What's that hat?

We all know that every cool kid owns at least one fedora. What you may not know is that the coolest of the cool kids actually KNOWS the difference between all the fedora-esque hats on the market, and what to properly call them, and maybe even a little bit of history about them. Here's a quick guide to such essential hipster knowledge:

Let's start with what we all know as the "fedora..."


The "Stroller Fedora" is characterised by the bowl being raised in the back rather than in the front like the "Classic."

Above and below: The "Flip up Fedora." The hat above is also known as a "Stingy Brim" for it's short brim.

The "Vented Fedora" ie... there are small holes in it to increase air flow.

Above and below: The "Classic Fedora"

The "Fedora / Trilby" is a soft felt hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and pinched in the front on both sides. It was invented in the mid-1920s. The word comes from the title of an 1882 play by Sardou, "Fedora", the heroine of which wore this style hat. Any hat that resembles the soft felt version is also usually referred to as a fedora hat, including straw, leather, and twill. Similar hats with a Teardrop or C Crown (with an indentation for the head in the top of the crown) are also called fedoras. It is usually worn by men, but ladies versions can also be found. Fedora hats can be found in nearly any color, but black, grey, and brown are the most popular colors. In many classic Hollywood movies of the 1940s and 1950s, actors often wore a fedora, particularly when playing reporters, detectives, gangsters, or other tough guy roles. Or, think of Don Draper, ad man extrordaniare, in Mad Men...

The "Cadet" is similar to a "Baseball Cap" but is distinguished by its more cylindrical body and shorter brim. It was made in great numbers for troops in WWII, and is reminiscent of the Civil War Cavalry Cap. This is one of our most popular hat styles. It looks great on most everybody and comes in an array of army colors. For a mere $20 you can't go wrong. In fact, we just reordered more from Goorin Brothers!

In the United States, this hat is known as a "Derby". But in England it is known as a "Bowler". The derby is a dome-shaped rigid hat with a curled small brim and is traditionally made of stiff felt. It was created for an Englishman, James Coke in 1850s, and made stiff to protect the head. Peaking in popularity towards the end of the 19th century, it offered a midway between the formality of the top hat associated with the upper classes and the casual nature of soft felt hats worn by the lower middle classes. It was usually worn with suits or overcoats and symbolized male power dressing. It was the traditional headwear of London city 'gents' and has become something of a British cultural icon. Betty's usually carries these around the holidays.

The "Greek Fisherman" is sort of like a "Newsboy" but isn't as bulbous on top. When it's made out of leather it is often called a "Biker" hat.

The "Cycling Cap" (different from the Biker Hat, which is often leather and suited for Harley riding) is big in the world of fashion right now. From what I could find they're made kind of small and fitted to the skull so that they will fit under a helmut. The little brim keeps the sun out of your eyes when down, but is often popped up just for the steez of it.

The "Newsboy Cap" or "Cabbie" is a casual-wear cap similar in style to the flat/ivy cap. Sometimes also referred to as the: Apple Cap, Eight Quarter, Gatsby, & Baker Boy. It has the same overall shape and stiff peak in front as an ivy flat cap, but the body of the cap is rounder, larger, fuller, and paneled with a button on top, and often with a button attaching the front to the brim (as the flat cap sometimes has). The newsboy hat style was popular in Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among both boys and adult men. As the name suggests, it is now associated with newspaper boys, and it is sometimes associated with golfers as well. These days, it's a popular style with the ladies...in fact, all of these hats are! There are times in fashion history when men's and women's styles overlap, and in regards to hats, 2010 is one of them!

The "Slouchy Knit Beret"-not just for the French or dread heads anymore. Worn often by hipster and skater girls....

The cloche hat is a fitted, bell-shaped hat that was popular during the 1920s. (Cloche is the French word for bell.) Caroline Reboux is the creator of the cloche hat.
Cloche hats were usually made of felt so that they conformed to the head.The hat was typically designed to be worn low on the forehead, with the wearer's eyes only slightly below the brim. By 1928-1929, it became fashionable to turn the brims on cloche hats upwards. This style remained prevalent throughout the early 1930s until the cloche hat became obsolete around 1933-1934.

A version of the "Sun Hat" aptly named for its ability to offer some serious shade. This is the best wrinkle preventer on the market ladies!

The "Visor" is one of my personal favorites as it shades your face from the sun, yet you can still feel the wind through your hair and get natural highlights. Not just for the sporty types anymore!

The "Ivy" or "Flat Cap"

The "Duckbill" has a shorter brim that turns up slightly like a duck bill.


"Duckbills," "Ivys," and "Gatsbys" are derived from the "British Flat Cap." An ivy cap or flat cap is a rounded men's cap with a small stiff brim in front. Cloths used to make the cap range from tweed and leather to cotton driving caps for summer wear, sometimes featuring air vents. The flat caps were almost universally worn in the 19th century by working class men throughout Britain and Ireland, and versions in finer cloth were also considered to be suitable casual countryside wear for upper-class English men, hence the contemporary alternative name golf cap. Today, the style has remained popular among certain groups of people in Europe and North America. The ivy cap / flat cap is sometimes associated with older men, but has been popular among some segments of younger people today. The style has also been favored by the young Hollywood trendsetters as well as with musicians. The ivy flat cap / golf cap, has also appeared in the hip-hop subculture, worn back-to-front, proving very popular in recent years. "kangol," anyone?

The "Bucket" hat. Great for hanging out on islands, but that's about it. Oh, and when you wanna look like Gilligan.

Recycled hats have been popular of late...this one is from a Missoula designer and looks cute on just about everyone! I think it's made from old t-shirts.

The "Porkpie" hat is a felt hat, dating from the middle 19th century, much the same as a fedora, but with a flattened top. The crown is short, and has a characteristic indent all the way around, rather than the "pinch crown" typically seen on fedoras. It gets its name from its resemblance to a pork pie. The brim on a pork pie hat is generally on the smaller side, and is worn flipped up. The hats come in straw varieties as well. Porkpie hats are often associated with jazz culture, though more recently they have had strong associations with ska. They were popularized in the 60s Rude Boy movement in Britain. Silent film movie star Buster Keaton often wore porkpie hats as well as Dean Martin and Fred Astaire.

I think this hat is particularly hot on the ladies, and would make a really nice picnic hat. Or canoeing hat.


Enough with your hat history lesson...are you now wondering which hat is for you? Check these following guidelines based on your face shape:

Round faces: The idea is to elongate your face but also to balance it. Choose tall, shallow crowns to give it length, or try peaked, slanted, or creased crowns. Brims that are wider than your face help to help bring balance and make your face look narrower by comparison.

Square faces: Elongate your face by choosing a hat that sits high on your forehead. Soft berets worn all the way up at the hairline and tilted off to one side look great on you, as do rounded bowler hats with rolled narrow brims.

Long faces: Go with a flared, wider brim and deep crown to widen and shorten the face. Cloches are a good choice for you, especially if they have a wider brim.

Hearts and Diamonds: Since your chin is the narrowest point on your face, avoid wide brims that will make it look narrower. Otherwise pretty much any style will work well on you.

Angular features: If you've got angular facial features, such as a square jaw or triangular nose, then look for hats to soften and complement those lines; think sweeping or floppy brims, drapey berets, and sculpted, folded, or asymmetrical shapes. Also look for hats that have prominent, asymmetrical trimming, such as an elegant, curving arc of feathers.