Above & below: Golf attire, 1918 & 1919.
July/August • 2021 • GASPARILLA MAGAZINE A
During the morning hours, men
preferred wearing jackets with a slightly
curved tailcoat from their front. Paired
with striped trousers, these coats were
lightweight and casual. Men of this time
changed their clothes multiple times
during the day. The darker-colored, more
heavily embellished evening suits were
unmistakably more costly and more
distinguished. Buttoned shirts were
readily available in pastel shades and
the most common design was horizontal
stripes. Detachable club/polo collars
were typical as it was easy to remove
them and clean separately from the dress
shirt. Fashion was dictated by formal
conventions for men and women alike.
The Windsor necktie knot was created
in the decade from 1920 to 1929.
Another popular trend of this time period
was the bow tie. By far and large the
biggest trend of this time was hat wear.
Men and women wore straw boater hats
during sun fi lled days spent on and off
of Gasparilla Island. In the cooler months
of Southwest Florida straw hats were
replaced by fedora hats.
There were many styles of hats for every
imaginable occasion and long time Boca
Grande resident Star Whitney attests,
“ There is an amusing albeit true story
about my mother Eleanor Ames. While
grand marshaling a parade here in Boca
Grande she wore three distinctly different
hats all at the same time.” Eleanor was as
famous for her love of hats as she was for
her famed collection of them.
The years 1940 to 1949 saw the mid
20th century come under the backdrop
of the war. Every form of extravagance
and fl ashiness was abandoned at this
time. It was considered distasteful to be
spotted wearing expensive attire, as it
was indicative of smiting the patriotism.
Ferry boat operators, fi shing boat
captains, service workers, bell hops
and more were seen wearing uniforms
on Gasparilla Island. The fi rst offi cial
Young Louise
Crowninshield
circa 1896.
The Crowninshield wedding, 1900.