# Let's talk hats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393 "2005-09-19T18:11:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/21 "2006-03-13T12:31:05Z")
Probably has something to do with the rise of the [Beau Brummel](http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/regency/dandy.html) aesthetic as the ideal for men’s clothing. (Women did wear tricorns, but then it was as an adoption of male fashion; they didn’t start as hats for women.) Anyway, Brummel is the one who popularized the perfectly tailored garment as the epitome of good taste. It was fashionable at the time to have a very vertical line – like a Classical column. A tricorn widens out the top of the line a lot more than a top hat does. A stovepipe also makes the wearer look much taller than a tricorn does. Brummel, despite his death in 1840 in France from syphillis, started a stranglehold on men’s fashion in the 19th century, and quality men’s clothing has never really recovered from his influence. In modern times, I would say the tricorn never made a comeback because, unlike the top hat, the initial reaction isn’t one of elegance and sophistication. It’s one of, “Hey! You look like the Quaker Oats guy!” I’m pretty sure that isn’t the effect most people are going for in the daily ensemble. The three-corned hat just in our cultural consciousness as a fashionable item. Of course, these are all my own vague memories. I’ll have to go and look at _200000 Years of Fashion_ and whatever else the library has later today. I’ll also go and look up what Granny’s hat would be called, though I’m fairly confident that at that point, it would have just been a hat, maybe a bonnet. There are a [couple](http://www.nndb.com/people/916/000098622/irene-ryan-2-sized.jpg)[versions](http://www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/images/Ryan-Irene-Granny-BevHillBillies.jpg) to choose from. Granny probably would have called it a bonnet. I could have sworn that I posted to this thread on its first go-around. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/22 "2006-03-13T12:32:54Z")
And the above was clearly in response to the post below. > [@Vintage 1957](#): > > Maybe this is a good time to ask my hat question. Why did the tricorner hat go, & pretty much stay, out of style? ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/23 "2006-03-13T13:31:58Z")
> [@Vintage 1957](#): > > Maybe this is a good time to ask my hat question. Why did the tricorner hat go, & pretty much stay, out of style? I heard (no cites, just a WAG) that the origin of the tricorn was that as wide-brimmed hats age from wear, their brim goes floppy. The easiset thing to do with the big floppy brim was pin it up in the tricorn shape. Somehow the fashion caught on. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/24 "2006-03-13T15:07:47Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > As for Goober’s beanie: for years kids had been cutting the brims off felt hats and clipping the upturned edges into mock “crowns,” but this practice really took off in World War One, when millions of Americans were issued campaign (“Smokey the Bear”) hats. These big hats didn’t stow handily in backpacks, so they were replaced with overseas “piss-cutter” caps. Thousands of discarded campagin hats became available for modification. Quite the waste, considering that these hats, like all good felt, had been made from fur, not wool. But did kids carry backbacks way back then? When I was in public school from 1964 through 1975, believe it or not, people just carried their books in their hands. And if you were a guy you had to carry them in one hand, at the hip; if you used both hands and held them facing forward you’d be carrying them like a girl. Regarding homburgs and fedoras, I get from old movies the impression that fedoras were considered to have a bit more flair than homburgs; the latter were the sort of hats that would be worn by successful but stuffy and dull businessmen. Is this true at all? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/25 "2006-03-13T15:15:42Z")
Trilbys and fedoras are the [same thing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(hat)). The term “trilby” is more commonly used in Britain and the term “fedora” is more commonly used in the United States. Interestingly, both names come from plays in which the hats were worn. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/26 "2006-03-13T17:54:28Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > But did kids carry backbacks way back then? I think that **Slithy Toves** is referring to GI backpacks. If I understand correctly- Man gets government issue Smokey Bear at boot camp. It’s big and takes up too much space when not worn. Either, soldier sent the things home, or they simply gave them back to the supply depot. So either the kids end up with hats free from older brothers, or they could buy the unwanted hats cheaply at surplus stores. My Own Hat Question What exactly do you call the hat the Shadow wears? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/27 "2006-03-13T18:43:54Z")
I’m just working from memory, here, but I think the Shadow wore a snapbrim fedora with a very wide brim. They went well with the exaggerated zoot suit in the 40s. This style came back in the 60s as an accessory for pimps, or so the movies told us. As far as I know, I’ve met only one pimp in my life. He was a sharp dresser, but nothing like the movie pimps. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/28 "2006-03-13T19:34:06Z")
What are those caps called that eastern European workers wore back before WWII? Some of the characters in the REM video for “Losing My Religion” wear very similar caps. Most importantly: Where can I get one? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/29 "2006-03-13T21:55:32Z")
What’s [this hat](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dwsimm2000/detail?.dir=8cf7&.dnm=8eafscd.jpg&.src=ph) called? I thought it was the garrison cap but I was wrong - again. I had one but seldom wore it. The overseas, or garrison, cap was much handier. Just stick it in your pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/30 "2006-03-13T22:18:43Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > What’s [this hat](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dwsimm2000/detail?.dir=8cf7&.dnm=8eafscd.jpg&.src=ph) called? Officer’s Peaked Cap? (AKA ‘50 Mission Crush’.) ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/31 "2006-03-14T03:30:10Z")
What kind of hats do the [Mario Brothers](http://yoshi.2yr.net/pics/smw-mario-brothers-w-egg.jpg) wear? And, furthermore, where can I get a pink one (and red suspenders) so I can cosplay as Luigi in his [most awesome color pallete ever](http://img.engadget.com/common/images/8784682823623335.JPG?0.9200307226110574)? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/32 "2006-03-14T06:40:42Z")
Re Granny’s hat in those photos, a bonnet ties under the chin, while Granny’s flat little hat just perches on her head. I think Granny might call her headwear a “goin’ to church” hat. In at least one episode Granny did wear a bonnet when she and the Clampetts were forced to dress up as Dogpatch-type denizens for some television commercial Drysdale got them in. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/33 "2006-03-14T08:59:55Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Trilbys and fedoras are the [same thing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(hat)). The term “trilby” is more commonly used in Britain and the term “fedora” is more commonly used in the United States. Interestingly, both names come from plays in which the hats were worn. This is another of those occasions when you can’t entirely trust Wikipedia: in the UK _only_ the narrow-brim hat is called a trilby, and the wide-brimmed hat is a fedora – they’re not seen as interchangeable terms. Thus, from the examples they give of fedora wearers, Indiana Jones wears a fedora, but the Blues Brothers definitely sport the trilby. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/34 "2006-03-14T11:05:28Z")
I want to know what [this](http://www.stamprussia.com/2252b.jpg) type of military cap is called. It’s a hat which was sometimes worn by soldiers in the Soviet Red Army during the 30s and 40s. It’s very weird-looking with a pointy top. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/35 "2006-03-14T12:33:50Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > I want to know what [this](http://www.stamprussia.com/2252b.jpg) type of military cap is called. It’s a hat which was sometimes worn by soldiers in the Soviet Red Army during the 30s and 40s. It’s very weird-looking with a pointy top. Hey, _I_ have one of those! Bought it off Ebay. Of course, living in the SE USA, there aren’t that many days in the winter that I can wear it. (Still don’t know what it’s called, though.) And I think Granny’s hat might have been a style of “pancake hat.” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393/36 "2006-03-14T15:04:19Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#): > > And I think Granny’s hat might have been a style of “pancake hat.” You call that a pancake hat? That’s not a pancake hat; [this is a pancake hat!](http://www.syberpunk.com/images/oolong/oolong.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-hats/322393.md?page=1)