# What would you call this hat that Basil Rathbone is wearing as Sherlock Holmes (not the deer-stalker) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, fashion-clothing\ **Created:** [April 8, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132 "2026-04-08T23:10:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/41 "2026-04-11T19:44:46Z")
Wow, way to beat a dead horse. ---
**Author:** ![Varl\_Hobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/91b2a8/32.png) [@Varl\_Hobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Varl_Hobe)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/42 "2026-04-11T20:29:04Z")
Oops yeah I’ll drop it. The West is my passion. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/43 "2026-04-11T20:48:01Z")
Bat Masterson famously wore a derby on TV, but any resemblance to what he really wore would be purely coincidental. Brian “You’re telling me the song isn’t historically accurate?” 😉 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IRNImRxRNjc/hqdefault.jpg "Bat Masterson Theme Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRNImRxRNjc) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/44 "2026-04-12T02:10:53Z")
> [@Varl\_Hobe](#): > > ​Also, look closer at the ‘wide-brimmed’ hats in McCubbin’s 1870s-80s photos. Most aren’t modern creased cowboy hats; they are round-crowned, stiff felt domes. That’s true, and i made that point- the classic Stetson came in late, but what they are wearing is wide brimmed wool hats. > [@Varl\_Hobe](#): > > The distinction between a ‘Boss of the Plains’ and a ‘Bowler’ at that time was often just an inch of brim. > [@Varl\_Hobe](#): > > The distinction between a ‘Boss of the Plains’ and a ‘Bowler’ at that time was often just an inch of brim. > **[Boss of the Plains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_of_the_Plains)** > > The Boss of the Plains was a lightweight all-weather hat designed in 1865 by John B. Stetson for the demands of the American West. It was intended to be durable, waterproof and elegant. The term "Stetson" eventually became all-but-interchangeable with what later became known as the cowboy hat due to later style-designs based on how the rounded-crown would deform from regular use. > The Boss was designed with a high crown to provide insulation on the top of the head, and a wide stiff brim to prov... > **[Bowler hat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_hat)** > > The bowler hat, also known as a Coke hat, billycock, bob hat, or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849 and commissioned by Lock & Co. Hatters of St James's Street, London. It has traditionally been worn with semi-formal and informal attire. > The bowler, a protective and durable hat style, was popular with the British, Irish, and American working classes during the second half of the 19th cent... More like a couple of inches and the style- the short brim is turned up in the bowler. Still, I have not yet seen any period photos of working cowboys with bowlers. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/45 "2026-04-13T06:50:57Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > People confuse gunslingers and cowboys all the time. Very few of the iconic names of the old west belong to actual cowboys As I understand it, the “Cowboys” were a bunch of cowboys. Made a name for themselves by being dickheads. The ordinary ranch hands and cattle drovers weren’t “cowboys” until the press adopted that term. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/46 "2026-04-13T06:59:57Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I don’t think so. The Homburg has a curled brim and firm structure, a fedora is softer and the brim is not curled. Not being curled, it can be bent up, or bent down. Bent down, it merges into the ‘bucket hat’ worn by Inspector Clouseau - the ridiculous derivitive of the Sherlock hat. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/47 "2026-04-13T19:34:51Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > The ordinary ranch hands and cattle drovers weren’t “cowboys” until the press adopted that term. > **[Cowboy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy)** > > A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first > The English word _cowboy_ has an origin from several earlier terms that referred to both age and to cattle or cattle-tending work. > > The English word _cowboy_ was derived from _vaquero_, Spanish for cowherd or cattle-herder,[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-drae-vaquero-3) from _vaca_, meaning “cow”,[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-4) and the suffix _-ero_ used in nouns to indicate a trade, job, occupation, profession or position;[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-5) itself from the [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language): _vaccārius_, which means _cowherd_,[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-6)[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-7)[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-8)[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-9) from _vacca_, meaning “cow”,[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-10) and the suffix _-ārius_ used to form nouns denoting an agent of use, such as a dealer or artisan, from other nouns.[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-11) > > “Cowboy” was first used in print by [Jonathan Swift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift) in 1725, and was used in the British Isles from 1820 to 1850 to describe young boys who tended the family or community cows.[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-12)[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-cowboy-13) Originally though, the English word “cowherd” was used to describe a cattle herder (similar to “shepherd”, a sheep herder), and often referred to a pre-adolescent or early adolescent boy, who usually worked on foot. This word is very old in the English language, originating prior to the year 1000.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy#cite_note-14) > > By 1849 “cowboy” had developed its modern sense as an adult cattle handler of the American West. Variations on the word appeared later. “Cowhand” appeared in 1852, and “cowpoke” in 1881, originally restricted to the individuals who prodded cattle with long poles to load them onto railroad cars for shipping.[ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/48 "2026-04-15T12:46:54Z")
I always thought that a porkpie hat was what Jughead wore, but no - that’s apparently a [whoopee cap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoopee_cap). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/49 "2026-04-15T13:25:01Z")
I’d call it a “beanie.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132/50 "2026-04-15T19:20:44Z")
Yes, that is one of the terms also used- > The style of cap is also referred to as a palookaville cap, Kingpin,[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoopee_cap#cite_note-6) button beanie, felt crown,[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoopee_cap#cite_note-7) or Jughead hat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-call-this-hat-that-basil-rathbone-is-wearing-as-sherlock-holmes-not-the-deer-stalker/1029132.md?page=2)