While
today a man in a hat is a rare thing, there was once a time when no respectable
person would venture out of doors without one.
A man’s hat said a lot about him.
Different styles were worn by different classes of people. Some styles were worn only for certain
occasions or seasons. Here is a
handy-dandy visual guide based on our photograph collection.
Bower
or Derby Hat
Man
with bowler hat, ca. 1880s
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The
bowler hat, also known as a derby, is a hard felt-covered hat with a rounded
crown. It was originally designed by the
London haberdashers Thomas and William Bowler for Lord Edward Coke in
1849. He wanted a durable work hat for
his gamekeepers which could stay on through rough riding and not lose it shape in
the face of tree branches.
The
hat quickly became the preferred hat of the working class on both sides of the
Atlantic. In America, it was worn by
rural and urban laborers alike, everyone from cowboys to cops. By the late-1800s, it had also become an
informal hat worn by middle class types as well.
Homburg
Man
with homburg, 1880s
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The
homburg is a formal felt hat characterized by a single dent running down the
center of the crown and a stiff brim with curled up edges. During the 1800s it was worn by middle and
upper class professional types for everyday wear and by working-class men on
formal occasions. It has since fallen out of style.
Fedora
Man
with fedora, ca. 1930s
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The
fedora began as the women’s equivalent of the homburg. In fact, it closely resembles the homburg but
is pinched on either side of the center dent.
During the 1890s and early-1900s, it was, along with the shirtwaist,
part of the uniform of the new professional woman. In the 1910s and ‘20s, men began to wear them
too and, by the 1940s, the fedora had replaced the homburg as the preferred hat
for professional men.
Top
Hat
Knights
of Columbus in top hats, ca. 1920s
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The
top hat is a tall, flat-crowned hat with broad brim. It first appeared in the 1790s among the
gentlemen and dandies of Europe but, within 20 years, became popular with all
classes of men. The top hat peaked in
popularity in the 1850s. By the
late-1800s it had, once again, become a style associated with wealthy urban
elites and formal occasions.
Pork
Pie Hat
Like
the fedora, the pork pie hat was originally worn by women. The pork pie hat is a small, round hat with a
narrow brim and a low crown with a crease running around the inside top edge. Apparently it resembles a pork pie (hence the
name), but not one that I’ve ever seen.
It first appeared on the scene in the 1830s and was a popular ladies’
hat on both sides of the Atlantic through the 1860s.
Around
1900, it came back in England as a men’s hat, but didn’t catch on in the United
States until the 1920s when actor Buster Keaton made it the hat for the cool young man-about-town. The style had its heyday in the 1930s and
40s, especially among artists, jazz musicians and the urban youth. Even today it remains popular among
African-Americans, jazz aficionados and hipsters.
Newsboy
Cap
American LaFrance workers and their hats, ca. 1920s |
Despite
the name, the newsboy cap was popular with males of all ages. The cap has a full, rounded body and a stiff
brim in front. The style was made famous
by the newsboys of New York City during the late-1800s, but it was actually
worn by laborers of all ages. By the
1920s, it had supplanted the bowler as the
hat for the working class man. It
was also popular among wealthier types for outdoor sporting activities like
hunting, driving or golf.
Boater
Man
with boater, ca. 1890s
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Now
for the test. Can you name all the hats
in this picture?
Men
in hats, ca. 1900s
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