English bonnet 1830Until the mid-nineteenth century, black dye was often created from wood component
English bonnet 1830Until the mid-nineteenth century, black dye was often created from wood components and was notoriously unstable, often fading to a brown or purple shade. The velvet on this bonnet has faded softly to a dark brown but the ribbons retain their colour. The ‘Merry Widow’ cap designed by milliner Stephen Jones for his 'Albertopolis’ collection, Autumn/Winter 2009 was directly inspired by this bonnet.Collection V&A -- source link
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