A tip of the hat today to theHeadwear Institute of America, the...

A tip of the hat today to theHeadwear Institute of America, the trade association who, around 1982, staked their claim on January 15th as National Hat Day. The "holiday" was part of a campaign to combat a slump in hat sales that began in the 1960s. The Institute's director, Susan Bunnell, blamed the haberdasher's disaster on President John F. Kennedy, declaring that "he went hatless in the early u201860s and the industry fell apart".

We're doing our part to boost sales with this selection of beautiful bonnets, worn by members of the DuPont Employee Chorus on July 18, 1952 for the company's 150th Anniversary celebration.

This photograph is part of Hagley Library's collection of DuPont Company Product Information photographs (Accession 1972.341) view more material from this collection, click here to visit its page in our Digital Archive.