Us gents often get a bad rap when it comes to being adventurous in our clothing choices and even less so as far as headwear is concerned; give a man a beanie or baseball cap and he is content with his lot, happy that his head is protected from the elements but also the fact he doesn’t stand out from the crowd. Put a man in a Fedora hat however and the likelihood is he shall freeze to the spot, or worse still, he’ll throw it straight back from whence it came such will be his umbrage towards this piece of headwear.
History Of The Fedora Hat
Yet the Fedora is not only steeped in history, it has also been worn by some of the coolest (and baddest) men ever – both real and fictional. Jimi Hendrix, Frank Sinatra, Indiana Jones, soccer manager Malcolm Allison, American Football coach Tom Landry, Michael Jackson, Al Capone, Pete Doherty and Beck have all sported Fedoras at one point or another in the past 100 years, making it possibly the hippest piece of headwear ever. The Fedora hat and its name originate from the play Fedora, written by Victorien Sardou in 1882 and it soon gained popularity for its sleek and stylish look as well as the more practical reasoning of protecting ones head of hair from the wind and rain.
Since those early beginnings the hat has found both fame and infamy, most notably through popstars and actors but also with the mafia and the gangsters of the 1920’s prohibition era. Nowadays the classic Fedora is still very much in vogue with major fashion brands such as Prada and Yves Saint Laurent using it in recent menswear campaigns.
The problem with the every day man wearing such a hat – as is the case with many items of clothing that do not automatically fit into male sartorial norms – is they do not know what to wear the Fedora with, yet pull on a pair of skinny jeans, slim line brogues, plain white t-shirt and black blazer and you have the perfect outfit for the Fedora. You don’t even have to go down the skinny, rock’n’roll look; a sharp suit and tie combination and a good pair of shoes teamed with a Fedora is a great outfit for a wedding or formal occasion. You do not have to don the hat all night but it certainly makes for a far more interesting outfit than simply wearing the required suit.
People often look at the Fedora and think fashion but that is a hat of classic style. The Fedora is part of our fashion history and education, it tells the tale of eras throughout time and still finds itself very much entrenched in our style psyche over a century after it first appeared on an American stage. This is the hat of the rebel, the charismatic individuals unafraid of what others think and afraid of no one. And if it’s good enough for Indiana Jones, then it’s good enough for me.
For a great selection of Fedora hats check out the brand Stetson Hats which is a specialist hat brand.
