Although a hat may be designed for the purpose of practicality or aesthetics, it is part of a complex interplay of wider cultural meanings. Throughout history hats have played a significant role in expressing and revealing notions of class, gender, authority, fashion and etiquette. By examining the consumption and production of hats from the 18th century to the present day, this book explores their significance as markers of social and cultural change. Taking a thematic approach, Clair Hughes charts how headgear during the modern era has been shaped by status, gender and necessity. Using case studies such as the bowler hat, which has moved up and down classes and professions, Hughes reveals that although a hat might seem bound to its status and context, it is as susceptible to subversion and reinvention as the society which creates it. From the transition of pilots' helmets from practical headgear to fashion items, to the Slouch hat and the baseball cap, hats have responded to cultural or political movements, often becoming conscious displays of identity and social allegiance. Drawing from material and historical research as well as depictions in art, literature and film, Hughes provides a fascinating insight into hats as a visible performance of social values and culture.

Too much of a good thing gets Penelope Pratt in a pickle! Miss Penelope Pratt had simply too many hats! That is, of course, because Penelope just LOVED the feeling she had when surrounded by all of her colorful, fun, frilly - if not silly - funky hats. So much so, that she continued to design more and more of these incredible masterpieces. As her hat collection grew, and grew, and grew and grew, Penelope found herself a prisoner of her own creations. What's a girl to do when smothered by a mountain of hats? What happens when you have too much of a good thing? Well... Attached as she was to her whimsical hats, Penelope came up with the same solution any wacky, giddy, dizzy, zany, brainy girl would when deciding which one to wear - she scooped them up and wore ALL her hats at once! That's a lot easier said than done! Imagine what happens when Miss Penelope Pratt "goes public" with her wild assortment of hilariously handsome hats! Find out how she solves her developing dilemma with dogged drive and dynamic determination.

Penelope’s Secret... Friend is a story based on one of many bed time stories that I told my two boys when they were young. It is a story of a young Princess who finds an injured dragon and makes friends with it, nursing it back to health. She tries to keep the dragon a secret from the rest of the kingdom to protect it, but soon everyone knows, and the dragon becomes an accepted, enchanting pet that is helpful and a little mischievous.

Penelope Hamilton is a young American lady, who travels abroad to Europe with two of her friends, Francesca and Salemina. Salemina is a classy woman, sophisticated and open to world, while Francesca is inflexibly, almost aggressively American. Together these ladies discover the British Isles, experiencing differences of England, Scotland and Ireland, and going through few adventures of their own, including romances, affairs and a marriage. For the final adventure, they cross to the main land and find their selves in the hills of Switzerland and in the sunny Venice. Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923) was an American educator and author of children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). With her sister during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labor. Table of Contents: Penelope's English Experiences Penelope's Experiences in Scotland Penelope's Irish Experiences Penelope's Postscripts

When Penelope O’Shaunessy, “an incoming freshman of average height and lank hair” steps into Harvard Yard for the first time she has lots of advice from her mother: "Don't be too enthusiastic, don't talk to people who seem to be getting annoyed, and for heaven's sake, stop playing Tetris on your phone at parties." Penelope needs this advice. She is the kind of girl who passes through much of her life with coffee spilled on her white shirt, who can't quite tell when people are joking, and who, inevitably, always says the wrong thing. But no amount of coaching will prepare Penelope for the people she meets at school. Gloriously skewering the social hierarchy of college, Penelope is the brilliantly funny story of one of the most singular, memorable heroines in recent fiction.