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Stingy brims???

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12,384
Location
Albany Oregon
Wiki says... The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín or derby (USA), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler during 1849. :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
+1 Word. Also, Melon, Bowker, and a few others that show up in the Bowler/Derby Thread! All of this has been worked over pretty good in the past, some things never change. You can google+fedora lounge just about anything under the sun, and there is a thread. Enjoyable mental exercises today though...

Kirk tribbles.jpg
 
Messages
12,002
Location
Southern California
And also sometimes called a coke hat. I forget why.
According to this online Newsweek article it was originally known as "the Coke", named after Edward Coke, younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester, who commissioned Lock & Co. to create a hat that would protect the heads of the gamekeepers who worked on their property. The job fell to Lock's hatmaker Thomas Bowler, and the Coke was created. Eventually it became better known as "the Bowler", named after it's creator, but it's still referred to as the Coke by the keepers of the Earl of Leicester's estate.
 

Winston Carter

Practically Family
Messages
675
Location
Seagoville, Tx.
Why not have a Pork Pie or Gambler with an oval crown?
When I hand-shape my hat crowns they always turn out more oval than round, because my head is oval!
I actually think they look better on me that way.
I might try that. When I get a long oval I still have to steam and pull to get it comfortable. I would like to try a gambler but when I tried one on at a hat store I could almost stick my fingers in the sides.:(:(
 
Messages
18,378
Location
Nederland
According to this online Newsweek article it was originally known as "the Coke", named after Edward Coke, younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester, who commissioned Lock & Co. to create a hat that would protect the heads of the gamekeepers who worked on their property. The job fell to Lock's hatmaker Thomas Bowler, and the Coke was created. Eventually it became better known as "the Bowler", named after it's creator, but it's still referred to as the Coke by the keepers of the Earl of Leicester's estate.
I believe it was a bit of a local thing for Londoners: those south of the river in Southwark, where the manufacturer Thomas Bowler was located, referred to it as a bowler and those north of the river where Lock&Co referred to it as a Coke hat. The term bowler stuck. Lock&Co pride themselves as being the inventors of the bowler, but I believe open crown felt hats were around before the earl commissioned Lock. Only thing they added I suppose was making it more stiff, more the construction of a silk top hat.
 

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