The Hat That Has Not Needed to Change in a Century

The cloche hat arrived in the early 1920s and defined women's headwear for a decade. The name is French for bell, and the shape earns it. A close-fitting, rounded crown sits snugly on the head with a narrow brim angled downward to frame the face. It was designed to work with the short bob haircuts of the era, and while hairstyles have changed considerably, the silhouette's ability to frame the face and create immediate visual presence has not.

The women's cloche hat collection at Novella Hats is focused on wool felt construction, which gives the cloche its characteristic smooth, structured finish. Wool felt holds its bell shape through regular wear, handles light moisture better than most hat fabrics, and takes colour beautifully. The collection runs from classic black, grey, and tan through to burgundy, mustard, red, baby pink, and green.

How Wool Felt Construction Makes the Cloche Work

Wool felt is created by matting and compressing wool fibres under heat and pressure rather than weaving or knitting them. The resulting fabric has no grain, which means it can be shaped into precise three-dimensional forms without the limitations of woven material. For a hat shape as specific as the cloche, this quality matters enormously. The bell curve of the crown and the downward brim angle require a material that holds shape permanently rather than stretching or sagging over time.

The felt used in this collection is mid-weight, giving the hat structure without making it heavy on the head across a full day. The smooth surface takes a clean finish and responds well to steam reshaping if the hat is compressed in transit or storage.

Nine Colours and an Adjustable Fit

One practical advantage of this collection is the combination of one-size construction with an adjustable inner band. The hat is shaped to fit a standard head circumference, and the internal band tightens or loosens to accommodate variation between wearers. This makes ordering more straightforward than sized hats and ensures a secure fit without the hat sitting too loosely, which would undermine the close-fitting character that defines the cloche.

Colour availability runs to nine options across the range. The darker tones, black, grey, and burgundy, suit autumn and winter pairing naturally. The warmer and lighter tones, mustard, tan, and baby pink, carry well into spring. Green sits usefully in the middle and works across a longer seasonal range depending on the depth of the specific shade.

Styling the Cloche Hat for Contemporary Outfits

The cloche hat is not a costume piece when worn correctly. The key is treating it as a structural element in an outfit rather than an accessory added on top. With a single-breasted wool coat in charcoal, a polo neck jumper, tailored straight-leg trousers, and leather ankle boots, a black or burgundy cloche hat completes a cold-weather outfit with a strong visual identity.

A mustard cloche with a camel coat, cream blouse, and tan or brown leather accessories creates a warm tonal palette that works particularly well in the transition between summer and autumn, when the wardrobe is shifting but the weather has not fully committed to being cold.

Related Styles in the Novella Hats Collection

If you are drawn to the cloche hat's vintage character and close-fitting silhouette, the women's beret collection offers a related aesthetic in a flatter, softer crown shape that suits many of the same outfit contexts. For a wider-brim vintage silhouette with a similar wool felt construction, the women's fedora hats collection carries styles that share the cloche hat's material quality.

The women's hats collection page gives a broader view of the full range for anyone who is still deciding between silhouettes.

What is a cloche hat and where does it come from?

A cloche hat is a close-fitting, bell-shaped hat with a narrow downward-angled brim. It was designed in France in the early 1920s and became the defining women's hat style of the decade, strongly associated with the flapper era and shorter hairstyles. The name comes from the French word for bell, which describes the crown's rounded shape. Today's cloche hats retain the same essential silhouette in updated materials and a wider colour range.

Does a cloche hat suit all face shapes?

The cloche hat is most naturally flattering on oval and longer face shapes, where its close fit and brow-level brim add width without elongating the face. For round faces, choosing a style with a slight decorative detail at the side helps balance the hat's rounded form. Worn at the correct position, low and level on the forehead, it suits a wider range of face shapes than the oval-only advice commonly given suggests.

How do you reshape a wool felt cloche hat?

Hold the hat over a steaming kettle for 30 to 60 seconds, focusing on the area that needs reshaping. While the felt is warm and slightly damp, reshape it gently by hand. For the crown, work your fingers inside to push the felt back into its bell shape. Allow it to dry completely in the reshaped position before wearing. Do not apply direct heat from a clothes iron to wool felt, as it will flatten the surface permanently.