1730

Thrcc-coriictcd hat, than which nothing is more typical of dghtccnth-ccntury fashion, was capable of a considerable amount of - variety. Some hats were still laced and garnished with plumes like those of the previous epoch, but as the plume was worn on the upper brim, now bent inwards, it only appeared as a kind of fringe. Some hats were simply bordered with braid. The triangular form was kept by means of a cord, passed through holes in the brim and drawn tight round the crown, or else by a button acting as a kind of clip at the edge of the upturned brim. The earlier habit of festooning the hat - with ribbons h ad been dehnitely abandoned.

The accession of George II, made very little difference to costume in England. TTie new king, like the old, was German, stiff in his manners and somewhat slovenly in his habits. His Court provided no centre of influence for the caprices of Society or the whims of fashion. Individual members of the aristocracy wielded far more influence than the Royal Family, and those who could afford trips to the Continent became, by natural consequence, the arbiters of taste.

Two accessories of costume in constant use were the snuffbox and the fan. The first was carried by every man, of every degree, and by many ladies. The smoking of tobacco was considered definitely “ low,” to be practised only by sailors and labourers, but vast quantities of the weed were consumed in the form of snuff powder, and eveiy elegance of decoration was bestowed upon the boxes in which it was carried.

The fan was universal. In Queen Anne’s reign it had been very large. Later, it became less pretentious and was decorated with painted scenes by the most able artists. Sometimes the paintings were designed to show political opinions. The material used was paper or, sometimes, thin white chicken skin, and the handles could be ornamented with jewels or enamels.