1. Characteristics

2. History of the design

3. See also

4. References

A poke bonnet (sometimes also referred to as a Neapolitan bonnet) is a women's bonnet, featuring a small crown and wide and rounded front brim. Typically this extends beyond the face. It has been suggested that the name came about because the bonnet was designed in such a way that the wearer's hair could be contained within the bonnet.^[1] Poke may also refer to the brim itself, which jutted out beyond the wearer's face.^[2]

Characteristics

There were many variations of the style, which remained popular throughout much of the 19th century.^[3] The Metropolitan Museum of Art notes that the poke usually had a small crown combined with a large brim extending beyond the face, providing a large surface for decoration.^[4]

This prominent brim shaded the face and, over time increased in size so that the wearer's face could only be seen from the front.^[5] Typically, the bonnet would be secured by ribbons tied under the chin, which might also wrap around the bottom of the bonnet's crown, similar to a hatband. An 1830s version of the poke bonnet with ornate ribbon wrapping forms part of the Victoria and Albert Museum archive.^[6]

History of the design

The poke bonnet came into fashion at the beginning of the 19th century. It is first mentioned in an 1807 fashion report in The Times; the report describes designs made of willow or velvet with long ribbons and full bows on one side of the hat.^[7]

By the 1830s, Englishwomen had adopted the poke bonnet. The new styles became widely popular and made the aristocracy less visibly distinct from the respectable middle classes.^[8] The style is modest and was in line with English fashions after the ascension of Queen Victoria.^[9]

A poke bonnet features prominently in the illustrations of Beatrix Potter's Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. Another appears in the First World War-era music hall song "In your little poke bonnet and shawl".^[10]

See also

• Salvation Army bonnet
• Coal scuttle bonnet

References

• The Promised Land (Saint-Saëns)
• The Promised Neverland
• The Promise (Indian TV series)
• The Promise (Jiří Kratochvil novel)
• The Promise Key
• The Promise of a Future
• The Promise of a Pencil
• The Promise of Forever
• The Promise of Forever (TV series)
• The Promise (Thai film)
• The Prom (musical)
• The proof of the pudding is in the eating
• The Propaganda Game
• The Propeller
• The Property Division Collision
• The Property of a Lady (Upstairs, Downstairs)
• The Property Trust plc
• ThePropheC
• The PropheC
• The Prophecies (book)
• The Prophecies (Nostradamus)
• The Prophecy (Animorphs)
• The Prophecy (Iron Maiden song)
• The Prophecy of Basilides
• The Prophecy of Dante