Hat

A man's straw hat was worn with festive costumes in summer in the vicinity of Puławy, the so-called costume from the Powiśle Lubelskie region. Its maker and exact origin are unknown. It belongs to one of the first exhibits of the National Museum in Lublin. Its good condition and the time of discontinuing the wearing of folk costumes in Powiśle make it possible to date it to the first half of the 20th century. It has a relatively large brim, 10 cm wide, oval and flat bottom, 17 cm in diameter and 8 cm high. It is made of rye straw using the braid technique, i.e., narrow braids with serrated edges were woven beforehand and sewn together with grey thread. The farmers produced this type of hat, and sometimes the more skilled ones made them to order for neighbours. For decoration purposes, the bottom of the hat is surrounded by a 5 cm wide black silk ribbon which is fastened in a bow on the side. This modest decoration may suggest that a mature man wore the hat because bachelors also decorated their headgear with artificial or live flowers, peacock feathers or pins. Straw hats without decorations were gladly worn daily, as they provided good protection from the sun during work, were airy and were made from widely available material. Today, the hat could be described as ecological.