It’s a phrase most of us have heard despite it being well over a hundred years old. While researching a story, I came across a concept that made me think I was mistaken in its meaning. I always thought it referred to wealthy snobby women.

Ads like this and others have made me think otherwise. Doesn’t it seem the high hats are the cheapest and wider or rare materials ones more expensive?

Thus women wanting to put on airs without financial backing–pretenders– may be the ‘high hats’ of the early 1900s.

May the hats we choose inspire and encourage rather than shake feathers at our fellow humans.

Are you a hat person? Would you bring back these styles if you could?

This has been your Tuesday Historical Trivia Tidbit.