Product Code Database
A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides.Cotton, Elizabeth (1999). Hats. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. Fedoras can also be creased with teardrop crowns, diamond crowns, center dents, and others, and the positioning of pinches can vary. The typical crown height is . The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking Homburg hat. Despite falling out of fashion with other formal men's hats during the 1960s, the hat has seen some resurgence during the 21st century amongst men and women alike, though its current use is generally less associated with formal dress.
The fedora hat's brim is usually around wide, but can be wider, can be left raw-edged (left as cut), finished with a sewn overwelt or underwelt, or bound with a trim-ribbon. Stitched edge means that there is one or more rows of stitching radiating inward toward the crown. The Cavanagh edge is a welted edge with invisible stitching to hold it in place and is a very expensive treatment that requires a highly-skilled craftsman. The Hatted Professor: the Cavanagh Edge Retrieved 10.16.2024. Fedora hats are not to be confused with small brimmed hats called trilbies. When a Fedora That Isn't a Fedora Is a Fedora Retrieved 03-09-2017.
Fedoras can be made of wool, cashmere wool, rabbit or beaver felt. These felts can also be blended to each other with mink or chinchilla Super felt Retrieved 2016-03-16. and rarely with vicuña, guanaco, cervelt, Cervelt Retrieved 2016-03-14. or mohair. They can also be made of Straw hat, cotton, waxed or oiled cotton, hemp, linen, or leather.
A special variation is the rollable, foldaway or crushable fedora (rollable and crushable are not the same) with a certain or open crown (open-crown fedoras can be bashed and shaped in many variations). Special fedoras have a ventilated crown with , mesh inlets, or other penetrations for a better air circulation. Fedoras can be lined or unlined and have a leather, cloth, Sweatbands Retrieved 2016-03-15. or ribbon sweatband. Small feathers are sometimes added as decoration. Fedoras can be equipped with a chinstrap, but this is uncommon.
A notable trend that emerged during the rise in popularity of the fedora was to invert the lid of the hat itself and cut jagged edges across the brim. This style of hat would eventually be called a whoopee cap, and became a popular alternative to the more formal fedora for mechanics and children of the era. During the 1940s, the brims of fedoras started to increase in width, while the British maintained a slightly smaller brim size. The colors of fedoras traditionally included shades of black, brown, and gray. However, this palette would grow at the onset of the second world war to include military themed colors such as khaki, blue, and green. One of the most prominent companies to sell fedoras was the department store Sears, Roebuck and Company. In addition, famous hat manufacturers which still exist today include Bailey, Borsalino, and Stetson.
Fedoras continue to be worn by women, but not quite to the same extent as in the early twentieth century. Women's fedoras vary in form, texture, and color. In addition, these fedoras come in almost every color from basic black to bright red and even in the occasional animal print. Along with men's felt hats, women's fedoras were described as making a comeback in an article about 2007 fashion trends. Baseball caps, which had been the staple of headwear, were experiencing a decline in popularity amidst this "fedora renaissance".
Because of the soft nature of the hat, many variations are possible with fedoras. One variation of the hat includes the Stetson playboy hat which was common in the 1940s. The Stetson playboy hat involved a marketing success story, with a simple variation on the general form of the fedora becoming a significant trend in America. Al Capone was fond of the playboy style. Many pictures of Capone depict him sporting a Stetson playboy hat.
Contemporary takes on the fedora include asymmetrical brims, bright colors, eccentric patterns, and flashy decorations. Some fedoras are now made from straw, and other unconventional materials. However, despite the increase of artistic hats, the most commonly worn fedoras are still neutral colored, with simple shape and design.
Indiana Jones re-popularized the fedora in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford sported a Herbert Johnson felt fedora as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The backstory of how he obtains the hat is told in the prologue of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the third film of the series, and the character who gives him the hat is credited as "Fedora".
The character Freddy Krueger, from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, also wears a brown fedora.
The fedora hat of the ninth president of Turkey, Süleyman Demirel, was a famous part of the president's image.
Ice hockey coaches often wore one, most notably coaches Punch Imlach, Toe Blake, Billy Reay, and Murray Armstrong.
In the 21st century, the fedora has made a reappearance in the fashion world along with other types of classic hats such as the porkpie and the homburg. In addition, the fedora has appeared in recent portrayals of movies and television shows that are set in the past, such as Mad Men (2007–15), Shutter Island (2010), and Boardwalk Empire (2010–14). Michael Jackson also frequently wore a fedora while performing on stage.
By the early 21st century, the fedora had become a symbol of hipsters. Vice has referred to the early 2000s as a "fedora renaissance", with celebrities like Johnny Depp and Pete Doherty wearing the hat. By 2016, the term "fedora" became derisively associated with neckbeard and incel stereotypes in online culture, with Vice stating "fedoras may be the single most-hated fashion accessory money can buy", despite the fact that the hat in question is nearly always a trilby rather than a fedora. A popular meme featuring actor Jerry Messing tipping a trilby with the dialogue of "M'lady" is often associated with such spoofs of incel culture. A 2016 issue of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl depicts Marvel Comics villain Mole Man reenacting the "M'lady" meme on the cover.
Billy Wilder wrote and directed the film Fedora (1978), which takes its title from the female lead character played by Marthe Keller. In addition, fedoras are a strong theme throughout the picture. Most of Wilder's films feature fedoras prominently in promotional materials as well as in the finished films.
Fedoras were an important accessory to the zoot suit ensemble which emerged onto the American fashion scene during the 1940s. Zoot suits were mainly associated with Mexican and African Americans and were largely worn in segregated minority communities. As a result, this style soon spread to local jazz musicians who adopted this look and brought it to their audiences.
In the movie of the same name, the Blues Brothers (who are blues musicians rather than jazzmen) wear black scant-brim fedoras as part of their black suit "uniform".
The association of the fedora with the zoot suit and gangster culture has caused the general public to view it according to this limited connotation.
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