Jackie Kennedy is said to have popularised the pillbox hat (so called because it looks as if it’s designed to hold pills) in 1962 when she wore one on television.
However, she was not the first to wear the style – it had been a fashion accessory in different forms since the 1930s.
The hat went on to become the favoured headwear of African President Mobutu when he became head of state in 1965. With its famous admirers (actress Edie Sedgwick also wore one) and political connotations, the hat’s popularity became so large that Bob Dylan released a song entitled Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat in 1966.
The pillbox is actually a small woman’s hat with a flat crown and straight upright sides. The most famous pillbox ever worn must be the pink hat worn by Jackie Kennedy the day her husband, John F Kennedy, the 35th President of the USA, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963.
Although interest in the hat was already starting to wane by this time, the sight of the First Lady cradling her husband’s head in her lap after the assassination seemed to bring its popularity to an end.
Related Posts
Peggy Moffitt The top American model of the 1960s, Peggy Moffitt was a startling innovator who didn't just wear fashions, she inspired…
Unisex The Unisex fashion movement largely came and went in one year: 1968. The trend began on the Paris runways, where…
Peace Sign The ubiquitous icon of the Aquarian age and one of the most widely known symbols in the world. In Britain…
Iron-On T-Shirt Transfers There once was a time, believe it or not, when all t-shirts were not blank white garments. But as soon…
Mood Rings The idea behind a mood ring was simple: You wore it on your finger and the colour of the stone…
Rudi Gernreich Like his art world contemporary Andy Warhol, Rudi Gernreich was a modern visionary and shrewd press manipulator. He guaranteed himself…
Twiggy Twiggy's success story began in 1965 when Nigel Davies – a jack-of-all-trades who had worked as a bookie's office boy,…
Sharpies The Sharpie movement was a short-lived youth subculture that seemed to explode out of nowhere, in Melbourne, Australia, in late…
