Birds (during the Victorian hat-wearing period)

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  • Bird jewlery

    Birds were also found in jewelry in the form of earrings and necklaces, in order to make profit.

  • Royal families popularized this fashion

    Empress Eugenie of France & the Princess of Wales popularized bird fashion.

  • the height of the feather trade

    Feathers, wings, and entire birds adorned the hats of fashionable women.

  • Children's book created

    Karyn Lasky created a children’s book titled, "She’s Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head," in order to raise awareness.

  • Bird conservation & women's suffrage

    Many women believed fashion was killing birds as well as killing women’s chances to have the right to vote.

  • 900 women boycott bird hats

    Two women, Harriet Hemmingway and Minna Hall, convinced 900 women to boycott feathered hats and advocate for bird protection.

  • Rapidly depleting bird populations

    This prompted a bird conservation movement.

  • Bird conservation legislation passed (1/2)

    An act was passed protecting herons and bitterns, two species commonly used by hatmakers and faced with endangerment.

  • Bird conservation legislation passed (2/2)

    Bird protection expanded to include shore, marsh, and beach birds.

  • Cannot hunt birds during mating season

  • Importation of feathers for bird hats ends

    A law was passed that stopped the use of feathers imported from Europe and the tropics for making hats.

  • First bird sanctuary created

    Birdcraft Sanctuary in Fairfield Connecticut, the first private bird sanctuary.