Picture hat

[9] Styles were simpler than those worn in the Edwardian era – following the prevailing fashion of cloches by including a more close-fitting crown to flatter shorter hairstyles.

[14] Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British royal family continued to favour picture hats in the immediate post-war years, and they remained a fixture at weddings and sporting occasions.

The article noted: "A solitary wide-brimmed classic among some 60 models selected from those now going into the shops...but such a shape has for long been beloved of many Englishwomen, and by comparison the rest of the hats were a chic and challenging assortment".

Parisian milliner Claude Saint-Cyr was designing dramatic picture hats – relying more on shape than on trimmings for effect – very much in the style that would be worn three years later by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

[18][19] The picture hat remains a popular style for events such as Ladies' Day at Ascot and its high-profile fans include Queen Camilla, who is known for her wide-brimmed designs.

[20] The Dynasty character Alexis Colby (played by Joan Collins) was famous for wearing her signature picture hats throughout the 80s soap opera on the ABC.

Queen Camilla (left) wearing a Philip Treacy picture hat, while Catherine, Princess of Wales sports a hatinator
Thomas Gainsborough portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire , said to be an inspiration for the picture or Gainsborough hat
London's Gaiety Girls , here photographed in 1896, helped to popularise the fashion for picture hats
1941 picture hat worn by Carole Landis in Topper Returns
The dramatic picture hat, as worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's , became fashionable from the late 1950s
Marc Jacobs showcased enormous Victorian-style picture hats at New York Fashion Week A/W 2012