Cowboy Hats and More

While most people think cowboys originated in the United States, in truth, cowboys originated elsewhere but were popularized in America.  Cowboys are of Spanish descent, and the first cowboys were herders and rangers who rode across the rolling plains of Spain with their trusty horses and cowboy felt hats.  The need to drive vast herds of cattle came to the U.S. with the westward expansion, and soon cowboys were popularized in the Southwestern United States.  While there were not as many cowboys by the 1900s, the cowboy became an idol of America and the western world. 

Cowboys were made even more popular with the coming of actors like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne, who popularized the Western movie.  Nowadays, Westerns are still quite a popular genre, with movies like 3:10 to Yuma (remake) and Appaloosa generating media buzz and significant revenues.  All this started with the classic cowboy model with their rugged appeal and spirit. 

Something strange happened to me the other day. My coworker, who is usually painfully shy and bashful around the women in the office, came to work with an unfamiliar demeanor. Not only was he swaggering when he walked in the door, but he also went out of his was to tip his cowboy hat to each lady he passed on the way to his desk. What’s more, he was even wearing a chunky silver belt buckle, engraved with the words “Cowboy Cool.” When he sat down at his desk next to mine, I noticed he had a rosy glow about his cheeks and a playful winking about his eyes. In fact, half the ladies in the office couldn’t help but stare in awe at his new-found cowboy grace.

At first, I was a little shy to ask him how this transformation had taken place. When I finally got up the courage he told me it was all thanks to his Old West hat.  I should’ve known. Now all the women keep talking about whether it’s true, what they say about a big hat.

Both the American West and Australian Outback were among the final frontiers of exploration and colonial conquests in the last half of the 19th century. While separated by many miles both territories were characterized by hot desert conditions, wild/untamed land, frontier justice and conflict with native peoples. It took hard work to tame both lands. Necessity being the mother of invention it is no wonder that similar conditions gave rise to similar hats in both locations.

Working hard in tough outdoor conditions heightens the need for protection from the elements. Like the cowboy hats of the American Wild West, the hats worn by the men and women of the Australian Outback were meant to protect the wearer from sun, heat, rain, and sometimes, even snow. Like the cowboy hat they could carry water or spur on a reluctant horse. Head gear in both environments had to be comfortable, durable and light weight. The outback hat is usually smaller than the cowboy hat overall with brims that are 3″- 4″ wide and tapered up on the sides. Crown shapes can vary, but the classic outback hat has a teardrop shape that is generally much shorter than typical with cowboy hats.

There is an unmistakable bond between the environments that generated the cowboy hat and the outback hat. Both generated stylish functional hats that symbolize the spirit of their wild, rugged and independent territories. The outback style is popular around the world and, thanks to numerous movies and popular characters, easily recognizable by just about anyone. Anyone looking for something a bit different than the American Wild West, and the cowboy hat, may find something rugged, durable, comfortable and fashionable in today’s world of outback hats.

The term cowboy, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “a hired hand, especially in the western United States, who tends cattle and performs many duties on horse back.” There are still many cowboys living and working in the United States these days, although they may occasionally trade their horse for a pickup truck or a 4-wheeler. Most of these cowboys still live by the same codes and standards as the cowboys of the Old West.

Tradition means a lot to cowboys … the old ways, proper etiquette. There’s a proper way to handle every situation and proper attire for every occasion.  What’s right, stays right.  And that goes for cowboy hats as well. A cattleman’s pride never changes and the traditional Cattleman crown with a Southwestern brim remains a staple in every true cowboy’ hat rack.

The original cowboys were Civil War soldiers who had no home to return to and started drifting to the west. The West was wide-open territory and these men only owned what they could carry on horseback. Ranchers would hire them to tend to their herds and to round up the wild and loose cattle on the range. When it was time to sell the beef these “cowboys” would round up the herds and drive them to the markets many miles away.

Although the era of the cattle drives only lasted about 30 years, the cowboys who herded those cattle made a huge impression on American History and have been the center of much folklore. The American Hero that we call “cowboy” has less to do with Wranglers, boots, and hats and more to do with a passion for life and for living it to the fullest. We see the “cowboy” as someone who was free to roam the wide open spaces of the Western Prairie with no boundaries or fences to stop him.

Those are the qualities that we hang on to as Americans today. Perhaps that’s why western fashions never go out of style and we still love to listen to country western music. It’s why we collect and cherish the relics and fashions of the days of the cowboy’s west.

However, you don’t need to don a pair of Wranglers and own a cowboy hat or a pair of cowboy boots to live like a cowboy. You don’t even have to listen to country western music.

Living like a cowboy is to always wear the “white hat”, to have that same passion for life and live your life to the fullest. That is the legacy that the cowboys have given us.

Article originally appeared in EZine Articles

Derby’s are one of the most recognized styles of hats in history. It was the first rounded crown hat. Their beginings strectch back to 1850 when the Bowler Family of Southwark (England) designed it for William Coke of Norfolk. In the tradition of the time, the hat was originally named for the person for whom it was designed and, therefore, called a Coke hat. As the hat’s popularity grew, however, it became known as a Bowler hat. In the United States it became known as the “derby hat” and was worn by all classes of tradesmen and artisans. Now there are several varieties of derbies, including the popular Homburg style.

The term fedora is derived from a play by Victorien Sardou.  In the play, a heroine princess named Fedora wore a hat similar to the fedora hat.  The hat was being called fedora in the late nineteenth century, characterized by its front pinched on both sides, its wide brim, and often a hat band.  In the 1920s and 1930s, the hat was thought common to mobsters and gangsters running illegal alcohol and moonshine due to the prohibition.  Modern films like The Untouchables featured several characters wearing fedora style hats, including the main characters of Andy Garcia and Kevin Costner. 

Fedoras are still popular today, though fortunately not often associated with crime or mob activity.

Many Americans are fascinated with the Civil War, not just military history buffs.  TV shows and movies that are set or which document the Civil War are consistently achieve high ratings, and Civil War memorabilia is highly sought-after and extremely valuable.  Historical replicas are often prized collectibles for a casual collector.

Union or Confederate hats are available in many styles of the period, whether in the Old West style or reproductions of the ones the soldiers wore on the battlefield.  These hats are appropriate for historical reenactments, parades, plays, live history and fantasy events, or just as a conversation piece and enjoyable fashion accessory.

You might be wondering what exactly an Aussie hat might be.  Your first instinct is probably to think of the Indiana Jones movies, and the hat Harrison Ford is rarely seen without.  Aussies are cowboy-type hats that are modeled after a hat that was worn in the Australian military.

An Aussie hat has a wide brim, and may have the capacity to fold on either or both sides.  Sometimes the Aussie hat is not completely flat.  Indy is not the only one who sports this style–many men have adopted this stylish look.

In the United States and England, this hat is also known as a derby hat (which, in itself, is derived from a style of outback hats), after Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby, founder in 1780 of the Epsom Derby. The cultural significance in the United States was slightly different. Though certainly not exclusively so, the derby tended to be associated with urban culture, and particularly with the well-to-do that had risen from the working class. Hence, it was often seen on the heads of “machine politicians”, urban Irish-descended “ward heelers” and others, and so often appears in movies, comic books and comic strips of the 1930s and 1940s as a silent signal that the wearer is of this group.

Al Smith, who exemplified the urban Tammany politician of the 1920s, was often seen in his distinctive derby: typically, men’s full-sized derbies are black, but Al Smith always wore a brown derby.

Both are old British terms that come from shortening other phrases. Don comes from “don on” meaning “to do.” Doff originates from the Middle English”doffen,” which became “don off” meaning “to do off.”  Hence, a gentleman dons (puts on) his fedora upon leaving and doffs it (takes it off or tips it) in the presence of a lady.