolls.
• Nora’s Antique Dolls
• Hats, Caps & Bonnets 1855-1875: 12 Patterns for (Antique) Dolls by Marianne Burke
• Gorgeous antique reproductions of hats and clothing for dolls by Eliza Bobkins are offered at The Antique Dolls Collectors Online Advisors.

Miniature versions of the hats worn by the ladies and children of the times, antique doll hats offer a glimpse of fashion in earlier times.

• Antique Vases Values
• Identify Antique China Patterns
• Antique Weathervanes
• What do you collect?

• Rare Book Values
• Antique Rocking Chairs
• Vintage Furniture
• Rare Pennies
• Old English Letters