Cloches

/klɒʃɪz/ noun

Definition

Plural of cloche; dome-shaped glass or plastic covers used in gardening to protect plants, or bell-shaped women's hats from the 1920s era.

Etymology

French plural of 'cloche' (bell), from Late Latin 'clocca.' The gardening sense developed as the bell shape naturally covered plants, while the fashion sense emerged in the Jazz Age when bell-shaped hats became popular.

Kelly Says

The cloche hat is basically why the 1920s 'Flapper' look exists—when women started wearing these tight, bell-shaped hats, they had to cut their hair short to fit them, which became a revolutionary symbol of female independence and modernism.

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