BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Budget Decor Decorating with vintage hats

When my gramma passed away we were in her house and I found all of these great hats that she had saved from the 40s. I even have a couple of photos of her in them. I was wondering if anyone uses hats for decoration? I know a coatrack would work but I would like something to hang on the wall maybe...anyone have any ideas on how to display my hats?

I have a few hats that are just too pretty, or fancy, to wear. I hung 2 on a mirror that has large hooks on each side. The others I just hung on the wall, with straight pins, around the mirror, to make a grouping. The grouping hung in the entry, so it sort of was a good theme for that room. I loved it.

That sounds just beautiful!

What a terrific idea! I love vintage hats and the idea of decorating with them would keep them out for me to enjoy all the time.

Hi, dont hang those gorgeous vintage hats on the wall. When your grandmother wore them, no woman would dream of leaving the house without a stunning hat to compelte her fashion ensemble. Many actresses careers were furthered by the beauty adn mystery of her eyes benath the brim of a fine ladies hat. Dont you miss those days of femionine charm, allure and glamour? i am so happy that vintage fashion is in again. So many designers are adopting fashion lines, styles and designs from the 1930's and 40's,and I for one, love them. I ama a custom millinery designer and i base my hat designs on vintage hats of teh 1920's 30's and 40's. You can view my hand blocked, custom millinery creatoins at <a href=BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

HOw do you do UBB code? I dont know how? thanks allison

Yes, I have a friend who uses them and hangs them up around her house.

The only hesitation I would have about hanging the hats on a wall would be dust. Probably, though, you may have spotted parts of your house that don't collect dust as fast as others. Maybe one of those spots would be a good display wall.

There's no sense putting them in boxes and not enjoying them, though! Think what a conversation started your hat wall could be, too.

Well, they are all in my closet in a big hat box and my dads little suitcase from when he was a boy. I am thinking about hanging them in my sewing room.

I agree about the dust issue. I like the idea of the being in your sewing room. If you display them you give them more respect than keeping them in a closet, unless your protecting their resale value. I would probably create some sort of hanging pattern you like with them on the wall and cover the with plexiglass for protection from dust. Either way you get to enjoy the memories. Unless you are protecting their financial value, if you have too many to display you could still honor your grandmother by keeping one and have it mounted in a shadowbox frame with her picture you spoke of and take pictures of the others then sell them. You can always revisit her memory then with the photographs of the ones you sold.