Eric B. asked about illustrations of the headgear worn by the Swiss Seagulls in a picture posted recently. While I don’t have a clear picture of the headbands worn by those girls in 1931, I do have these line drawings from the Seagull lessons of the 1920s.
First is this pattern for the shape of the seagull itself, which could be used for any Seagull girls’ purpose, facing either direction. This appeared in 1923:
.
.
In 1926, the seagull was perched on these cloche-style hats:
.
.
Fashions — in hairstyles as well as hats — had changed somewhat by 1928, so the hat changed while the class emblem remained the same:
.
.
That hat style passed completely out of fashion soon enough, so the seagull took perch on a simple headband, as in the picture of the Swiss girls.
The Seagull emblem was, I believe, generally drawn on paper, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some enterprising girls somewhere experimented with felt or other materials.
Class headgear for girls vanished in the 1930s. The bandlo took its place – something easier to wear, and that could exhibit a girl’s individual achievements more than simple membership in a group.
I’m surprised by the fashion update after only two years. The church is bigger now, so I guess it makes sense that they can’t update everything all the time just for fashion — but I definitely remember some church videos that stayed in use much longer than the fashions in them.
Both pictures look like they wouldn’t be out of place in a Jeeves and Wooster story.
The second picture is much more closely identical to the first than I would have expected, especially for the pre-digital age. Almost every line is the same. I wonder if the artist had a stock background and left shoulder, then pasted in the head and right shoulder.
I feel honored to have inspired a post! Thank you for this additional information.