Boater
Unknown Artist
ca. 1890
Medium
Straw, silk
Classification
Boater
Culture
American
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Bequest of Matilda Alice Shaw, 1948
Accession Number
2009.300.4567
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegance of Gilded Age America with *Boater*, a charming straw hat from around 1890, crafted an unknown American artisan. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, this piece from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection (bequeathed by Matilda Alice Shaw in 194) exemplifies everyday fashion that blended practicality with subtle sophistication. Boaters like this one were iconic summer accessories, perfect for leisurely boating outings, picnics, or seaside strolls during the late Victorian era. Made from lightweight straw woven into a flat-brimmed, cylindrical sh...