Life — April 6, 1916 — page 39: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This illustration depicts a woman wearing an extraordinarily elaborate Easter bonnet—a towering, oversized hat decorated with numerous birds and ornate trimmings. The satire targets the excessive fashion of early 20th-century women's hats, which were notoriously large and lavishly adorned, often featuring real bird feathers and taxidermied specimens. By labeling it "Jamaican," the cartoon likely references exotic or tropical fashion influences popular among wealthy Americans. The exaggeration—with birds seemingly perched all over the massive construction—mocks the absurdity of contemporary hat fashion, particularly how women competed to wear the most ostentatious bonnets during Easter, a major social occasion for displaying fashionable dress. The humor lies in visualizing the ridiculous proportions these hats had actually reached.