ABSTRACT
This article is a social and historical narrative of the hats and the hat makers in Brazil in the 19th century and presents aspects of the production, the use and the social representations connect to clothing and fashion. It talks about the labor world and the hat market world in a set of social transformations in the urban context of Rio de Janeiro. On one hand, a network of importers, auctioneers, milliners and hat makers provided distinctive models for consumption; on the other hand, workers and employees were responsible for conflicts due to the conditions which were imposed to this labor force, which included slaves and free wage workers. As a part of this scene, the article shows the existing connections between the cities of Braga and Rio de Janeiro through the lives of Portuguese immigrant hat makers who were the protagonists of the raising of an important hat factory in the central region of Rio de Janeiro and in Mangueira region in the republican period.
hats; representations; Rio de Janeiro
