This week Bridport Museum opened its latest exhibition ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat’. The exhibition of is to celebrate the town’s popular Hat Festival, which this year runs from 16th to the 18th September.
The Museum has borrowed of an amazing collection of hats from the 1940s and 1950s from avid collector Jay Ann Knox. Jay says: ‘I hope this will be an opportunity for people to fall in love with some of my collection and to reminisce about wearing these in war time. My collection ranges from the famous designers of the time – Lilly Daché, Howard Hodge, John Frederics (the duo who were responsible for creating the fabulous hats for ‘Gone with the Wind’) , to handmade hats lovingly created at the kitchen table to go with a ‘new’ outfit recycled from an old one – the true epitomy of make do and mend.
Jay will be at the Museum on the Friday and Sunday of the festival. She will be in costume of the period, talking about her hats, and perhaps even letting visitors try some on!
Museum Curator Emily Hicks said ‘this is an amazing collection which we are extremely lucky to have at the Museum. Each of the hats tells its own story and they have so much character. It’s not to be missed!’
The exhibition is to run from Sat 13th August to Tuesday 20th September. The museum is open from 10am-5pm, entrance is free.
For more information please call 01308 458703, email office@bridportmuseum.co.uk or visit the Hat Festival website www.bridporthatfest.org.
