I recently came across an advertisement from the early 1900s for “Storm Queen” waterproof veils. Investigation revealed it was a necessity for ladies of those days who were ‘automobilists’…
The advent of the motor car posed a problem for travellers in open-air cars. Early vehicles had no windscreens, doors nor a roof. The occupants were exposed to the elements. The heat of the sun on their heads, the wind rushing by (albeit early vehicles did not attain today’s speeds!), swirling dust in summer, insects on the wing and cooler winter weather meant that ‘automobilists’, as they were called in the day, needed protection. They sometimes wore goggles to protect the eyes, or spread a blanket or rug to keep knees and legs warm. But fashionable, Edwardian, wide-brimmed hats were out of the question. They would have been swept off m’lady’s head just as soon as the vehicle got underway. And it was often not worth interrupting the journey to stop and retrieve a damaged bonnet from the dusty road, a muddy drain or from the hedgerow, reduced to tatters.
Here was a dilemma… the hat was relied on to keep the hair-style intact. For practicality… and in the interest of fashion… it was therefore essential to retain the hat!
Wide hats were not suitable for early automobiles
Those ladies who wanted to show off in the family’s new car had to find a way so that both the expensive hair-do and their designer hats were not sacrificed.
The answer was a veil, or scarf, deployed to “anchor” the chapeau. Among the first pictures of this accoutrement is an image of Bertha Benz, wife of automobile maker Carl Benz. In 1888 she set out to prove the worth of her husband’s invention, and coincidentally, to visit her mother. She travelled 66 miles (106 kms) successfully publicising the ‘motorwagen’… and calling on her mother. She also showed off the “motor veil”.
Image of Bertha Benz, complete with motor veil –
Facebook, Benz
Progress with automobiles concentrated on motive power, transmission, suspension and reliability – enclosing the occupants, saving them from the elements followed a little later.
Which meant the motor veil continued as an accessory for women when out motoring in open cars.
In 1900 women truly “arrived on the motoring scene” in England when Vera Hedges Butler was the first women to pass the driving test and obtain a licence. She wore a veil.
A veiled Vera Hedges Butler driving her 1901 Renault
The veil soon took on many designs, came in many materials, there were unique contours and a myriad of colours. “Vogue”, and other women’s magazines, gave the veil notability… an acceptability… in its write-ups.
Many magazines followed: the veil was now worn world-wide. It became its own fashion statement… indeed the well-known makers of scarves and veils, Hydman and Lassner – whose address was none other than Fifth Avenue, New York – led the fashion houses. H and L imported textiles (such as tulle and chiffon), working them into designer-veils, two metres long and one metre wide. The company’s claim – “they are the standard of style and quality”.
“The Lady of the Blue Motor” also wore a facial net -G. Sidney Paternoster, 1907.
The one constant of the veil seems to have been the imperative that it must accommodate whichever hat mi ‘lady chose to wear for the outing.
A head for fashion! Full veils for this jaunt in the countryside – Automobiling 1910, Library of Congress
This aside, it was reported that some women ordered veils in colours to match or blend with the shade of the family car, some preferred simple bows as a tie, while others ordered extra length to wind around the neck, a kind of insect net!
Sometimes it seemed the veil would have to work miracles to protect both hat and hair-do, especially the swept-up Edwardian style adopted by those ladies out to be seen! In this respect some outfits seemed difficult to believe!
Some hairstyles seemed not to suit the rigours of motoring despite hat and veil – “Elise” c 1910, Coshocton, Ohio
But the company Autaro came up with a solution in 1905 which, not as stylish (indeed, unflattering), was said to take care of matters. It was certainly complete! And there was no need (nor room) for a hat!
The all-enveloping motor veil by Autaro –
Library of Congress
At the other end of the fashion spectrum, designers Hydeman and Lassner continued to set the trend on Fifth Avenue. They went all-out to assist m’lady who might be caught in a shower of rain while motoring. H and L imported a waterproof chiffon textile which, styled as a motor veil, sold as “Storm Queen”, which they said prevented the most expensive hat from not only being blown away, but being damaged by rain.
Hydeman and Lassner’s “The Storm Queen” …
“Guaranteed waterproof and available in 30 shades”
For those less worried about contours, “motor car smocks” were offered, the practicality of long, plain lines to keep the rain, dust and insects at bay. The keenest “automobilists” also wore goggles… the outfit topped by the veil, of course!
Now, don’t think the motor veil was only the domain of the big-city international fashion set. As a necessity of motoring, it was worn by early adopters of the horseless carriage in New Zealand.
A woman driving in Auckland, early 1900s with veil and rug –
Beattie, Auckland Libraries Collection
In 1904 in Timaru the “newest thing in veils, the “motor veil” was advertised for sale in Penrose’s store “…an individual, manufactured article, 54in. (1.3m) long, and 18in. (.4m) deep with real lace borders”.
Pauls of Wanganui offered a bargain in 1905 : “You usually pay from 3/6 to 6/6 for a Motor Veil to suit your taste. There is no occasion to pay that price now. We have a wide range of colours. Our Price, 1/11”
A family outing in Auckland… the windscreen offers little protection, so the veil remains a necessity – Kinnear, Auckland Libraries Collection
In Lyttelton, 1905, the Farmers Co-op Shop sold the “famous” imported Hurlingham Chiffon Motor Veil to automobilists while in Dunedin, in April 1905, Miss Duncan Cameron was noticed at a society luncheon wearing “…white silk trimmed with lace, and hat with pale pink finished with a motor veil and strings of pale pink chiffon”.
There are many advertisements in New Zealand newspapers for motor veils, (as well as ads in Lost and Found columns for veils lost while motoring!) all of which cease in 1921. The enclosed car was preferred.
Other Accessories
Just as the veil was important to women drivers and passengers alike, other accessories appeared as manufacturers in the early 1900s hoped to cash-in on the ever-growing number using automobiles. Mention’s already been made of long-coats, rugs, and goggles. But there were also creams to protect the complexion. The famous Ponds Company of New York, who marketed their well-known “Vanishing Cream”, pivoted towards motorists saying that their preparation was also ideal for combating the ill-effects of dangerous dust encounterd by motorists.
“Dust gets down into the pores and sets as a poison…” – Pond’s advertisement
Meanwhile, in 1908 the Texas Company was marketing another skin cream aimed at the motorist, Palmonoid, “… protection of the devastation of the skin by wind, water, dust and irritating rashes” .
And gloves. They are pictured worn by ‘automobilists’ in many styles and colours from elbow-length stiff leather gauntlets to tight-fitting soft kid gloves secured at the wrist. They, too, became a fashion item associated with the motor car.
Gloves… became part of motoring –
1910 Affinities, Massachusetts, Library of Congress
The need for this personal protection while out motoring gradually declined as windscreens became common and then the automobile was closed in, shutting out the cold, the wind, the rain and the dust. Veils, and other motoring accessories that had become fashion items in the early 1900s, were no longer required in the ‘20s.
The veils returned, though, in two major movies reminiscent of the times.
“Genevieve” was an adventure-comedy film made in 1953, stored for a time as a “no go” release, but once launched was most successful, the storyline based on the London-Brighton annual rally for vintage vehicles. The poster plainly shows the need for a veil! Hang on to your hat!
And again in 1968, in the family movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, Sally Anne Howes, as Truly, wore the veil so elegantly through the impossible antics encountered by the old car and its occupants.
Picture – United Artists
RCC
June 2026
Sources: Los Angeles Herald 1904
https://www.sewhistorically.com/
femmefashionforward
Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand
The Leasing Guys https://www.theleasingguys.co.uk/
