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1930s Braid Inspiration: The Coronet / Crown Braid

There’s something effortlessly elegant about a well-crafted braid—this timeless hairstyle is both practical and stylish, with none more refined than the 1930s braid.

A glance at 1930s photographs reveals a treasure trove of braided inspiration—particularly the Coronet or Crown Braid, a stunning style that’s perfect for winter (or any season, really!).

In this post, we’ll explore some of the most beautiful vintage images showcasing this classic 1930s braid. Let’s dive in!

Why this topic? The term Winter Hair Braid has been trending on Pinterest, which inspired me to take a deep dive into vintage 1930s braided hairstyles.

1935 Coronet braids hair style as seen on Grace Badley  - 1930s vintage hairstyle

The Coronet / Crown Braid

According to Perc and Ern Westmore – Max Factor Studio Makeup Experts:

“Braids and cluster curls are the two most important features of the latest 1930s hairstyles. They give you that irresistible quality called “chic.” Bette Davis claims that the detachable braid, is “the greatest invention since the lipstick!”(Source).

1930s vintage hairstyle a detachable braid as seen on Bette Davis. A perfect 1930s winter hair braid inspiration.

Source: Glamourdaze.com

Coronet Braid

A “coronet braid” is essentially a crown braid, meaning it’s a braid that is woven around the head like a crown, sitting close to the hairline, often achieved using a Dutch braid technique to create a raised, prominent look; it’s a hairstyle where the braid wraps around the head like a crown, keeping hair off the face and neck. It could be detachable as seen above or using your own hair (if long enough).

The 1940s carried on this trend with rope braids—also known by that name—which proved especially practical for wartime work. Today’s post is all about the 1930s look though (that post will be coming in the future).

1930s Hairstyles-Coronet Braids (detachable) advertisement. “The latest vogue in hairdressing. Made of the finest quality hair and workmanship”.

1930s Hairstyles-Coronet Braids (detachable) advertisement. "The latest vogue in hairdressing. Made of the finest quality hair and workmanship". Winter Hair Braid Inspiration

Source: Pinterest

Vintage hairstyle inspiration as seen in yearbooks & others sources from the 1930s


Why vintage yearbooks? They seemed to have the best collection of inspiration. Maybe it was because this trend really look off with the younger crowd of women, instead of older? Not sure but here are the fantastic photos.

Liz note: Thru my research, I have discovered that it looks like braids did not make an appearance in popularity until 1934, I saw no signs of of this hairstyle in any of the yearbook photos I looked at. Can any vintage hairstyle historians confirm this?


1934 Saint Mary’s School, Stagecoach yearbook of Mary Denison Hope, “Polly”. She was a senior who’s yearbook photo said, “Poetry – white cloudlets – Dresden china – pale green“.

Further Reading: ‘The Stagecoach – 1930’. A Vintage Yearbook, The Likes Of Which Has Never Been Seen Before

1930s vintage hairstyle: Coronet Braid / Crown Braid / Rope Braid as seen in a 1934 yearbook photo of a young college student.

Source: digitalnc.org

A coronet braid worn by college freshman Sara Kelly Lillard in 1936, as featured in the Coronet yearbook from Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina.

1930s vintage hairstyle: A coronet braid worn by college Freshman in 1936, as featured in the Coronet yearbook from Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. Fun Winter Hair Braid Inspiration.

Source: digitalnc.org

Another yearbook photo from the Coronet yearbook of 1936 this time featuring a pretty Sophomore with glasses and her lovely headband braid.

1930s vintage hairstyle: A coronet braid worn by college Sophomore in 1936, as featured in the Coronet yearbook from Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. Fun Winter Hair Braid Inspiration.

Source: digitalnc.org

Dorothy Lamour 1936 with a beautiful wave at the front of her braided hair. Stunning!

1930s vintage photo of Dorothy Lamour 1936. Dorothy is wearing a 1930s hairstyle, a 1930s braid-Crown Braid / Coronet  braid.

Knitting pattern booklet from Worth’s, dated 1936. The patterns are designed in collaboration with Mary Widdecke and throughout the booklet, are modeled by screen stars Virginia Bruce, Maureen O’Sullivan, Cecilia Parker, Virginia Grey, Lorna Lowe, Claire Myers, and Wanda Perry.

Our pretty brunette is wearing a coronet braid with a chignon at the back of the head (does anyone know who the actress is?).

Avail in PDF format on Etsy HERE.

1930s Fashions & 1930's hairstyles as seen in a 1936 Knitting booklet for women and children's 1930s knitted fashions.

Source: Etsy-TangledSundries


Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.


Meet Katherine Nooe Knox, a Spanish, French, and Latin teacher at Mitchell Community College in Statesville, NC (as seen in the 1938 Circle yearbook). She studied at the Sorbonne University in France—what an elegant photo, complete with a coronet braid to match!

1930s Vintage Hairstyle-A Coronet Braid as seen on a Language Teacher in 1938. Super inspiration for a Winter Braid (or any season).  ==> See more 1930s Braid Inspiration: The Coronet / Crown Braid at the Vintage Inn Blog.

Source: digitalnc.org

1939 Yearbook, ‘The Teacoan’ from East Carolina University. Junior yearbook photo of Dorothy Reed Miller sporting a tight crown braid.

1930s vintage hairstyle as seen in a 1939 Yearbook, 'The Teacoan' from East Carolina University. Junior yearbook photo of Dorothy Reed Miller sporting a tight crown braid. Perfect Winter braid inspiration.

Source: digitalnc.org

In this 1939 Teacoan yearbook, I saw several young women wearing the below braid style. It appears to be a small double row braid right at the top of the head towards the front with low curls. A mini coronet braid.

1930s Vintage Hairstyle Inspiration-A small double row braid at the top of the crown with pretty curls at the bottom as seen in a vintage yearbook photo ==> See more 1930s Braid Inspiration: The Coronet / Crown Braid at the Vintage Inn Blog.

Source: digitalnc.org

Style your braid with a pretty hair pin like we see on this young 1930s woman.

1930s vintage photo of a young woman with a 1930s hairstyle-The Coronet Braid a popular style in the 1930s.

Would you like a coronet braid tutorial? I found an easy one on TikTok that you can try out (I really like this creator).

Lastly, Gingers Rogers in 1935’s Top Hat has a stunning hairstyle that looks like a coronet braid but is actually a crown twist. I wanted to share it in this post, because you could easily achieve this same look as a braid as seen above.

1930s vintage image of Ginger Rogers in Top Hat in a 1930s hairstyle-a 1930s Crown Braid / Coronet Braid / Crown Twist.

Shopping: Looking for a detachable braid to try out this hairstyle? Amazon has lots on their website and they come in all colours and sizes.

I hope you enjoyed this fun post that maybe inspired you for your own look this winter or any season you chose. Please share any thoughts you have on this topic in the comments section below. I love hearing from my readers.

Further Reading: Vintage Hairstyles 1920s-1960s (Archived blog posts)

Thanks for dropping by!

Liz

The Sweet Retro Delight: The Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I recently received a comment on my blog asking about authentic 1920s desserts for a party. After a quick search, one treat kept appearing—Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Its rise to popularity has a fascinating history, which I thought would make for a great blog post featuring vintage recipes and advertisements. Plus, this dessert holds a special place in my heart—my mom used to make it all the time, and it was a beloved favorite in our home. So, let’s dig in and have some delicious fun!

1950s vintage ad for Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase


What is Pineapple Upside Down Cake?

Super moist, cake that’s both soft, and perfectly fluffy, a pineapple upside-down cake is a delicious and festive one-layer cake dessert that gets assembled and baked with juicy pineapple slices and sweet cherries on the bottom, and vanilla cake batter on top. Turned upside down after baking, the glistening, now caramelized fruit, magically becomes the impressive cake topping (Source).

Pineapple Upside Cake - Classic Retro Recipe

Brief History of the Pineapple Upside Down Cake

The earliest record of the term “Upside-Down Cake” appeared in 1923 in several sources, including the March 15, 1923 issue of the Syracuse Herald (p. 15), in a column entitled “Unusual Prune Dishes,” which, as the designation connotes, provided a version made with dried plums (and no mention of pineapple). At this early point, the recipe already featured a common element of classic upside-down cakes — fruit arranged atop a brown sugar syrup in an iron skillet (Source – incls a detail breakdown of the dessert & a recipe).

Around this time a few pineapple upside-down cake recipes were being published in small regional cookbooks. Pineapple consumption was on the rise thanks to cheaper prices and increased imports. The biggest reason for this change was James Drummond Dole’s cannery business in Hawaii, which started in 1901. Pineapple had been grown in Hawaii since the early 1800s, and there were canneries there by the 1880s, but none were on the scale of the Dole operation. Dole had a machine that could peel, core, and cut 100 pineapples per minute. Soon he and other Hawaiian growers were producing so much pineapple that they needed an advertising campaign to convince Americans to buy it all.

Then in 1925, the Dole company sponsored a recipe contest for the best dish using pineapple, and ran ads for it in women’s magazines. The winner was a pineapple upside-down cake from Mrs. Robert Davis of Norfolk, Virginia. Dole received more than 2,500 submissions for pineapple upside-down cake (out of 60,000 recipes total), so clearly some people were making a version of this cake prior to 1925.

In any case, the Dole company promoted Mrs. Davis’s winning recipe widely, and soon pineapple upside-down cake was one of the most popular cakes in North America (especially in the Mid-Century) (Source).

The winning 1925 recipe (FULL Recipe HERE).

1920s vintage baking recipe-Pineapple Upside Down Cake from 1925. Original winning recipe.

Recipe Continued HERE

Vintage Advertising & Vintage Dessert Recipes

1925 advertisement for GOLD-MEDAL FLOUR featuring the famous winning cake (not the actual cake). It is clear that advertisers were jumping on the band wagon of this win by making this yummy creation, front and center on their advertisements (in fact it’s not even mentioned in this ad).

1920s vintage advertisement from 1925 from GOLD MEDAL FLOUR featuring an illustration of a Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Source: eBay

1954 Bisquick advertisement. Betty Crocker’s team says that Bisquick is the new way to bake when making your Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

1950s vintage advertisement: 1954 Bisquick advertisement. Betty Crocker's team says that Bisquick is the new way to bake when making your Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

Source: eBay

I was gifted many moons ago a first edition 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook and inside there is a recipe for a few different upside-down cakes. Not sure about the prune one, but the rest sound good.

Comment below with your email if you would like this sent to you (might not be clear on everyone’s screen).

1950s vintage baking recipe from a Betty Crocker 1950 cookbook for Upside Down Cakes. Fun retro baking ideas.

1950s vintage advertisement for “Pineapple upside-down cakes done 3 different ways by DOLE”.

1950s vintage advertisement for "Pineapple upside-down cakes done 3 different ways by DOLE"

Source: Etsy-PlentifulPages

“For this Hawaiian Pie use Libby’s Peak Flavor Pineapple”. 1947 ad featuring a baking recipe for our pie (not cake) using gelatin.

1940s vintage advertisement: for Libby's Pineapples featuring a recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Source: Pinterest

Here is the 1960s Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book (1961) Upside-down cake recipes.

1960s / Mid-Century / Retro Foods-Upside-down cakes like Pineapple as seen in a 1961 Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Source: Reddit

1950s / 1960s vintage advertisement for Dole Hawaiian Pineapple featuring different things you can make with Pineapple. Like Pineapple Upside Down Cake (baked in a ring mold) and Meat Loaf /Ham Loaf.

1950s / 1960s vintage advertisement for Dole Hawaiian Pineapple featuring different things you can make with Pineapple. Like Pineapple upside down cake, Meat loaf / ham loaf

Source: Pinterest

I’m really excited about finding this next advertisement and recipe because it’s from 1943 and WW2 is in full swing and so is food rationing. This Dole ad talks about the food stamps and coupons everyone had and how this dessert is easy to make using them (recipe below). “Coupon Days Upside-Down Cake“.

1940s vintage advertisement from 1943 for Dole Pineapples featuring an recipe for Pineapple Upside down cake.
1940s vintage advertisement for Dole Pineapple from 1943 featuring a recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake that is easy to make using your food stamps and coupons (rationing).

Source: eBay

While not the traditional cake recipe, this 1953 KRAFT advertisement features a Caramel Surprise Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe (with yummy Kraft Caramels).

1950s vintage advertisement: 1953 KRAFT advertisement featuring a Caramel Surprise Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe (with yummy Kraft Caramels)
Retro Baking / Mid Century Baking Recipe: 1953 KRAFT advertisement featuring a Caramel Surprise Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe (with yummy Kraft Caramels)

Source: eBay

1955 Karo Corn Syrup advertisement with the cake being in a rectangular shape as opposed to the famous round. Not sure how I feel about it. Do you like it this way?

1950s vintage advertisement for Karo Corn Syrup featuring a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe. Fun retro baking.

Source: eBay

I don’t know what year this Pillsbury advertisement is, but from the look of the image / ad maybe 1930s or 1940s? That is just a guess though, but I will say that I’m a big fan of the whip cream on this delicious cake.

Would you like the recipe? You can find it here.

Pillsbury Pineapple Upside Down Cake- Vintage Baking / Retro Baking.

Source: Vintage Recipes

1968 Duncan Hines advertisement for various Upside Down Cakes, like deep chocolate and a recipe for Double Pineapple Upside Down Cake (seen in the next image).

1960s vintage advertisement: 1968 Duncan Hines advertisement for various Upside Down Cakes, like deep chocolate and a recipe for Double Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Retro Baking.
1968 Duncan Hines advertisement for various Upside Down Cakes, like deep chocolate and a recipe for Double Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Source: eBay

A 1950s recipe card (front) from ‘Standard Humpty-Dumpty and Super Markets’.

Vintage Baking: A 1950s recipe card from 'Standard Humpty-Dumpty and Super Markets' featuring a 'Crisp-Cut Crushed PIneapple Upside-Down Cake by Dole'.

Source: Etsy-whokeepsthisstuff

“The Pineapple Cookbook- 12 favorite recipes from the Dole Kitchen”.

Vintage Cookbook: Mid century Dole pineapple cookbook featuring a pineapple upside cake on the cover

The key to the success of this cake is a good proper tin to make the magic happen (or so I have been told. Ha!). This 1970’s copper cake mold version was avail at time of posting on Etsy and would be perfect for the job.

Retro Baking: 1970's Vintage Pineapple Upside Down Cake Mold.

Source: Etsy-CopperRestoration

Question time! Are you fan of this cake? Or have any memories around it (like I do)? Share any thoughts on this topic in the comments section below. I love hearing from my readers.

Further Reading: Vintage Food Posts (archived).

Thanks for dropping by!

Liz