When the thermometer dips to the -30’s here in Canada I often get to wondering what the lovely ladies of the 1940s would have worn on their pretty well styled heads to keep them warm? Did the opt for unstylish toques that wrecked your hair in 30 seconds flat? Or did they go with fashionable hats and worried about frost bite late? Lets see shall we?

First up here are some tips on what you might see in a 1940s winter hat

The hat material needed to be something that would not spot in the rain or snow
Protective brim was often seen
Fur was popular
Velvet
Dark hats with heavier weights
Felt hats
Gray wool felt hats
Knitted/crocheted hats

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1940s Winter Fashion: Ladies Winter Hats

Lets start with this cute Dutch Bonnet. Looks like it will keep your head warm and your hair looking super fabulous at the same time.

1940s Vintage Fashion / 1940s Winter Hat for Women: A 1940s ladies hat -Dutch Bonnet knitting pattern.

Early 1940s Fashion (possibly 1930s as per the style in the image but close enough for this gal!): This beret is adorable and popular but not for -30 weather. Warmer winter days…yup!

1940s Vintage Fashion / 1940s Winter Hat for Women: Early 1940s vintage photo of a a knitted Beret

Some winter ski outfits. The hats are more practical for winter I see but I’m unsure how the toque on the right is staying on her head lol!

1940s vintage photo from a 1940s vintage catalog of women's Ski Outfits and 1940s winter hats.

Well technically not a hat a warm 100% wool head scarf will keep the chill off. You can chose a ‘Spun Rayon Triangle with knotted wool fringe”, a ‘Sheer new wool triangle’ or several others. Have fun with it!

Further Reading: A Vintage Guide to 1940s Hair Accessories

1940s winter hair scarf made out of wool or rayon to keep your head warm.

Here is the 1940s head scarf in real life action in this vintage photo of ladies building a snowman.

1940s fashion - 1940s Winter fashion as seen in a 1940s vintage photo of 4 women making a snowman, wearing winter jackets and winter hairscarfs.

Source

1940s vintage ad for Stetson Hats. Stetson did not just make mens hats, but also women’s as seen below. These are darling winter hats but your ears would be cold no?

1940s vintage advertisement for Stetson Hats for women featuring an image of a women wearing various styles of Stetson Hats for winter time.

Source

The 1940s images below are clearly stating that it is cold outside but their stylish hats I’m sure are not keeping their pretty heads warm (and the shoes neither).

They are I must say extremely stylish winter ladies and I would have paired any of those hats with those coats as well, even if I froze my head off!

1940s vintage photo of a four 1940s women in 1940s winter coats and 1940s hats. Stunning 1940s fashions!

Source: Etsy

Some amazing 1940s hats in this picture and some of them actually look like they are bit warmer then the ladies above. My favorite is the lady on the Left. Her outfit is divine!

1940s vintage photo of Four women with suitcases and in stunning 1940s winter coats and 1940s hats posing before heading out on trip. Super 1940s fashions.

Source: Etsy

Now this is a darling number from the 1940s-Fur and Felt. Winter hat must haves crossed off the list.

1940s Fashion: a 1940 women's hat with fur fringe and a felt bow.

If you watched the now cancelled (sniff sniff) bomb girls you would have seen some pretty fantastic winter hats in the show. Here is Vera in her brimmed hat.

1940s fashion as seen in the TV Show Bomb Girls. The image features a man in uniform with a Bomb Girl in a blue 1940s coat and 1940s hat. Perfect winter style.

1940s vintage hats you can buy right now (at time of post).

NOTE: If an item you clicked on is no longer avail, don’t fret! Etsy is updated daily with new vintage items, so you are bound to find something you like.

Nov 2025 update: I have started a collection on Etsy of Vintage Ladies Hats (Winter & Other seasons), that you can shop in, right now.Happy Shopping!

An iconic 1940s dark green felt bonnet cloche hat with velvet trim and dark green and gold feather tufts on the right side panel. The hat sits on the back of the head with a rounded crown and a short asymmetrical brim. STUNNER!

1940s Fashion: A 1940s Hat Dark Green Felt Bonnet Velvet n Feather Trim

Source: Etsy

An adorable 1940s Tam!
This hat is styled as a darling halo tam, done in a rich coffee brown soft wool. The hat features two bow details at the rear that are in fact straps that can be pulled through to adjust the head size of the hat. Practical and adorable!

1940s Fashion: A womens 1940s vintage hat-a 1940s Brown Tam

Source: Etsy

1940s Wool Tan Ladies hat with the most interesting look. Your head would be warm in this beauty!

1940s Fashion: a 1940s Tan Wool Hat, Ladies Wool Hat/

Source: Etsy

Vintage 1940’s Grey Velour Halo or Bonnet Style Hat with Black Plumed Feather.

Source: Etsy

Stunning 1940s hand-knit lush forest green beret hat.

Source: Etsy

Exquisite 1940s dark green wool hat by Berkshire made in USA.

Well as you can see the hats were both practical and not so practical in their designs but we can all agree that they were gorgeous even if you turned blue while wearing some of them.

Question:

When it’s cold outside do you go with style or comfort?

Further Reading: Vintage Fashions 1920s-1960s (Archived Blog Posts)

Liz 🙂

(Updated Post: March 2024)

The Easter Parade is an event consisting of a festive strolling procession on Easter Sunday with participates usually wearing their best Easter finery that normally consisted of the best of modern clothes and hats of that time.

Easter Parade-Toronto’s Oldest Tradition that is really all about the Hats!

History of the Easter Parade in Toronto

Toronto’s Easter Parade is one of its oldest Traditions, starting in the early 1900’s along the waterfront at Sunnyside Park.

Fashion was very important and in an article written on April 26th, 1914 in the Toronto World Newspaper an amusing headline appeared…. Are women of Toronto behind New Yorkers in style? The accompanying caption (for the pic below) reads: “The fashion show on Fifth Avenue, Easter Sunday – in the foreground a mandarin jacket of ruffled taffeta, straight-brimmed hat, trimmed with wing rows – a brocaded crepe coat is shown in centre.”

New York Easter Parade-1914

1914 Vintage Photo of the New York Easter Parade

Image courtesy of Toronto Archives

Yes the women in this New York picture looking amazingly fashionable but were the Toronto women that far behind in fashion? Not really!

Easter weekend in Toronto can be cold, which may account for why the Easter parades in our city were perhaps a bit more humble than New York’s 5th Avenue event (not 100% sure though). The photograph below from 1924 shows Toronto flappers in their Easter finery parading along the Sunnyside boardwalk in their warm jackets (Toronto Archives). I think they look pretty amazing even WITH their jackets on.

1920s Vintage Photo from the Toronto Easter Parade. 1924 shows Toronto flappers in their Easter finery parading along the Sunnyside boardwalk in their warm 1920s coats.

In 1922 an amusement park opened up at Sunnyside park and the Easter Parade became a more structured event, complete with sponsors and prizes.

1920s Vintage Photo of women in 1920s clothing walking down the Sunnyside Park boardwalk in Toronto, Canada -1922

But by the early 1950’s the amusement park had shut down and with it went the Sunnyside Easter Parade. However the parade was not gone for ever and it was reborn on Bloor Street till about the middle of the 1960’s where it then moved East to the Beaches and has remained there ever since. Very cool!

Now before we move onto the next section, lets see some more vintage 1920s images from the Easter Parade on April 17th, 1927 (I love my photos!).

1920s Toronto Easter Parade Image showcasing 1920s Fashion. April 1927

Source: Toronto Archives

I’m here all day long for this STUNNING 1920s image of 2 ladies in their own version of a men’s 1920s Tuxedo. Men’s fashion for women is so on trend for any year!

STUNNING 1920s image of 2 ladies in their own version of a men's 1920s Tuxedo at the Toronto Easter Parade.

Source: Toronto Archives

Eeek! I don’t think this couple could get any better looking in this 1920s Photo.

1920s photo of a stylish 1920s man and woman strolling in the Toronto Easter Parade. 1920s Fashions on Display

Source: Toronto Archives

Never mind the hats! Can we talk about these 2 women’s 1920s jackets? So Beautiful!

1920s Photo of 2 women in 1920s Jackets and 1920s hats at the Toronto Easter Parade

Source: Toronto Archives

Toronto was clearly very stylish in the 1920s. Yooza!

Source: Toronto Archives

There is the history of the Toronto Easter Parade but now onto the most important part of the parade…the hats!

So what does one wear on their head to the “Easter Parade”?

Vintage Shopping: I have created an Etsy Collection of Vintage Hats that would be perfect for Easter or any occasion. It is updated monthly.

(NOTE: These hats WERE available at time of posting / or update. Please use these as inspirations if sold out and make sure to visit Etsy as they are updated daily with loads of new vintage hats & other vintage items).

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

The Vintage Hats

Straw hats are so lovely for Spring and Summer, I have a couple different kinds and I love them. Here is a 1950s platter / straw hat with pretty flowers. The label reads: “Karen Isabel Original”