Wouldn’t you like to know how these happy ladies constructed their hats? Did they make them at home or did the host bring supplies? Was it a contest? If so, surely the woman with the many layered confection topped by a propeller won the prize.
I discovered this wonderful document of housewife high jinks on the new-to-me website Rare Historical Photographs. A number of unnamed and undated photos document the history of Tupperware. Although invented in the early 1940s, Tupperware only took off when the female partner of the dour inventor began selling the products through home parties a decade later. This photo makes it look fun, although not everyone is smiling.
Looking more closely at the clothing we can see that separates were considered dressy enough for an evening out with other women. A few wear shirtwaists, the go-to fifties style, but many are more formally dressed. Absolutely everyone wears a hat, perhaps a requirement for this event. Only one in the back row second from the left apparently decided to leave off the decorations, unless that is a modest Tupperware design sticking up in the back.
I love the hostess’s top, with what looks like a little notch cut out at the centre of the bottom back. Also, that print!