Description:
Woman's navy blue and gold toque or turban with a gold-stamped a label reading: “BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT / TO / Redfern / HM THE QUEEN / COWES / LONDON / PARIS / 210 FIFTH AVENUE & 1132 BROADWAY.” The hat is made of blue ribbed heavy silk, accented with two rows of blue velvet near top of crown. The front has a slightly off-center large bow of another blue ribbed (gross grain) fabric lined with mustard/gold velvet; the ends of the bow are arranged to give height to the hat. The bottom of the brim is decorated with velvet embroidered with metallic thread (couched with blue thread) and accented with metal flashed glass beads in a floral outline. Inside, the hat is lined with cream silk, interlined with buckram. John Redfern (1819/20-1895) began his professional career in the 1840s as a draper in the English seaside town of Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. By the 1870s, when the town had blossomed into a seaside resort for Europe's wealthy and titled, John Redfern and Sons expanded into making custom women's clothing for newly established sports such as yachting, walking and travelling. These outfits, most commonly in the form of tailor-mades, or suits, were simple in design and ornamentation, and were made from practical fabrics like wool and jersey (a knit). The company grew rapidly, and opened up centers in London and Paris. By 1884, the New York branch (where this hat was made and purchased) had opened at Fifthe Avenue and Broadway, managed by one of Redfern's sons, Ernest Arthur Redfern (1856-1947). Redfrern's New York branch, which unlike many others by contemporary couturiers, probably created the orders for clients on site, using imported English and French materials and trimming, consisted of three floors. The House of Redfern had other North American locations by the end of the 19th century, including Newport, Rhode Island, Saratoga Springs, New York, and Chicago, Illinois. These locations allowed wealthy American women the convenience of wearing Redfern more frequently than European trips would otherwise allow. This hat was worn by Eleanor V. (Mahoney) Fitzgerald (d.1893) of New York, the grandmother of the donor Irving N. Esleeck, Jr. (1932-2006). She was the first wife of Surrogate Judge Frank T. Fitzgerald (1857-1907); at the time of her death, she was listed as living at 52 Beach Street in Manhattan. Other wealthy American women patronized Redfern's New York branch, including Mabel Choate of New York City and Stockbridge, Massachusetts (see data file). The hat is an important example of the patronage of haute couture by wealthy Americans, and would have been part of a matching ensemble from Redfern, probably a walking suit, which does not survive. The existence of the New York branch,and this labeled hat's survival, is also important for the value French and English high fashion placed on the American market. In 2013, the FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) Musem acquired a Redfern coat dating to the 1890s with a New York-Newport (RI) label.
Label Text:
John Redfern (1819/20-1895) rose to prominence in the 1870s making custom women's clothing in the English seaside town of Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. The company grew rapidly, and soon opened up centers in London and Paris. By 1884, a New York branch consisting of three floors opened at Fifth Avenue and Broadway, where creations for clients were probably made on site using imported English and French materials and trimming. The establishment of this and other American branches allowed wealthy women easier access to English and French fashion.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+94.004.16 |
