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What is... - L Verge - 03-10-2014 02:00 PM
Donna and other fashionistas here may be able to answer this: One of my volunteers at the Surratt House ran across the term (ca. 1845) "bonnet assassin." We figure that it would translate to "killer bonnet (or hat)" in today's slang. Any idea what it would have looked like? Have you ever seen the term in books?
RE: What is... - BettyO - 03-10-2014 09:26 PM
Bonnet Assassin? A book I found online states that the term originated in 1844 (birth year of another would be assassin....); is British and refers to a lace cap.
[attachment=473]
RE: What is... - L Verge - 03-11-2014 09:34 AM
No mention as to why a soft, lacy cap would be termed an "assassin" -- other than it was so pretty it knocked people dead?
RE: What is... - BettyO - 03-11-2014 11:53 AM
Could be, Laurie! I haven't been able to find anything else so far....maybe Donna would know....
RE: What is... - Donna McCreary - 03-12-2014 03:57 PM
Can you give me the quote regarding a bonnet assassin? If this is English, I have some books that may be helpful. It is not a term that I recall, but I have shelves of fashion books. Hopefully, I can find it in one of them.
RE: What is... - L Verge - 03-12-2014 04:03 PM
It comes from Alison Gernsheim’s book, Victorian and Edwardian Fashion. “In 1844, a lace cap from Paris called the bonnet assassin was said to live up to its name and ‘makes a tolerably pretty woman look very killing’…” Our Surratt Society president actually found that sentence in some previous writings and included it in her message for the April newsletter.
RE: What is... - RJNorton - 03-12-2014 04:21 PM
I found this description in the Hobart (Australia) Courier dated Tuesday, December 24, 1844:
![[Image: bonnetassassin.jpg]](http://rogerjnorton.com/bonnetassassin.jpg)
RE: What is... - L Verge - 03-12-2014 04:44 PM
Wow! Sounds charming, but I'm not sure that I would wear something named after a destructive fly. Next project, Roger, is to find out what that destruction entailed around 1800. I'm assuming it was the destruction of crops?
RE: What is... - Rogerm - 03-12-2014 05:54 PM
This is just speculation, but I wonder if it was echoes from the French Revolution of the 1790s.
RE: What is... - Eva Elisabeth - 03-12-2014 06:51 PM
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asilidae
RE: What is... - Donna McCreary - 03-13-2014 09:00 AM
(03-12-2014 04:21 PM)RJNorton Wrote: I found this description in the Hobart (Australia) Courier dated Tuesday, December 24, 1844:
A lace morning cap named after a fly - who would have thought. I suppose the wearer was covered with just enough lace to allow reflections of the morning sun to shine upon her face rendering her worthy of an artist brush strokes.
The cap sounds lovely. I may have to try my hand at making one.