Her Hat Will Not Down: Sumptuary Laws and Consumer Rights in 1890s Chicago

This presentation examines a sumptuary law passed in Chicago to regulate the size of ladies’ theater hats and a near-riot that erupted over it. It reveals how civic authorities sought to protect the rights of ticketholders by constraining the conspicuous consumption of women. The paper offers insight into early notions of consumer rights and the remaking of gender codes amid capitalist transformation.