Ronde hoedendoos van karton, bekleed met papier bedrukt met pied de poule-motief in grijs op geel c. 1950 - 1958

Curator: This is a hat box, dating from around 1950 to 1958, crafted by Elysee Modes. The core material is cardboard, overlaid with paper printed in a charming grey and yellow pied-de-poule pattern. What's your initial reaction? Editor: Well, first it brings a sense of calm with its subdued palette, but it also whispers of elegance, and forgotten glamour, doesn't it? It's got that mid-century, Mad Men kind of feel. I want to imagine the extravagant hat it once held! Curator: Exactly. The printed paper interests me because it suggests how printed design elements allowed manufacturers to use cheaper cardboard to produce packaging with visual interest. I see the box itself, like the hats it might've protected, as the product of complex intersections between textile patterns, the industrial printing trade, and the ready-to-wear culture. Editor: Oh, absolutely. There is something intensely tactile, even human about that dogtooth check. I can see some craftsperson meticulously selecting just the right ribbon to finish the piece! To me, it feels like a physical manifestation of an era, and its optimism, especially after wartime austerity. Curator: Certainly. And don’t forget the economies involved. The design maximizes the efficient use of cheap paper and relatively unskilled labor. This brings high fashion hats to a broader consumer base. What looks simple represents some of the contradictions of modern consumerism. Editor: Absolutely. Still, looking at it now, decades later, the whole design makes me nostalgic. The humble material—the cardboard, the paper—lends a kind of poignant fragility. Does it have a certain poetry? Curator: It’s certainly a document of its time, wouldn’t you agree? A well preserved example of how everyday objects acquired a distinctive kind of modernism during those post-war decades. Editor: Indeed, I leave this hatbox filled with thoughts about vanished styles. I feel the echo of some perfectly dressed lady stepping out to tea, doesn't it feel charming?