Rose Descat, 22 Rue Royale, Paris

Rose Descat was a prominent hat designer of the 1920s. Cloches were designed to accommodate a bobbed hairstyle, popularized by the flappers. It conveyed a specific type of fashion for the 1920s—for women who insisted on being modern and wore fashions that favored boyish figures. Hat historian Jody Shields said, “International expositions and fairs in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s were fashion’s wild cards with millinery borrowed shamelessly from the native headgear of the exhibiting countries including Morocco, Thailand, India and South America. Early 20th century hat fashions were influenced by international expositions that showcased Near Eastern cultures and included turbans.