Millinery at GS Munro’s in 1910

 

                                                               

                                 

                                

Today's post gives a glimpse inside the G.S. Munroe store in Reston, Manitoba in October of 1910. The impressive two story stone clad store would have been 8 years old and sold a variety of merchandise to the growing town. On this particular day, a display of the new hats for the fall season was being held. Pictures and descriptions of ladies' hats found in the Hudson’s Bay Catalogue 1910-1911 at the top of the page give us an idea how fancy the headgear was in those days.


October 6, 1910 Reston Recorder Page 8

 The opening days at Munro‘s on the 3rd, 4th and 5th, both from a standpoint of attendance and the sale of ladies’ headwear, were most successful. Miss Whitely, the popular milliner, and her assistant Miss Grace Shippam, had on display, a choice collection of ladies hats that brought them much deserved praise. The large sale that resulted was most gratifying.

A description of the new styles, in a short space is impossible, but the following points may prove of interest to our lady readers who have been unable to attend the display.

In the larger hats, for young or middle-age ladies is the “La Cloche” made in paon silk velvet, trimmed with black taffeta silk ribbon.

A stunning creation in a small hat is made with a sloping stovepipe shape and made in paon silk velvet. The crown is draped and a large wing poses on the left side.

A beautiful feather band turban the crown draped with shirred satin ribbon, with a large bunch of ribbon caught up on the left side was one of the creations that had a host of admirers.

Another popular hat is one trimmed with marabout and roses. The rim is of silk velvet and is faced with moire silk ribbon.

The most popular colours are royal blue, brown, black and white and catawba.

Many of the ladies, after inspecting the millinery display and choosing their season’s apparel, attended the demonstration given by the Gold Standard demonstrator, and received many useful hints regarding the use of Gold Standard Products.

Reading these old articles has me doing some researching to help me put a picture to their words! "Paon silk velvet" seems to be a term that has faded into history but ladies of the time knew it must have been special silk.  "Moire silk ribbon" has a watered or woodgrain type pattern on it.  "Marabout" trim may have been misspelled from marabou which is soft downy feathers of a young turkey, dyed different colours as decoration. "Catawba" coloured hats? What would I do without Google??  It is described as a medium shade of dark pink-red.  Huge hats like this were kept in place with hatpins, which have become collector's items. 

Trails Along the Pipestone 1981  has a photo on page 491 of the millinery department of G. S. Munro Store in 1920 featuring Miss Cutting and Miss Mabel Abercrombie set up on the second floor.  Other Reston milliners over the years include Miss Levers, Gilles, and Mrs. T.W. Boulton (her husband was a distant relation, I think!). 

Lottie Smith, daughter of Thomas and Maggie Smith of Sinclair, was another who learned the millinery skills. Her niece Pat Taylor tells me that she worked in Salisbury's Millinery Shop in Reston in the 1920’s. Miss Smith made and sold millinery, ladies clothing and operated an ice cream parlour in the little old butcher shop until 1927 when she moved to Winnipeg. She remained a spinster her whole life as did her sister Minnie.

The wife of Dr. Clark, Winnifred, sold hats above the drugstore and later the bank in the 1930's. Fashion hats were worn less and less during the Second World War and by the 1970's were almost never seen.  The Catholic Church no longer required head coverings in services in 1967. One interesting website says this was due to shorter hairstyles but often hats were also worn to keep the sun off a woman's face.  The British royals and the Kentucky Derby have kept hats and fascinators in the news recently but they are a niche market.  

Were your curious what Gold Standard Products were? Google searches didn't find much but this ad from Munro's store the week before the millinery event makes it sound like the beginnings of a Watkins type company with many products to flavour and simplify home cooking. How many in the crowd that day in 1910 came for the hats and how many for the baking demonstration?