As a child I do not recall my Grandmother ever leaving her house without a head covering. There was a time when a woman felt her outfit was incomplete without a hat or head covering of some sort. In particular, African-American women of faith would not dare attend a house of worship without her head being covered.
Today, the hat has been usurped by hairstyles, be it grown or sewn. Contemporary women give serious consideration to the wearing of a hat as to not mangle their tendrils and potentially mess up their hair should they feel the need to remove it.
My portraits are the convergence of contemporary women, wearing hats that some might consider out of vogue. These are hats that some of our Grandmothers or Mothers would have worn in the past. They are all a part of a collection from the Reed estate, the Grandmother of a friend. Some of which were designed and handcrafted by prominent milliners from Harlem, New York.
Ed Satterwhite
Ed Satterwhite is a photographer based in New York, USA.
