The Little Gold Blob

As four lady peers this week for the first time in history took seats in the House of Lords, all eyes rested not on their faces but on their hats. The ladies had not been allowed to choose their own. Instead Sir George Bellew, Garter King of Arms, had chosen one of four designs shown him by the firm of Ede & Ravenscroft, Ltd., robemakers for the Kings of England since the coronation of James II in 1685. His selection: a tricorn lightweight black velour, ornamented on one side with a rosette of gold lace held in place with a small gold sequin button. Worn slightly tilted, it might have had a little style, but Sir George decreed that the hat must be worn "dead straight."

Even the London Times, that everlasting defender of conventional suitability, complained that the tricorn, when worn as Sir George wanted it, presents "a formidable challenge to all but the most piquant of faces." Sir George could not understand what the uproar was about, pointed with pride to "the little gold blob," adding: "Very feminine, that."

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