Vera Whistler hat and hatbox with lid belonging to Etta Moten Barnett

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

This is a chartreuse cloche-style hat (.1a) with a hat pin (.1b) inside a Vera Whistler hat box (.2a) with lid (.2b). The hat (.1a) is constructed out of velvet material and has one side of the brim flipped up and the opposite side flipped down. The hat has a long narrow feather wrapped around the base of the crown. The feather is brown with a single line of large round white spots. The interior of the hat is lined in black silky fabric with a black grosgrain ribbon sweatband. Sewn to the back of the hatband is a fabric tag with red text that reads “VERA WHISTLER / ORIGINALS.” The hat pin (.1b) is stuck into the fabric at the front of the hat. The finial of the pin has a faceted gold-colored bead, followed by a narrow circular bead with clear glass rhinestones.

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