Women’s hats were a 19th-century fashion must. By the late 1890s, however, they were reaching monumental heights and blocking the view at theaters. In 1897, Tacoma joined cities around the nation to ban big hats in places of public amusement.
Tacoma Proposes Theater Hat Ban
While men were expected to remove their hats inside buildings, women were not, making large women’s hats a problem. And many had finally had enough of feathers and flowers blocking their view. “The theater hat must come down,” the Tacoma Daily Ledger complained on January 25, 1897. “Man proposes to wear the breeches at least a little longer in this country.”
Across the country, cities began passing laws banning tall “high” hats in theaters and other places of public amusement. A bill on the issue was even introduced to the Washington State Legislature in early 1897 but failed to pass.
On September 30, 1897, Third Ward Councilman John M. Bell submitted an anti-hat bill at the all-male Tacoma City Council meeting. It was modeled after a San Francisco ordinance passed in March…