Birds (during the Victorian hat-wearing period)

  • 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.