How do folks react to your hat wearing?

[glider]

I don't want to seem argumentative but , I'm not sure anyone can say what a real cowboy wears. First thing you'd need to do is decide just exactly what a real cowboy is. We know what he was at one time and a lot of them if not all wore a hat with a wide brim as a practical matter. They also rode horses and stayed in the field for a period of time. I think there is very little of that done anymore, some I suppose. The Derby or bowler was a hat we see in old pictures more than anything else and I have read that it was the most popular hat in the late 1800s but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is what cowboys wore. It would be interesting to actually know, I think they did and do wear cowboy hats, just makes me feel better.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I don't want to seem argumentative but , I'm not sure anyone can say what a real cowboy wears. First thing you'd need to do is decide just exactly what a real cowboy is. We know what he was at one time and a lot of them if not all wore a hat with a wide brim as a practical matter. They also rode horses and stayed in the field for a period of time. I think there is very little of that done anymore, some I suppose. The Derby or bowler was a hat we see in old pictures more than anything else and I have read that it was the most popular hat in the late 1800s but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is what cowboys wore. It would be interesting to actually know, I think they did and do wear cowboy hats, just makes me feel better.

I have no idea expertise on this topic, but I think they wore whatever was available. The cowboys of that era were mostly poor and didn’t spend money recklessly. Availability varied with location and they used them as tools and not as fashion pieces. There were exceptions where the garb was more elaborate, but most working cowboys were practical folks who didn’t have the money for style concerns. A search of photos of the era shows a wide diversity of styles for their hats. I’m sure some of our western expert folks will speak up and maybe take me out to the woodshed for my ignorance.




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[Zombie_61]

I don't want to seem argumentative but , I'm not sure anyone can say what a real cowboy wears. First thing you'd need to do is decide just exactly what a real cowboy is. We know what he was at one time and a lot of them if not all wore a hat with a wide brim as a practical matter. They also rode horses and stayed in the field for a period of time. I think there is very little of that done anymore, some I suppose. The Derby or bowler was a hat we see in old pictures more than anything else and I have read that it was the most popular hat in the late 1800s but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is what cowboys wore. It would be interesting to actually know, I think they did and do wear cowboy hats, just makes me feel better.

I don't think you're being argumentative at all. Until a historian comes along to set us all straight we're simply sharing our observations, thoughts, and opinions on the matter, and I think it's all interesting.

I've also read articles about the derby being "the hat that won the west", but it seems to me those articles were written from a "white collar/businessman" perspective because, with rare exception, the men I see wearing them in photos taken before 1900 appear to be either businessmen who regularly wore suits, or working men who got "duded up" to go into town. And those men are always somewhere in a town, usually in a saloon. In photos of working men who were miles from the nearest town, wider-brimmed hats were far more prevalent.

I live in a suburb about 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, so I have no idea about what a real cowboy wears these days. Growing up here in the 1960s our neighborhood was very rural. My dad raised chickens in our back yard, and at least three of our neighbors had stables and horses in theirs; one even had a training ring. They're all gone now, but occasionally I'll see people riding horses in the surrounding areas and they're almost always men or women of Latin descent wearing straw "cowboy/western" hats.

 

[Frunobulax]

A lot of examples can be found in the Non-Shorpy All
stars thread. Several members have posted historical photos of figures from the 19th century American west. Some modern cowboy photos are mixed in at times, too.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[glider]

Zombie_61 has it right I think. If you look at the art of Fredrick Remington and other well known artist of the period that painted and sculpted the American west, you wont find a single derby. That is probably a better picture of what was worn by cowboys. This thread does bring up another question though, when did the baseball cap become so popular and when was it first made. I haven't seen any of them in old pictures.

 

[scottyrocks]

From what I understand, for practical purposes, a 'cowboy' hat was wide brimmed and tall-crowned, but not for fashion-sake. A tall crown creates an air pocket that serves as insulation, in both hot and cold weather.

 

[Zombie_61]

...This thread does bring up another question though, when did the baseball cap become so popular and when was it first made. I haven't seen any of them in old pictures.

From what little I've read on the subject, the first proper "baseball" caps were worn by the Brooklyn Excelsiors in 1860, and by 1900 had become known as the "Brooklyn style" cap. Some say the earliest baseball caps were "floppy" like the popular "Newsboy" caps, but a photo of the Cincinnati Reds taken in 1888 shows their caps to be more like the military-style cap frequently worn by Fidel Castro with a round flat-topped crown. The design was apparently refined over the years, but the version we're familiar with today came about in the 1940s when latex rubber was used as a stiffening material inside the cap. That modern version became the official cap of Major League Baseball in 1954.

As far as how and why the ball cap became more popular for casual wear off of the baseball field, that seems to be debated as much as the reasons for the decline of hat wearing in general. Some believe it started when Tom Selleck wore the Detroit Tigers cap on Magnum, P.I., but whatever the reason(s) the ball cap became a public favorite in the late-1970s and has obviously remained so to this day.

 

[scottyrocks]

I remember mesh trucker caps taking off in the '70s, and then everything grew out from there. Before that, baseball caps were just baseball caps.

 

[Frunobulax]

Some believe it started when Tom Selleck wore the Detroit Tigers cap on Magnum, P.I., but whatever the reason(s) the ball cap became a public favorite in the late-1970s and has obviously remained so to this day.

"Tom Selleck?!! I beg your pardon!"​

 

[Zombie_61]

View attachment 116160

"Tom Selleck?!! I beg your pardon!"​

Don't blame me; I just regurgitated what I read online. Besides, wasn't that one of those "duck bill" fishing caps like Ernest Hemingway used to wear?

 

[Bamaboots]

Besides, wasn't that one of those "duck bill" fishing caps like Ernest Hemingway used to wear?

Could be.

 

[glider]

One of the reasons for there popularity was because they were given away as advertising, as a matter of fact that may be the biggest reason. They are still handed out with the company name on them.

 

[andrew_AU]

One of the reasons for there popularity was because they were given away as advertising, as a matter of fact that may be the biggest reason. They are still handed out with the company name on them.

Here in Australia even Akubra's are handed out with company logos on them

 

[andrew_AU]

Here in Australia even Akubra's are handed out with company logos on them

View attachment 116182

Akubra's are school uniform hats too

 

[Redshoes51]

Cool ! I used to go there quite a bit . I'll PM you , we might meet next time I go . Do you ever eat lunch at Delta Meat Market ? I'll be in touch shoes .

I have no idea how I missed this... please accept my apologies...

School has been rather hectic... the semester is ending... and on the spur of the moment, I've decided to retire... quite a bunch of changes suddenly...

I do go to the Delta Meat Market from time to time... the young fellow who owns the place is the son of a high school friend of mine.

I trust all is well for you...

~shoes~

 

[Zoukatron]

Here in Australia even Akubra's are handed out with company logos on them

I can imagine that with agricultural or businesses with lots of outdoor work like the one pictured, do more office-based businesses have them too?

Akubra's are school uniform hats too

There's a small private school near where I live in Clapham that wear hats as part of their uniform, like little green soft bowlers/derbies, but they don't provide any where near as much weather protection. I imagine these school Akubras are associated with the promotion of hats for the prevention of skin cancer in Oz?

 

[andrew_AU]

I can imagine that with agricultural or businesses with lots of outdoor work like the one pictured, do more office-based businesses have them too?

I have never seen one myself but apparently companies like Mercedes Benz and Red Bull Racing have had Akubra promotional hats made
https://akubra.com.au/pages/add-your-logo

There's a small private school near where I live in Clapham that wear hats as part of their uniform, like little green soft bowlers/derbies, but they don't provide any where near as much weather protection. I imagine these school Akubras are associated with the promotion of hats for the prevention of skin cancer in Oz?

Most schools here have a "Sun Smart" policy and children have to wear hats when playing outside during spring and summer. If a child forgets to bring their hat to school they are often required to stay indoors (library etc) or play only in a covered area.of the school grounds.

 

[Frunobulax]

I have never seen one myself but apparently companies like Mercedes Benz and Red Bull Racing have had Akubra promotional hats made
https://akubra.com.au/pages/add-your-logo


Most schools here have a "Sun Smart" policy and children have to wear hats when playing outside during spring and summer. If a child forgets to bring their hat to school they are often required to stay indoors (library etc) or play only in a covered area.of the school grounds.

They should keep a stack of ugly hats around to wear if they forget theirs. Sort of like restaurants that require ties always kept some around for inadequately dressed patrons.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[andrew_AU]

They should keep a stack of ugly hats around to wear if they forget theirs. Sort of like restaurants that require ties always kept some around for inadequately dressed patrons.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

They do that for preschool kids. Usually they are ugly dark green bucket hats that I think they get free from the Cancer Council.

But by primary school they expect the children to just remember their hats or live with the consequences for the day so that they just remember their hats.

 

[Zombie_61]

I was at a local Sam's Club (a "big box" store chain in the U.S.) earlier today, and with temps in the upper-80s (°F) I wore my Sunbody palm leaf hat. In line in front of me was a young couple whose son was riding in the cart. He was probably between one and two years old, and was wearing a little straw Trilby with a bound brim. The moment he saw me he immediately focused on my hat, and the expression on his little face was as if he was thinking, "Hey, that guy is wearing a hat like mine." When I smiled and tapped my hat, he giggled and grinned from ear to ear. At that age I don't know if his cognitive functions were developed enough for him to actually understand we were wearing similar hats, but he seemed to so it was a nice little moment for me.