The Fedora is the Finest Hat Ever
There used to be a time when a man didn't leave his home without wearing a fancy hat. A nice tailored suit and immaculate head wear were staples of men's clothing during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Top Hat was the OG of the modern fancy hats. The iconic image of Abraham Lincoln can't be complete without him dawning his huge Top Hat. The elites of society wore their Top Hats proudly and showed them off to the whole world wherever they went. It may seem silly now, but the Top Hat was epitome of cool during its day. Unfortunately, it didn't stand the test of time, and very few people continue to wear Top Hats. Next came the Bowler hat. It didn't actually get its name because of its bowl shape, as many people think, but rather from the last name of the man who produced it. The Bowler hat was first conceived when gamekeepers and riders on horseback were clunking their heads on trees. They were really pissed off from hurting themselves all the time and they demanded that a hat be made that could protect them. In essence, the Bowler was the very first construction hat. But unlike the ugly orange hats that modern construction workers wear, the Bowler was sleek and stylish. It went great with a suit and the style took off during the mid 1800s. Unlike the Top Hat, the Bowler was worn by both the rich and middle class. The Top Hat was seen as way too pompous and over-the-top for middle class people and so they opted to wear the Bowler. Rich people eventually decided that the Top Hat wasn't cool anymore and they decided to go with the Bowler. The Bowler had a great run as the most popular hat in Britain and America. It had competitors, but for a long time, the Bowler reigned supreme. One of the Bowlers competitors was the Homburg Hat. This fine hat was created in Germany. It became very popular when Prince Edward the 7th went to Germany and decided that he must have one of these gorgeous hats for himself. But even as popular as the Homburg Hat got during the late 1800s, it still couldn't dethrone the Bowler. The Bowler was still the epitomizing symbol of the British and American middle class.
Around this time a little known theatrical play was produced in France. The play itself isn't really significant, but it did create one of the most well known pieces of clothing in the history of the world. The lead female character, who's name is the title of the play, wore a remarkable hat that had a pinched crown, ribbon band, and a wide brim. Nobody remembers the play - I assume it was very dull and boring with horrible acting. But everybody remembers the hat! This hat eventually became so popular that it was named after her! Her name was... Fedora!
The Fedora came onto the scene in the late 1800s, but it wasn't initially as popular as the Bowler or Homburg. Fedora bided her time going into the early 1900s. Soon people realized that the Fedora was not only better looking than the Bowler and Homburg, it was also more comfortable to wear. A real Fedora is made of soft felt, which contrasts with the hard felt that Bowlers and Homburgs are made of. It was the iconic gangsters of the 1920s who showed the mainstream audience how cool Fedoras could be. When Al Capone strolled around in his impeccable suit and his absolutely stunning Fedora, he was the epitome of a badass. The Fedora was a fancy hat, and it definitely added even more class to a well-made outfit, but the great thing about a Fedora was that it wasn't too fancy. It added just enough pizzazz to give the outfit a little bit more flair. Ironically the Bowler and Homburg Hat replaced the Top Hat because the masses were sick of the over-the-top pompous Top Hat, but now they were about to get replaced themselves. The Bowler and Homburg Hat were now seen as too fancy and most people opted to go with the Fedora (with the exception of Winston Churchill who always proudly wore Homburgs and Bowlers until the day he croaked)!
During the very early 1900s, the Bowler was the hat of the actor. Charlie Chaplain, Laurel and Hardy, along with many others made the Bowler one of their signature staples. But things were quickly about to change. The Fedora was going to become the new hat of the actor. Charlie Chaplain had his Bowler, but Humphrey Boggart had his Fedora. It's kind of funny how things sometimes run parallel to each other. Charlie Chaplain was the original superstar actor, but he and his Bowler were replaced by Humphrey Boggart and his fabulous Fedora (with its special trademark crease). From the 1920s-1950s, almost every man owned at least one Fedora. They were selling like hotcakes!
In the 1960s, the popularity of the Fedora went down a little bit. President John F. Kennedy didn't really like wearing hats, and because he was seen as a cool president, the general public wanted to emulate his style. Also, because more and more people had cars and could travel to their destinations quicker without having to go out into the environment, the Fedora sort of became unnecessary. People started to dress less and less formally in the 1960s and the Fedora was the victim of a changing fashion sense. :(
However, the Fedora made a resurgence during the early 2000s. But unfortunately this wasn't actually a good thing. The people who were wearing Fedoras bought them very cheaply at Walmart for $10 and they looked absolutely hideous. A true Fedora is supposed to be made with fur felt, wool felt or, at the bare minimum, a nice straw Fedora will suffice. The idiots during the early 2000s weren't getting Fedoras made of quality material. They were buying ones made from fragile cotton that didn't cost very much money. They were very ugly to say the least! But the worst part of it all was that these people with no fashion sense weren't wearing the Fedora with the correct ensemble. They were wearing these cheep fedoras with cargo shorts/jeans and tacky pokemon, video game or anime t-shirts. And the real kicker is that these people weren't wearing true wide-brim fedoras. They opted to wear the short brim Trilby instead. A Trilby is basically a Fedora with a very short brim. A Trilby, with a few notable exceptions, looks very bad on men. Because men have wide shoulders, we need a wide brim hat to compliment our bodies. The Trilby just doesn't look right on men, but many people during this time were stupidly wearing them. But to add even more insult to injury was the fact that a lot of these cretins were overweight slobs. The coolness of the Fedora was drained right out of it.
I have made it my mission to bring back the awesomeness of the Fedora. I have a motto: Make The Fedora Great Again! I own a bunch of true Fedoras. My Fedoras are made from fur felt, with fancy bands and slick feathers, with a nice wide brim. I wear my Fedoras with a suit, as is the proper way. I'm going to show the world why the Fedora was (and still is) the king of hats!
Side note: I still like to wear Bowlers and Homburgs when I'm imitating Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill or when I'm doing an impression of a British snob! :)
Around this time a little known theatrical play was produced in France. The play itself isn't really significant, but it did create one of the most well known pieces of clothing in the history of the world. The lead female character, who's name is the title of the play, wore a remarkable hat that had a pinched crown, ribbon band, and a wide brim. Nobody remembers the play - I assume it was very dull and boring with horrible acting. But everybody remembers the hat! This hat eventually became so popular that it was named after her! Her name was... Fedora!
The Fedora came onto the scene in the late 1800s, but it wasn't initially as popular as the Bowler or Homburg. Fedora bided her time going into the early 1900s. Soon people realized that the Fedora was not only better looking than the Bowler and Homburg, it was also more comfortable to wear. A real Fedora is made of soft felt, which contrasts with the hard felt that Bowlers and Homburgs are made of. It was the iconic gangsters of the 1920s who showed the mainstream audience how cool Fedoras could be. When Al Capone strolled around in his impeccable suit and his absolutely stunning Fedora, he was the epitome of a badass. The Fedora was a fancy hat, and it definitely added even more class to a well-made outfit, but the great thing about a Fedora was that it wasn't too fancy. It added just enough pizzazz to give the outfit a little bit more flair. Ironically the Bowler and Homburg Hat replaced the Top Hat because the masses were sick of the over-the-top pompous Top Hat, but now they were about to get replaced themselves. The Bowler and Homburg Hat were now seen as too fancy and most people opted to go with the Fedora (with the exception of Winston Churchill who always proudly wore Homburgs and Bowlers until the day he croaked)!
During the very early 1900s, the Bowler was the hat of the actor. Charlie Chaplain, Laurel and Hardy, along with many others made the Bowler one of their signature staples. But things were quickly about to change. The Fedora was going to become the new hat of the actor. Charlie Chaplain had his Bowler, but Humphrey Boggart had his Fedora. It's kind of funny how things sometimes run parallel to each other. Charlie Chaplain was the original superstar actor, but he and his Bowler were replaced by Humphrey Boggart and his fabulous Fedora (with its special trademark crease). From the 1920s-1950s, almost every man owned at least one Fedora. They were selling like hotcakes!
In the 1960s, the popularity of the Fedora went down a little bit. President John F. Kennedy didn't really like wearing hats, and because he was seen as a cool president, the general public wanted to emulate his style. Also, because more and more people had cars and could travel to their destinations quicker without having to go out into the environment, the Fedora sort of became unnecessary. People started to dress less and less formally in the 1960s and the Fedora was the victim of a changing fashion sense. :(
However, the Fedora made a resurgence during the early 2000s. But unfortunately this wasn't actually a good thing. The people who were wearing Fedoras bought them very cheaply at Walmart for $10 and they looked absolutely hideous. A true Fedora is supposed to be made with fur felt, wool felt or, at the bare minimum, a nice straw Fedora will suffice. The idiots during the early 2000s weren't getting Fedoras made of quality material. They were buying ones made from fragile cotton that didn't cost very much money. They were very ugly to say the least! But the worst part of it all was that these people with no fashion sense weren't wearing the Fedora with the correct ensemble. They were wearing these cheep fedoras with cargo shorts/jeans and tacky pokemon, video game or anime t-shirts. And the real kicker is that these people weren't wearing true wide-brim fedoras. They opted to wear the short brim Trilby instead. A Trilby is basically a Fedora with a very short brim. A Trilby, with a few notable exceptions, looks very bad on men. Because men have wide shoulders, we need a wide brim hat to compliment our bodies. The Trilby just doesn't look right on men, but many people during this time were stupidly wearing them. But to add even more insult to injury was the fact that a lot of these cretins were overweight slobs. The coolness of the Fedora was drained right out of it.
I have made it my mission to bring back the awesomeness of the Fedora. I have a motto: Make The Fedora Great Again! I own a bunch of true Fedoras. My Fedoras are made from fur felt, with fancy bands and slick feathers, with a nice wide brim. I wear my Fedoras with a suit, as is the proper way. I'm going to show the world why the Fedora was (and still is) the king of hats!
Side note: I still like to wear Bowlers and Homburgs when I'm imitating Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill or when I'm doing an impression of a British snob! :)
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