Remember when a hat was an essential part of a lady’s wardrobe? We all wore hats to go shopping and to church. Getting a new hat at Easter was essential and a fun tradition in our household.
My inspiration for BOLD AS BRASS, set in 1909 London, came from a short movie by D. W. Griffiths called ‘Those Awful Hats.’ The 1909 silent film can be seen on YouTube and depicts an irritated movie-goer sitting behind a woman with a wide-brimmed hat festooned with feathers and silk flowers. Although Griffiths meant his film to be funny, he was definitely sending a message.
My Edwardian heroine, Dolly Wycliffe wants to make beautiful hats like the ones she sees in the French fashion magazines. The daughter of a ferry pilot, she has little chance of realizing her dream.
In BOLD AS BRASS, Dolly has the ambition and the courage to follow her dreams despite the odds. Of course, she cannot attain her goals by herself. Hired as an apprentice, she works hard for a milliner who owns a small shop in an unfashionable part of London. Her hats challenge the norm, which is a daring path to take. With inventiveness and creativity, she is becoming a success.
All she aspires to achieve still remains just out of reach until the hero takes her to Royal Ascot. Even today, women attending the races wear hats with the most amazing designs. Dolly wears the most extreme hat imaginable, shocking some and delighting others.
Even though society has other ideas for my heroine because of her class and because she is female, she continues to design her wonderful hats to make a name for herself in the world of fashion.
Aren’t dreams meant to be outrageous?
S.R.
