The Changing Shapes of Victorian Bonnets By Lynette Miller      Although they began to be worn in the late 1700’s, bonnets are more closely identified with the Victorian period than with any other. During this time a bonnet was the single most acceptable head covering for a lady to wear for almost every occasion. Fashionable bonnets were worn for public meetings, theater performances, and church functions. They were often trimmed so lavishly that the actual shape of the bonnet was obscured! Functional, plainer styles of straw or quilted bonnets were worn for traveling, daily chores, and activities during which the wearer needed to be protected from the elements.    Bonnets were modified hats with part of the hat brim removed. A gathered piece of fabric, called a curtain, was stitched in its place and shaded the wearer’s neck from the sun. Most bonnets also tied under the chin with decorative ribbons to hold them on the head. Fashionable bonnets were usually constructed of silk, wire, and buckram, with added flowers, plumes, and frills. The shape and size of bonnets was determined by the prevailing dress fashions and directly affected by the current hair styles.    When Queen Victoria began her reign in the 1830’s, bonnets had high crowns and extremely wide brims. By the 1840's, the crown was lowered and the brim was pulled in around the wearer’s face, shielding it from view. Bonnet brims widened in the 1850’s, when the sides receded and the brims rose to form the spoon bonnets of the Civil War period. This was the last bonnet style of the century that covered the wearer’s head.    From this time onward, women’s hair styles began to grow in importance. False hair, often a part of earlier styles, became a necessity for the fashionable silhouette. By the end of the 1860’s, so many false hair pads and curls made up the fashionable coiffure, that bonnets were perched on top of the head, barely distinguishable from a hat. Several small bonnet styles gained popularity in the 1880’s, but hats assumed greater importance toward the end of the century, as fashionable women participated in outdoor sporting activities such as boating, tennis, and bicycling. By the end of the century, bonnets were considered old fashioned and were worn mainly by older matrons.