Exhibition Viewing

The exhibition is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, 12:00 to 5:00 pm.

Tickets (available in Museum Store): $5 General; $4 Students & Seniors; Members & Children under 12 Free.

Exhibition Tours

Mad for Hats! Tour and Tea
Fridays, March 4 - September 23; Tours at 12:15 pm. Tea at 1:30 pm at Tea Rose Garden, 28 S. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena 91105

Choose a Friday and treat yourself and your friends to a docent-led stroll through hat history from the 1860s to the 1960s. Then continue in the vintage spirit with an elegant afternoon tea at the nearby Tea Rose Garden, 28 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena 91105. 

Tickets: Tour: Museum Members $4; Non-Members $8. Reservations and prepayment required.  Tea: $25 payable at restaurant (20% of your restaurant bill will be donated to PMH). Please call 626.577.1660, ext. 15 and ask for the “Mad for Hats! Tour and Tea Package.” 

About the Exhibition

Through the ages, men, women, and children have adorned their heads for a variety of reasons.  At times, hats were purely utilitarian providing protection from the elements.  Over the years, hats evolved beyond their functional purpose to become an essential accessory that indicated the wearer’s economic standing, social status, or fashion savvy.

The popularity, size, and shape of hats has changed measurably over time.  In past decades, a respectable lady or gentleman would not have ventured outdoors without one.  The design of women’s hats has been influenced by hairstyles, haute couture, new materials, and even the popular use of the parasol.  The impact of men’s hat designs – such as the top hat and the fedora – has also been remarkable.

The exhibition Mad for Hats! explores women’s hats as social and fashion phenomena.  More than 100 hats and related photographs, selected from the Museum’s collections, showcase the various materials, styles, and shapes of ladies' hats from the 1860s to the 1960s.

About the Curators: 

Elizabeth A. Smalley, M.D. - Dr. Smalley is a physician and partner at Health Care Partners in Duarte.  She also serves on the Museum's Board of Trustees and is chair of the Museum's Collections Committee.

Suzanne Ehrmann - Ms. Ehrmann is the owner of Designs by Suzzanne jewelry.  She also volunteers for the Collections department at the Museum, where she works with the Costumes & Textiles Collection.   

Janet Kadin - Mrs. Kadin is a retired educator and long-time volunteer with the Museum, where she serves as Volunteer Council President and as a member of Collections Committee.  

About the Millinery Historian-in-Residence:

Barbara Troeller trained in professional millinery at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. She is a collector of vintage hats and textiles and has amassed a personal research library of over 500 vintage and rare out-of-print books on fashion, etiquette, historical costuming and millinery.

Community Wednesdays

Free Mad for Hats! admission every Wednesday to anyone who lives, works or is a student in any of the following local communities: Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Bradbury, Duarte, Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Glendale, Highland Park, La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena and Temple City.  Please mention this offer and show some form of i.d. in the Museum Store.

Exhibition-Related Programs

PMH is pleased to offer a variety of exhibition-related programming throughout the run of Mad for Hats! Please visit the Programs & Events page on this website for up-to-date information, or sign up to receive our monthly e-calendar.