When we in the hat business engage our fantasy of men’s hats coming back in general fashion, what we picture is the fedora. The fedora hat is the everyman’s hat the true successor to the bowler hat. Snap the brim and let everyone noticing that you mean business.
The name “Fedora” comes from the heroine of French playwright Victorien Sardou’s drama presented in Paris in 1882. She wore the hat style that would become the hallmark of movie tough guys, Chicago gangsters, private eyes, newspaper reporters–in fact by the 1930s, virtually every man who put on a suit of clothes topped it off with a fedora.
If your grandfather came from either Europe or North America, chances are he wore a fedora. Today, the fedora is, hands down, still the best selling hat for both men and women we’re talking full size hat-not ball caps.
The safari style, a fedora crown with a brim turned down in the front and the back, received a huge boost with the Indiana Jones movies whereIndy’s hat was emblematic of the man. A style that truly can be worn anytime of the year. It just depends on the fabric.
How To Wear The Fedora Hat for 2015
The problem with the every day man wearing such a hat – as is the case with many items of clothing that do not automatically fit into male sartorial norms – is they do not know what to wear the Fedora with, yet pull on a pair of skinny jeans, slim line brogues, plain white t-shirt and black blazer and you have the perfect outfit for the Fedora. You don’t even have to go down the skinny, rock’n’roll look; a sharp suit and tie combination and a good pair of shoes teamed with a Fedora is a great outfit for a wedding or formal occasion. You do not have to don the hat all night but it certainly makes for a far more interesting outfit than simply wearing the required suit.
