Or are they just bling?
I’ve often wondered that too, but it’s worth pointing out that the Pilgrims didn’t neccessarily wear hats like that. Some 18th or 19th century artist depicted them wearing what he thought old-fashioned clothes looked like. Halloween witches are sometimes shown with buckled hats for the same reason, and from there they evolved to become taller and pointier.
I’m fairly certain that the pilgrims were not concerned with “bling”.
I stand corrected.
In those cases, the question becomes:
“Are the buckles on “pilgrim”'s hats and shoes functional? Or are they just frippery?”
Better?
Anyway, are they functional?
WAG The buckles are to prevent the “big head.”
I don’t know about their hats beyond the fact that at Plimoth Plantation the re-enactors do not wear hats with buckles. Most traditional pictures of the Pilgrims do not accurately depict their clothing. The later Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans might have dressed more in what we consider to be Pilgrim clothing.
Google up Pilmoth Plantation for info.
Shoes DID buckle, however. Buckles are what fastened most shoes even through the American Revolution. Those who tied their shoes usually did so because they couldn’t afford buckles, which were made from brass, silver or gold. Stockings were often held up with leather garters that also buckled.
That raises another side question:
Were taller hats functional?
Do taller hats stay warmer, perhaps?
I guess there’d be more air as insulation, but at the same time there’d be more surface area releasing heat.
I think hat height has generally been more a matter of fashion than anything else. Certainly the much later “stovepipe” hat wasn’t designed for function. It was designed to make men look taller.
Again, though, with the Pilgrims, the hats were often not really as tall as often depicted in later illustrations. Men wore hats year-round. Warmth was certainly not an issue in the summer. A wide brim was, though, because it kept the sun out of one’s eyes while working in the fields.
More of an expert might show up soon, but I’m thinking knitted stocking-type hats would be worn in the winter.