Cocktail hat

{{short description|Small, extravagant, and typically brimless hat for a woman}}

File:Cocktail hat-01.jpgfile:Empress Michiko's arrival in Manila - 2016 (cropped).jpg wearing cocktail hat]]

A cocktail hat is a small, extravagant, and typically brimless hat for a woman.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fascinators-british-royal-wedding_n_5ae86955e4b02baed1be1c2e|title=Here's Why British Women Wear Such Ridiculous Hats At Weddings|last=Brucculieri|first=Julia|date=2018-05-02|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2019-06-18}} It is usually a component of evening wear and is intended as an alternative to a large-brimmed hat.{{cite web |url=http://www.bluevelvetvintage.com/vintage_style_files/2009/03/24/cocktail-hats-fascinators/ |title=Cocktail Hats-Fascinators-Hair Accessories-Headpieces- Vintage Style Files |publisher=Bluevelvetvintage.com |date=2009-03-24 |access-date=2011-05-03 |archive-date=2011-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512042407/http://www.bluevelvetvintage.com/vintage_style_files/2009/03/24/cocktail-hats-fascinators/ |url-status=dead }} These hats are often decorated with beads, jewels or feathers, as well as a veil or netting.{{Cite web|url=https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/search/%22cocktail%20hat%22/results|title=Cocktail Hats|website=Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|access-date=2019-06-18}} Cocktail hats were most popular between the 1930s and 1960s.{{CN|date=December 2021}}

Some fashion historians think that cocktail hats were the precursor to fascinators, hairpieces worn on the side of the head that gained popularity in the 1970s,{{Cite web|url=https://visforvintage.net/2012/08/30/fascinator-history-of-a-hair-accessory/|title=History of fascinator hats|date=August 30, 2012|website=V is for Vintage|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-18|archive-date=2019-06-18|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618004931/https://visforvintage.net/2012/08/30/fascinator-history-of-a-hair-accessory/ }} while others argue that fascinators were worn during the day and cocktail hats in the late afternoon or evening. Unlike a fascinator, a cocktail hat has a fully formed and visible base.{{CN|date=December 2021}}

Cocktail hats can be of many shapes, ranging from modeled wool or felt or shaped straw to softer, turban-like constructions.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lasell.edu/academics/schools/school-of-fashion/lasell-fashion-collection/collections/the-lasell-catalogue-of-artistry-in-fashion/millinery.html|title=Millinery|website=www.lasell.edu|language=en|access-date=2019-06-18}}{{Cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc330514/|title=Cocktail Hat|last=Balenciaga|first=Cristóbal|date=1960|website=Digital Library|access-date=2019-06-18}}