Calash

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The calash style was designed in the late 18th century to allow women to wear a fashionable headdress without damaging their coiffure. Hairstyles during the late 18th century were growing increasingly large and elaborate, but bonnets were still required for protection and decency. The name "calash" is derived from "calèche," the hood of a "French carriage," because the material was ruched along a collapsible cane support structure, much like the hood of a carriage. Many calashes were treated to be water-proof. This later 1820s example shows how the style endured into the 19th century, probably because of its practicality and convenience for weather and travel, rather than its fashionability.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art