Fedora

A fedora made by Borsalino, with a pinch-front teardrop-shaped crown
A fedora made by Borsalino with a gutter-dent, side-dented crown, the front of the brim "snapped down" and the back "snapped up"

A fedora /fɪˈdɔːrə/[1] is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.[2][1] It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides.[3] 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 4.5 inches (11 cm).

The fedora hat's brim is usually wide, approximately 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) wide, but may be wider,[2] 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, two 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 can no longer be performed by modern hat factories.[4] Fedora hats are not to be confused with small brimmed hats called trilbies.[2][5]

The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking homburg.[2]

Fedoras can be made of wool, cashmere, rabbit or beaver felt. These felts can also be blended to each other with mink or chinchilla[4][6] and rarely with vicuña, guanaco, cervelt,[7] or mohair. They can also be made of straw, cotton, waxed or oiled cotton, hemp, linen or leather.

A special variation is the rollable, foldaway or crushable Fedora (rollable and crushable is not the same)[8] with a certain or open crown (open crown Fedoras can be bashed and shaped in many variations). Special fedoras have a ventilated crown with grommets, mesh inlets or penetrations for a better air circulation.

Fedoras can be lined or unlined and have a leather[9] or cloth[10] or ribbon sweatband. Small feathers are sometimes added as decoration. Fedoras can be equipped with a chinstrap, but this is rare.

History

Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome, sporting a fedora
Man wearing fedora c. 2017

The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking homburg.[2] The word fedora comes from the title of an 1882 play by dramatist Victorien Sardou, Fédora, which was written for Sarah Bernhardt.[11] The play was first performed in the United States in 1889. Bernhardt played Princess Fédora Romazov, the heroine of the play. During the play, Bernhardt – a noted cross-dresser – wore a center-creased, soft brimmed hat. The hat was fashionable for women, and the women's rights movement adopted it as a symbol.[12][13] After Edward, Prince of Wales started wearing them in 1924, it became popular among men for its stylishness and its ability to protect the wearer's head from the wind and weather.[12][13] Since the early part of the 20th century, many Haredi and other Orthodox Jews have made black fedoras normal to their daily wear.[14]

Fedoras became widely associated with gangsters and Prohibition, a connection coinciding with the height of the hat's popularity between the 1920s and the early 1950s.[12][13] In the second half of the 1950s, the fedora fell out of favor in a shift towards more informal clothing styles, though Greasers wore the hats with their leather jackets and jeans.[12][13]

Coach Tom Landry also wore the hat while he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. It would later become his trademark image. A cenotaph dedicated to Landry with a depiction of his fedora was placed in the official Texas State Cemetery in Austin at the family's request.[15] In addition the Cowboys wore a patch on their uniforms during the 2000 season depicting Landry's fedora.[16]

Indiana Jones re-popularized the fedora in the Indiana Jones franchise.[17] The fedora hat of the ninth president of Turkey, Süleyman Demirel, was also a famous part of the president's image.[18][19]

By the early 21st century, the fedora had become a symbol of hipsters.[20] Vice has referred to the early 2000s, as a "fedora renaissance", with celebrities like Johnny Depp and Pete Doherty wearing the hat, but claimed that by 2016, the fedora may be "the single most-hated fashion accessory money can buy".[21] During this latter period, James Toback was noted for his love of fedoras.[22]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "fedora". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern. R. M. McBride Company.
  3. ↑ Cotton, Elizabeth (1999). Hats. Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
  4. 1 2 Hat Glossary Retrieved 03.14.2016.
  5. ↑ When a Fedora That Isn't a Fedora Is a Fedora Retrieved 03-09-2017.
  6. ↑ Super felt Retrieved 03-16-2016.
  7. ↑ Cervelt Retrieved 03-14-2016.
  8. ↑ "Packable Hats". delmonicohatter.com. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Observations on Fedora Sweatbands, Size Tags, and Fedora Dating Tips". Publius Forum.
  10. ↑ Sweatbands Retrieved 03.15.2016.
  11. ↑ Encarta Dictionary, Microsoft Encarta Premium Suite 2004.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "History of Fedora Hats". History of Hats. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Rath, Robert (2014-03-06). "The History And Abuse of The Fedora". The Escapist. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  14. ↑ Shields, Jody; Dugdale, John (1991). Hats: A Stylish History and Collector's Guide. Clarkson Potter.
  15. ↑ "Thomas Wade Landry". Texas State Cemetery. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  16. ↑ "ESPN DALLAS Hall of Fame - Tom Landry no longer top of mind". ESPN. 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  17. ↑ Hellqvist, David (2013-09-04). "The Hats: Heads Up". Port Magazine. Retrieved 2013-10-10. Harrison Ford sported a Herbert Johnson felt fedora as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  18. ↑ Anadolu Agency. "Turkey's 9th President Suleyman Demirel dies at 91". Getty Images.
  19. ↑ "HATS: A POLITICAL SYMBOL OF TURKISH HISTORY". Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  20. ↑ Rutenberg, Jim (2012-08-05). "Montauk's Hipster Fatigue". The New York Times. pp. ST1. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "I Wore a Fedora for a Week to See if It Would Ruin My Life". 22 November 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  22. ↑ "38 Women Accuse Director James Toback Of Sexual Harassment: 'I Felt Like A Prostitute'". 23 October 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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