Find out the different types of hats for women that vary in size, shape, style, feature, and purpose. These fashionable headgears have been worn by women since ancient times.
If you take a look at the amazingly fascinating history of hats, you’ll learn that they began as a way to protect the head and face from harsh weather conditions and, well, the scorching sun. Over the centuries, hats have become a symbol, a fashion statement and sometimes, a requirement.
Different Types of Hats Illustration
However, with numerous developments and advancements in time, hats transformed into something more. It was almost as if they gained a character, an identity. In time, hats became quite a status and fashion symbol and now they’ve become the ultimate, classic way to add a touch of style and glamour to any outfit.
Types of Hats for Men
Now, it has become a fantastic addition to any man’s wardrobe and is even in a huge number of styles and varieties. Take a look at some of the most popular types of hats for men and learn about how each of these hats has such an interesting history and story.
The chupalla is a traditional hat in Chile that is still widely worn. It’s made of straw with a short, flat crown and a wide brim. This hat is worn traditionally during folk dances and rodeos in Chile.
The conical hat has a great many names. It was called a Phrygian cap by ancient Greeks. It’s commonly known today as a wizard’s hat or a pointed hat. But in all widths and heights, the conical hat is a basic design that has been seen again and again throughout the history of fashion.
History
Tall, pointed caps date to ancient history. This was a fashion staple back in the Bronze Age and was worn as early as 1200 B.C.E., according to Ancient Origins.
Style
Conical hats are pointed at the top. In classic designs, these hats are very skinny and very tall. But in modern Asian culture, conical hats are broader and shorter. That’s because the conical hat has a practical use. When taken off and flipped upside-down, the hat can be used to carry things, even liquid.
Wide, short conical hats known as Non La are very popular in Vietnamese culture and they are seen throughout the country.
Variations
-The conical cap is a variation of the Phrygian cap, which was worn as early as 800 B.C.E. in Turkey. The Phrygian cap was not stiff like the conical hat. Rather, the tip of the hat curled downward.
-You may recognize a conical hat best as a dunce cap. Legend has it that the dunce cap is named for John Duns Scotus, who was born near the end o the 1200s. He had a fondness for pointy hats and he was a great thinker who devised intricate and complicated theories in the fields of metaphysics and philosophy. His medieval theories seemed outdated, even stupid, when the Reinassance began in the 1400s. This led to followers of Scotus to be known as dunces, according to Atlas Obscura.
-The classic pointed paper party hat is a variation of the conical hat. It’s just a smaller and shorter version of the tall, pointed conical hats that inspired this more modern design.
-The jaapi is the Indian version of the conical hat. It is very wide and usually highly embellished with patterns and intricate designs. The Indian jaapi, or japi, is made from woven bamboo or cane and palm leaves. It was worn by Indian royalty and nobility historically.
The cowboy hat stands out for unique features, like the pinched crown and the curved, round brim. It has a tall crown and wide brim.
10 Gallon Hat
According to popular myth, a cowboy hat is also known as a 10-gallon hat because when flipped over and filled up, it could hold 10 gallons of water. This is, of course, ridiculous. Even very large cowboy hats couldn’t hold anything close to that much water. Also, filling your hat with water is just going to cause damage and likey misshape your hat.
The name probably comes from the Spanish word “galons,” which were braided hatbands. A 10-galon sombrero was tall enough to hold 10 hatbands. American cowboys heard the term and changed it to 10-gallon hat, according to History.
History
The first-ever cowboy hat was invented back in the 1860s during the period of the American Civil war by a famous hat manufacturer from Philadelphia called John B. Stetson. He made the hat by using the fur of several small animals, like beaver and rabbit.
It surprisingly proved to be quite a sturdy, durable hat and so it became extremely popular among the working westerners. It was initially called the “Boss of the Plains,” after which it underwent a series of modifications and alterations. This was the name of the style given to the hat created by John Stetson in 1865, according to the National Cowboy Museum. The hat had a round, flat brim and a smooth, somewhat rounded crown. Stetson’s hat was made from animal pelts. The boss of the plains hat caught on, eventually becoming known as the cowboy hat.
Variations
-The gambler hat is often seen as a variation of the cowboy hat. This hat has a wide brim that is turned up at the edges. The style is most distinct for the crown, which has an oval shape. Usually, the crown has a pinch at the center. Often, gambler hats are embellished with hat bands, feathers and other ornaments.
-The outback hat, or Aussie hat, is another variation of the cowboy hat. This is a wide-brimmed hat that is usually turned up on the sides to create a distinct profile. Usually, the crown has a distinct triangular shape that is known as a teardrop or a C crown.
-The Akubra hat is considered to be the essential Australian hat. It is made from rabbit fur in traditional designs, which originate from the Outback. Akubra hats have been worn by the Australian military as a standard part of the uniform since WWI. This is a classic “Aussie” hat style. Akubra is a brand name that has been producing the hats since 1874, according to Australian Country Magazine.
-The sombrero is the grandfather of the cowboy hat. Made with a high, rounded crown and a wide, upturned brim, the sombrero is made of felt or straw and dates to the 1400s. The word sombrero comes from the Spanish word “sombra,” which means shade.
The deerstalker cap is perhaps most famous as being the type of hat worn by none other than Sherlock Holmes.
History
This style became especially popular in the late 1800s, when men’s sporting attire became fashionable. No well-dressed man in the late 1800s would be without a deerstalker cap in his wardrobe, according to the Encyclopedia of Fashion.
When you think of the most classic types of hats for men, the fedora hat is probably the first name that comes to mind. Undeniably, these iconic hats have successfully battled against the test of time and have evolved from being gangster hats in the 1920s to being one of the most polarizing men’s accessories all the way into the modern times.
