Over the centuries, hat fashions have been subject to tremendous change, in both style and manufacturing techniques. During the Middle Ages, high, cone-shaped hennins with long veils were the fashion for women, whereas small and flat straw hats worn on top of magnificent wigs were very much en vogue during the seventeenth century. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, caps trimmed with lace and ribbons were popular for indoor use. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, women wore hats with large brims, richly decorated with flowers, ribbons, and even whole birds. Some decades later, in the early twentieth century, female hat fashion had changed to tight fitting shapes with small brims, or no brim at all. These hats were called cloches. Men's hat styles have ranged from hoods and bonnets in the Middle Ages, chimney-pot hats in the seventeenth century, tricorns in the eighteenth century, tophats and bowler hats in the nineteenth century, to straw boaters in the 1920s. Straw and felt were the preferred material. Initially, straw hats were exclusively worn by peasants but, in the seventeenth century, straw became popular for summer hats among members of the upper classes. These summer hats were made of fine and expensive Italian straw. Later, imitation straw was made of paper, cardboard, grass and horse-hair. Felt has been used for men's hats for centuries, being introduced for women's hats in the nineteenth century. Felt and straw women's hats were often embellished with costly textiles, as well as (artificial) flowers, beads, pearls, fur, butterflies and feathers. In fact, in the 1880s, feather-decorated hats were so popular in Europe and the United States that special legislation was needed to protect rare bird species. In the nineteenth century, it became common for women to buy basic felt or straw hats and trim these themselves. Often, these hats were redecorated year after year according to the changing fashions. All these styles and types of hats, and many others, are represented in this book. - Pages 5-6.