Cowboy Hats and More

Few hats invoke the same image of suavity and coolness as the fedora. Who didn’t feel a surge of emotion when Indiana Jones peered out from under his trademark brown one, or when Humphrey Bogart quietly wore the hat in a sea of fog? Even Freddy Krueger had enough fashion sense to don one. But the charming hat has been around a lot longer than these World War era icons would lead us to believe.Its roots are planted in an 1882 play by Victorien Sardou titled “Princess Fedora.” The title character wore a hat similar to the modern-day fedora, and lent it her name. The hat gained a stronghold in the early 20th century when it became a favorite accessory among the upper classes, and a staple of many Orthodox Jews. The hat took on another personality when it got involved with Prohibition-era gangsters and detectives, and became a symbol of scoundrels and rogues.
 
But as the century reached the ‘50s and ‘60s and progressed into middle-age, the hat fell out of favor and became a symbol of an older generation. It has been surging back in popularity in recent years, due in part to Hollywood’s use of fedora hats, and partly due to teenage fascination with the trendy felt hat.