simonalkenmayer:

feynites:

in-winchester-we-trust:

castiel-knight-of-hell:

a-box-of-cats:

tearsofthemushroom:

fuckyeahregencycameltoe:

OMG WHAT IS GOING ON HERE

I CAN EXPLAIN THIS so basically there’s this type of bonnet called a ‘poke bonnet’ and they look like this:

and in the regency there was this trend of the front part getting longer and longer until you couldn’t really see the wearer’s face… and people have been mean for all history and love to really deride and rip into the fashion trends of young women, so satirical cartoons like the one above popped up that were basically trying to say ‘hurr dburr stupid poke bonnets soon we won’t even be able to talk to women unless we stick our damn FACES INSIDE THEIR HATS!’

and yeah so that’s why we have a drawing of what looks like women sucking men’s heads off floating around tumblr

let’s bring back poke bonnets so ppl will have to leave me alone

I think the most compelling part of this comic is the two women in the background who are having a conversation without their bonnets even touching but all the men feel they have the right to invade the women’s spaces as much as possible 

i know right? the woman in pink is clearly not having a good time

Satirical Regency Artist: Women, if these hats get any bigger, it’s going to be very difficult for men to mash our faces right up against yours!

Regency Hatter: *maintains eye-contact as she sews a massive goddamn brim onto a new hat* Imagine that.

What is amusing is that if this had been drawn by a woman, we all would have said it was precisely a depiction of the above social dynamic of invasion. And yet it was a satire. Which means the man didn’t even realize what he’d drawn and what it actually said.

This is why it is important to be silent and listen and to investigate and think about what is said.

And also, the reason the Neapolitan bonnets became so pronounced in front wasn’t just fashion. It was because the culture had shifted to modesty and reservedness. During the reign of Victoria, a bonnet that hid the face and covered all the hair, even at the temples, was perfect. It made certain the speaker had to address the face and therefore be introduced. It shielded from the sun, which was necessary, as at this time, it was becoming more common for ladies to walk with one another in a park, as is seen in the comic.

Another version of it, called the coal scuttle bonnet, became popular with religious groups of women, like the Salvation Army, and temperance movements. It became a symbol of modesty and therefore a kind of key to freedom. A woman wearing a coal scuttle was likely a charity worker, and therefore should go on about her movements without harassment, because she was a godly woman, of family.

Men may mock the styles, but they became signifiers in the culture that allowed freedom. And so women made use of them.