If you’re looking to throw some shade with a straw hat this summer, or perhaps take a leaf out of Halle Berry’s 2020 beach style playbook, it pays to take inspiration from some of our favourite movie muses through history, from Grace Kelly to Penélope Cruz.
The accessory of the season has a storied on-screen CV. A young Joan Crawford sported an elegant version in Possessed (1931), as a factory girl hoping to be romanced into a life of glamour by a high-flying lawyer (aka Clark Gable). The hat was, at least, a good start.
Fast forward to the 1950s and there’s Gloria Swanson, poolside on the set of Sunset Boulevard (1950), pulling off a timeless Hollywood film-noir look – extra-large blackout brim, leopard print everything else. On the flip side, Grace Kelly’s final collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock in To Catch A Thief (1955) makes a case for the understated-but-oversized rattan hat, paired with a black bodysuit and white skirt for a masterclass in monochrome.
The 1960s opened with the iconic Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), who inspired countless structured, black-with-a-ribbon copycat hats. Elsewhere, serial musical protagonist Julie Andrews took both the decorative mini-boater and the easy wide-brim hat to the big screen in Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965). While Jean Seberg conjured French Riviera chic in the 1965 thriller Moment to Moment with a straw trilby, accessorised with a white towelling dressing gown.
By the mid-1980s and early 1990s, the straw hat tuned in to a new mood of empowered elegance. Enter Meryl Streep’s tonal wardrobe in Out of Africa (1985); Julia Roberts’s polka-dot co-ord at the races in Pretty Woman (1990); Stacey Dash’s statement monochrome rose-embellished top hat in Clueless (1995); and Madonna’s latticed look, expertly angled, in Evita (1996).
As the 21st century dawned, Penélope Cruz took the sun hat to seductive new levels as the matador’s mistress in Manolete (2007); while Audrey Tatou reminded us of the true meaning of a classic, playing French fashion royalty in Coco Before Chanel (2009).
And, to give style credit where it’s due, a nod to the inventor of the straw hat selfie, Vincent van Gogh (Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887) – embodied by the legendary Kirk Douglas in Lust for Life (1956).
So, if you’re still unsure of your signature straw hat style, let these film icons be your decider.
Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly as Amy Kane in High Noon, 1952.
© Stanley Kramer/United Artists/Kobal/Shutterstock
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford as Louise Howell in Possessed, 1932.
© United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, 1964.
© Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron on the set of Gigi, 1958.
© Mgm/Kobal/Shutterstock
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas as Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life, 1956.
© Frank Scherschel
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961.
© Courtesy Everett Collection
Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews as Maria in The Sound of Music, 1965.
© Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Jean Seberg
Jean Seberg as Kay Stanton in Moment to Moment, 1965.
© Silver Screen Collection
Claudine Auger
Claudine Auger as Dominique “Domino” Derva in James Bond: Thunderball, 1965.
© AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep as Karen Bixen in Out of Africa, 1985.
© Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, 1939.
© Selznick/Mgm/Kobal/Shutterstock
Keira Knightly
Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean, The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003.
© Moviestore/Shutterstock
Madonna
Madonna as Evita Peron in Evita, 1997.
© Moviestore/Shutterstock
Audrey Tautou
Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel in Coco Before Chanel, 2009.
© Moviestore/Shutterstock
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau as Maria in Viva Maria!, 1965.
© Bettmann
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman, 1990.
© Snap/Shutterstock
Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly as Frances Stevens on the set of To Catch A Thief, 1955.
© Sunset Boulevard
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve as Alice in Je vous aime, 1980.
© United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
Stacey Dash
Stacey Dash as Dionne Davenport in Clueless, 1995.
© CBS Photo Archive
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson as Nora Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, 1950.
© Mondadori Portfolio
Penelope Cruz
Penelope Cruz as Lupe Sino in Manolete, 2007.
© Future Films/Kobal/Shutterstock
From British Vogue