History of hats

This book pays homage to hats and all those who, by wearing them,
manufacturing them, imagining them in their variety of styles, and
immortalizing them in different artistic forms and materials, have formed its
history.

Curiosities, news, anecdotes, vices and virtues of this simultaneously

aesthetic and functional piece of apparel flow in the background of great
historical events whose protagonists almost always presented themselves to
us with their inseparable head wear.

The life of a hat is as long as the life of the man that has worn it. From its remote origins in
Egypt, Greece and Asia up to its modern age in Europe. The fashion of elegant hats spreads
from France and England to reach mass Italian production in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Being
present in all civilizations, it is a symbol of cultural, social and individual valence; it influences
codes of communication, represents visions of the world, and is a metaphor of creativity that
frees itself from the mind on which it is placed.

The hat conceals the head, but beneath it the face changes its appearance in a game of winking,
seduction and provocation which render it a true magical devise. The hat’s shape takes on the
head’s profile, but at the same time it goes beyond and speaks a language all of its own, capable
of amplifying communicative relationships. Putting on a hat, taking off a hat and changing hats,
these are all gestures that are carried out on life’s daily stage in order to take on different roles,
change image and perhaps even ideas. It’s a complicity show where man and hat are both
protagonists.

This book is an acknowledgment of all the participants in the noble art of hat making, the
milliners, hatters and even retailers that work to preserve and enhance the hat heritage as a
complement of a male elegance, one which is severely challenged by “globalized” fashion and
the lack of rituals in today’s lifestyles. It is also a way of being a part of a long history.

This appreciation is for those who have laid the bases in the hand-crafting tradition and gave it
its lustre. To the “Masters” with brave faith in progress who committed themselves to learning
the secrets of industrialization and giving life to the industry that was destined to become Italian
pride.

To the first milliners that worked at home and sold their crafts. To all the unknown workers
whose capabilities and know-how allowed celebrities to be part of history’s stage by wearing that
inseparable object which eventually became an element of identification.

This book is a wish: that hats return to become an instrument of charm and elegance. That they
become a sign of individuality, personality, and last but not least, they can once again be taken
off to pay homage to a woman that knows how to appreciate this antique gallant gesture.
A Divine Headdress
Head dressing is an old custom, very old. In fact, in the
Neolithic period man wore large straw hats to protect
himself from the sun.

There aren’t many artefacts that have reached us, since

they were made with perishable material, but we can find
a good deal of proof in paintings, sculptures, mosaics, as
well as coins and written documents.

The oldest material was wild animal hide, at first used

in its natural state and then roughly tanned, cut and tied
with laces that were thread through eyelets made with
sharp bones.

In recent years, with the discovery of the Similaun man,

we’ve been able to obtain a concrete example of
“archaeological” hat.
Cotton, leather, silk and wool have always been
elements that nature has offered man not only to protect
the more delicate parts of the body, but at the same time,
to maintain a constant body temperature.

It is only logical to conclude that the head was

considered one of these sensitive areas.
Initially, headgear had a practical function.

It had to protect the head during battles and defend it from bad weather and the cold, but the
boarder between the usefulness and the symbolic function of hats isn’t always clear.

“Hats exist because the need to preserve, even if only symbolically, the noblest part of man
exists: the head and thus thought”. 1

As dwelling of the soul and life, the head takes on magical

qualities from the dawning of prehistoric times.

For this reason, the gesture of covering one’s head expresses the
need to protect this part of the body from hostile forces or
highlighting it and giving it importance and visibility so as to
call divine attention upon it.
In Ancient Roman tradition, any religious ritual or sacrifice
had to be preformed velato capite i.e., with the head completely
covered with the use of a toga corner. According to North
American Indians, the medicine man’s hat had the power to
deviate arrows, bows and bullets when worn in battle.
Made from Bison hide and having horns, it was the centre of attention in important Cheyenne
ceremonies. Greek priests, and later Roman ones, wrapped their heads with infula during
sacrifices. The bandaging was made of red and white wool ribbons similar to those used for the
cardinal mitre, the original head dress of kings, and Persian dignitaries that reached the West by
way of mysterious cults.

The Gales, who worshipped the goddess Cybele, wore a mitre

with strips that draped over the shoulders. The Vestal virgins
wore a tutulo, a conical sugarloaf shaped head dress that may be
seen on

Etruscan statues such as that of the god Vertumnus. He is

represented in a statuette that is preserved in the Archaeological
Museum of Florence. The apex, a cap made from sacrificed
animal hides, was worn in Rome by Flamin Dialis, a flamine
that worshipped Jupiter.
Herodotus was already familiar with the tiara which was worn
by the Iranian priests during sacrifices, while many monuments
left us with representations of tall conical hats worn in
Mesopotamia.
In biblical times, the Jewish probably wore ritual head dresses
under the form of turbans or mitre hats similar to those of
Assyrian Kings.

The recent custom of covering one’s head with a chippa conveys the idea of God’s presence on
man’s head. For centuries, the Persian turban was a characteristic head dress of Islamic
populations; Mohamed also traded turbans in Syria before his conversion. The mitre, tiara,
skullcap, cap, and camauro are all forms of head dresses of Popes and high prelates of the
Catholic Church.

In the council of Lyon of 1245, Innocent IV ordered the galerum as symbol of cardinal dignity.
It was a cloth with wide edges, scarlet in colour, and with two lateral ropes having thirty red silk
bows. We may certainly affirm that, in all cultures, head dresses are part of a “corporal code”
which like other linguistic forms, serve to launch messages and to communicate.

It’s a symbolic representation that takes on multiple meanings:

power, seduction and threat, as is in the case of helmets
created to rouse fear, but also the belonging to a culture, a social
sphere or a professional category.

History has often not given products of civilization and material

culture the same value attributed to a scientific discovery or the
same value of a work of art. And yet, every man-made object
allows us to discover and read the world. As object, the hat
portrays the role of absolute protagonist in the journey of
discovery and conscience.
“Like many other objects that daily pass us by silently and non presumptuously on their level of
presence in encyclopaedic knowledge, the hat is a complex symbol that needs to be drawn out of
its anonymity”. 2

Stating that man’s history may be written by the history of his hats is not an understatement.

A look into archaeology

The Causia was one of the most widespread Hellenic head dresses. It was
made of heavy wool felt or hide and originated in Macedon. According to
Pliny it had the shape of an overturned cloak or cone. Knotted at the nape
of the neck with ribbons and fastened with a chinstrap, it was also used as a
helmet during battles. The Galerus was also very popular. It consisted in a
pointy cap held down by laces and knotted under the chin.

Initially made with animal skins, it was later constructed with wool felt.

Greek men’s wear in the Classical Era was topped off with the Petasus, a
large brimmed soft wool felt or hide felt head dress. “Made in different
colours and at times decorated with a button on top, the felt petasus, with
its dome and silhouetted wing, may consider itself the first true hat”. 1

It was a head dress that was used primarily for travelling and perhaps since
also related with movement and velocity, it was associated to the pilgrim
god Hermes, the roman god Mercury, who wore it furnished with lateral wings. The name
etymology recalls the Greek verb petannymi referring to the action of ‘unfolding, ‘spreading out’
sails and ‘hanging out’ clothing, thus indicating a head dress with a brim.

From Greece, the Petasus was also exported to Rome thanks to the
actors of Latin comedies that wore this head dress on stages such as
Plato’s Anphitryon. The petasus continued to be considered an
appropriate “exoticism” more for theatre actors than austere roman
citizens who did not considered virile covering their head with anything
but a toga.

Proof is the fact that its name was never Latinized.

The Pileus was very common among humble citizens. It was a felt cap,
made of leather or cloth, worn tight at the temples, and had a small
raised brim that fell either to one side or forward. It was a very old head
dress spread by the Persians during the period of Alexander the Great,
and was thought up centuries before by the Phrygians which ruled over
Asia Minor for roughly eight centuries.
It is for this reason that it was also called “Phrygian cap” and with this name it became famous
during the French revolution as symbol of Jacobinism. The Phrygian bonnet became a sign of
obtained freedom.

In Rome the pileus symbolized freedom from slavery. Slaves were

forced to work without any headgear so once freed they received a
pileus during an emancipation ceremony as sign of restored dignity. It
was also worn during Saturnalia, and it is believed that with Nero’s
death people filled the streets waving their pileus joyfully for the end of
the tyranny.

Free men wore it during banquettes or plays almost as a sign of

defiance. The name takes us back to the Greek pilos that was mentioned
in Homer and Hesiod’s works, and indicated wool or fur transformed
into felt that was used not only to line helmets and shoes, but also for
caps similar to the modern day Fez which is made from that same type
of felt.

To the East and to the West

On the 11th of May, 330 D.C., Constantine inaugurated the
new capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire
“Constantinople”, named after himself. The city rose on the
Bosphorus banks between Europe and Asia, where Byzantium
once stood.

The new Rome quickly became a metropolis of refined elegance

that welcomed merchants and travellers from all countries.

The craftsmen of Constantinople produced luxury objects and

Syrian silk became the pride of Byzantine traders. Purple is
reserved for the Emperor who offered it to foreign princes.
Private individuals were also able to purchase and wear clothing
made from the precious material whose bright colours were also
chosen for hooded capes that became common thanks to their
practicality.

The Byzantine civilization lived in splendour. Instead, the West went through a period of serious
crisis and it wasn’t until the year 1000 that clothing returned to become a sign of distinction.

The merchants’ initiative, and the settlements of the Normans in the south of Italy, reopened the
path to refined clothing often decorated with soft fur. Long hooded capes, along with large
headed wool felt hats, became very common.

In the 13th and 14th Century, fashion was still enjoying itself with caps; conical, squared and
curled. Even pointy felt hats were popular and this feature is still present today in University
hats. They were decorated with ribbons and precious stones and worn on “page boy” haircuts,
along with brocade and damask clothing from the Orient. The middle class and the rest of the
population had to be content with berets and hoods.

Hats ancestors
To find the modern hat’s true ancestor, we have to go back to
the Middle Ages when the cloak, a sort of cape with a hood
called capperuccia, was worn by men and woman as well as
monks and clergy.

Medieval vocabulary defines it as: vestis species qua viri laici

mulieres laicae monachi et clerici induebantur. Even if it is
difficult not to put cloak in relation with the Latin caput, ‘the
head’, we have to consider that it originally enveloped not only
the head, but the body as well.

The use of the cloak was first sanctioned by the authors Isidore
of Seville and Gregory of Tours. In modern Italian, the word
cloak is present only in figurative expressions such as “cloak
and dagger”, or as a derivative in the augmentative “cappotto”
(meaning coat), but historically the term was very wide spread
in Neo Latin languages where it is present today in the name of
many headdresses. The word is also found in the Early Medieval German kappa, in the Greek-
Byzantine kappa, and in the ancient Hungarian kepa.

In late Latin, the term cloak takes on the meaning of hood to indicate a head dress that could
have been removed from the cape and worn separately. Hoods were very common for a very
long time. In Medieval cities almuzi hoods were worn in various manners and with one end
resting on a shoulder.

The word cappellus, diminutive of cappa, was used up to the 15th Century and initially indicated
a velvet or felt hood tied under the chin. The individual wealth of a person was highlighted by
the value of the materials used to make it, such as fur, embroidery and precious stones. Instead,
the less fortunate wore simple hoods with the sole intention of protecting themselves from bad
weather. In order to talk about hats as we know them, we have to reach the 14th Century when
head dresses with brims made their stunning debut in society.

In Felt, straw or cloth, the hat is no longer needed simply to protect the head, but becomes a
fashion accessory with which the noble classes unleash their vanity. It is at this point, when we
move away from the simple function of covering and move towards a more aesthetical role, that
we can start talking about hat culture.

The Crusca vocabulary defines the hat a “blanket for the head made in its shape
and encircled at its base by a part of itself which is called brim or fold”. Like
many other dictionaries, this leads us to believe that the necessary characteristic
for a head dress to be defined hat is that it be endowed with a brim. Without it,
we enter the vast and varied world of caps, with the tip pulled back and having a
flat or round shape.

While the name gender was item of debate for linguistics, the etymology instead
was unanimously allowed to reach the Latin term Birrus – a flat hood endowed
with a visor that reached Rome from Persia and was modified from its original
form of skull cap with ear laps.

Even the birrus was usually worn with the cape. In 13th Century common Latin,
we find the word biretum which was introduced in the 1300’s in Italian, most
likely through the Provençal beret. In Venice the red velvet version was a
prerogative of the Doges.

Aside from the diatribes of philological nature, we can say that

in head dress history the berets and caps had a parallel
development but not identical.

The term berretto usually refers to a slanted head dress, with or

without frontal brim, similar to a beret. The zucchetto also
belongs to the berretti family. It was spherical, having the shape
of a pumpkin, and was worn by nobles and ecclesiastical
authorities up to the 14th Century. The Medieval berretti made
of cloth or fabric, were sometimes reinforced by steel scales
which were sewn inside in order to shield from unexpected
blows. So were the Milanese magliate of the 13th Century.
The berretta primarily indicates a rigid head dress composed of three or four sections with a
tassel that evolved in the Middle Ages among the cultured classes and the ecclesiastical
hierarchies. The felt berretta that was very much in fashion was yellowish. The tocco was a red
berretta used by the Florentines who wore it with the brim turned upside-right almost embracing
the head like a crown.

The shape of the black berretta continues to be used in

courtrooms by judges and lawyers. The distinction between cap
and hat had to be quite sharp because in the 1500’s two distinct
guilds existed: the cappers and the hatters, who often fought
each other because at that time caps were worn more than hats
and the cappers demanded their privileges.

The hatters on their part were divided into wool hatters and felt
hatters. Elaborated hats bought in France began to spread in the
14th Century along with hoods and caps. They were wide
brimmed, made of straw and lined with silk, made of beaver fur
or cloth and used as a symbol of prestige or power.

Gothic influence is felt even in clothing accessories. Hats with

sharp ends were coordinated with long pointed shoes called à la poulaine. Wide brimmed hats
were used as umbrellas; they were made of beaver furs or wool, and lined straw in the summer.

Renaissance
The felt hat triumphs in the 15th Century as head dress par
eccellence.

The aesthetical style that distinguished the renaissance society was

present in every aspect, and clothing became elegant and refined.
Soft velvet, sometimes embroidered with golden threads, was used
for capes trimmed with fur. Large stuffed caps, that were usually
black, began to be preferred by the wealthy that adored the elegance
that arrived from France where the felt hat spread faster than in Italy.

Charles VII was one of the first to wear a fine beaver fur felt hat, a
sign of distinctive nobility preference from the wool felt hat. Jean
Fouquet portrayed him so in a famous painting preserved in the
Louvre Museum.

The magnificent renaissance clothing that dominated in Italy up to

the first half of the 1500’s was testified by the portraits that the Court
patronage donated in abundance and which offered splendid
examples of head dress styles.
During the first half of the 1500’s, sovereign Francis I and his retinue heavily influenced fashion.
The French wore large brimmed felt hats decorated with buckles and feathers and flat black
velvet caps decked with a feather.
In Germany, wool felt hats had a tight lifted brim, while the English, not fond of novelties from
abroad, remained faithful to large caps and classic tall and medium felt hats. The Spanish
preferred conical hats with tall crowns. In fact, it was Spain that set the preference in style so
much that even in Italy the cloak became quite known; a short cape thrown over one shoulder in
order to reveal a puffed sleeve. With it, a wide brimmed felt hat decked with a feather.

While princes of the Renaissance enrich their hats with ribbons and lace, the Muslims spread
their felt head dress, called Fez, in the south of Europe. The hat used by nobles as a sign of rank
begins to spread even among the poorer ranks, at first round with the brim turned downwards,
and then in other shapes. It was called the wheel hat.1

The end of the 1500’s was characterized by wars, famine and devastations. The craft guilds went
through rough times and the trading routes became dangerous and difficult. Still with a Spanish
accent, fashion felt the effects of this crisis even if only slight. Hats shrunk to a small crown with
a turned up brim. Feathers and banquettes remained, where hats were a must, as the paintings of
that period confirm.

The 1800’s
The Middle class of the early 1800’s saw its prestige grow in Europe and North America so they
set a more practical and sober fashion. The frock coat was transformed into tails and became
compulsory for the entire first half of the 1800’s, accompanied by printed waistcoats and
multicoloured ties.
But the true new sign of male elegance was represented by the top hat, destined to portray the
role of true protagonist in the history of hats. It is believed to have originated in China and have
been made in silk by a Cantonese milliner. It reached France in 1795 and was worn by the young
founders of the Incroyables, supporters of a style that was more adapt to realistic ideas.

Tall and cylindrical, it was also called ‘bomba’, ‘canna’, ‘tuba’, ‘a torre’ and ‘a staio’, and
reached its definite fame in England. In fact, it was Mr. Herrington, perhaps the most famous
milliner of London, who in 1805 made the first top hat by drawing inspiration from the French
felt “top” hat. Initially, the novelty was judged so excessive that Lord Mayor had prohibited its
use.

But the market decided otherwise. Fashion tastes of those days matched the top hat so much that
it quickly spread throughout the world. Even though the crown changed with time, the brim
remained practically untouched and curled on the sides. This moulding process required great
ability due to its stiffness and hence not easy to flange and trim.

With the Restoration Period, hats became bulkier, like in the case of the BOLIVAR, with a high
conical crown and a wide brim that was inspired from the top hat.

Technology advances
 The 1800’s was a period of great inventions that
brought about great change not only in work
organization, but also in the history of traditions.

Sewing machines profoundly changed the

production of clothing. The first to do so were
French and used in 1829 by Barthelemy
Thimmonier to sew military uniforms, followed
by those created by Isaac Singer who became
the largest worldwide producer.

The textile industry evolved and invaded the

market with fabrics of all types, sparking the
desire to find new styles of clothing and
accessories.

Fashion magazines were born, and in 1839 when

the daguerreotype, invented by Louis Jacques
Daguerre, was presented at The Academy of
Science in France, the path to photography was
paved. It illustrated and proposed fashion trends
with more detail than drawings and more
extensively than picturesque images.

Hat factories endured the Century’s

transformations. The industrial plants substitute
small family businesses and machines allowed production to expand.

The Early 1900’s

In the 1900’s, men’s hats took on a different meaning with respect to the previous centuries. Its
social function and social value were highlighted. It became a sign of distinction and even an
expression of different political appearances.

The old Socialists wore round and floppy hats with a small brim, while the Mazzinis wore soft
black hats with wide brims.

Hats were also an approval of vanity. Elegant gentlemen distinguished themselves at the Turin
Exposition in 1900 for their refined light brown satin laced bowler hats. With the cold, a
“Homburg” model was chosen. The stride, influenced by the presence of the black semi-shiny
top hat with a high matt silk band, was dignified.

A true gentleman wore a hat with a “Petersburg” fur coat for dinners held after the theatre. It too
was black and lined in beaver fur.
Progress advances
It was the years of progress, a new era was dawning. Electricity marked the development of
industries and the great revolution didn’t skip the hat world.

In 1911, fifty industries were active and had more than four thousand workers. Rabbit furs were
bought on the markets of Brussels, London, Hamburg, and North America. Felt hats were also
made from precious merino wool, as well as jackrabbit, beaver and otter fur.

The textile industries were growing. Biellese wool factories and Lombard cotton factories
supplied modern fabrics for clothing which, at the time, was considered dynamic and sporty.
With the industrial revolution, many craftsmen became retailers while department stores set up
display departments and sold hats for men. The more refined clientele however, continued to
prefer receiving advice from retailers who were able to adapt the face to a suitable hat.

The retailer placed his bet on quality, gave information on more refined materials such as merino
wool and silk felt. They recommended camel hairs, beaver fur, vicuna fur and rat-godin fur
which were the most sought after furs for the making of felt hats, as well as pointed out the
absence of whitish “hair” that would have compromised quality.

They explained the weights, proportions, precise details, Italian features and peculiarities of that
period. They highlighted the delicacy of the silk lining, the soft Moroccan jacquard internal
band, the large well designed label sewed at the top to the right, and the crow’s shape. All these
features guaranteed the article’s prestige.

Men purchased the hats well convinced that they were wearing something of value. 1
Postwar Elegance
With the end of the First World War, life returns to its everyday
routine and the mundane world. The tuxedo returns to dance
halls; it’s short, single breasted and bombé.

New silk hats were found in the rich wardrobes of the nobles of
Central Europe, those that travelled on the Orient Express.
Races started up again and young adults wore Derbies; an
updated American version of Bowlers. They were smaller, less formal, and could be worn by day
even in town. It was the twenties.

The new Borsalino felt hats were advertised in 1921 by Dudovich. They adapted to a new more
confident way of dressing, more in agreement with the esprit nouveau. Le Corbusier named a
pavilion after them at the Paris Exposition.

Beneath bizarre felt hats lied the artistic idea of the Dadaism which concealed rationality in the
sake of spontaneous and uncontrolled expression. Meanwhile, Pirandello’s head was inseparable
from classic felt hats, as perfect and as rigorous as his writing. The new night owls went to night
clubs and rode luxurious Bugatti.

“L’illustrazione italiana” was a widespread magazine that supplied eloquent images of fashion in
those years. Prince Humbert of Savoy was photographed in his impeccable grey felt hat with bell
brim, while the WINDSOR CAPS arrived from the royal English Court and were worn flattened
on one side of the forehead.

They were golden years for caps: blue one-piece wool berets having a “wick” in the centre, in
herring-bone or chequered tweed used for hunting, and in stiff blue gabardine for winter sports
and yachting.

Tazio Nuvolari piloted his new Alfa Romeo wearing a race cap and goggles. These then became
indispensable gear for all drivers. The Savoy royalty were photographed next to a plane,
advertising flight style by wearing a leather helmet with chinstrap.

Movie stars were quickly imitated and Rudolf Valentino launched the bewitching look from
beneath the brim of his felt hat with studded ribbon. He was the irresistible symbol of charm.

American Style
Fashion of the Thirties was strongly influenced by an American
style that brought a gust of fresh air all over Europe. The
TRILBY arrived from the States and was an outgoing variation
of the strict Borsalino series. The young liked the SCOOP with
a bowl shaped brim; very curved and high in the back.

The WIDE BRIMMED PANAMA was decorated by a cotton

printed band. The TWEED FISHING HAT was water resistant and used for outdoor sports,
while the SHERLOCK HOLMES hat was seen on the golf greens. In mountain holiday resorts,
Tyrolean felt or loden hats were decked with a pheasant feather or badger brush. Rooster feathers
were the most in refinement.

Star hats
 With the war over, there was a strong desire to pick things up,
look for new elegance, beauty and luxury. End of 40’s fashion
picked up quickly.

Shop windows, especially in major cities, began to fill up with

refined items. Male elegance once again looked towards
England, but accessories were Italian.

The cinema brought out images of Hollywood stars.

Cary Grant charmed Ingred

Bergman with his dark and
shiny felt hat in the distressful atmosphere of the movie
Notorious.

A firm black army cap characterized Marlon Brando

in On the Waterfront, while the shady James Dean launched
hats having a wide turned up brim.

Hemingway’s novel “For whom the bells toll” became a

movie where Gary Cooper’s charm came out when
wearing an American style felt hat.

On the wave of Westerns, hat factories offered soft pastel-

coloured casual models that appear to meet the taste of the
young.

But when we think about typical Cow Boy hats, the STETSON
is always first in line.

It’s made with water resistant felt, not as stiff as the sombrero, which
was its Latin-American inspiration, and is perhaps the most famous hat
in American history.

According to tradition, it was never taken off.

The Stetson is still used in Texas today, and this style became famous
once again thanks to the television series Dallas.