Hats are a strange, but very influential accessory in society today. I say strange only because not everyone can wear them — myself, for example. When I say hats, you might think of baseball caps, or if you are familiar with the material I cover in my articles, you might think of bowlers or fedoras. Fret not, I plan to address several different kinds of hats.
Hats have taken a big turn throughout the last century. What we might call formal hats were commonplace in the past: bowlers, top hats, etc. But those faded away and eventually caps came out. The popular baseball cap we know today got its design in the ‘40s; however, the concept of the baseball cap grew in popularity through the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Fedoras and bowlers, on the other hand, were popular in the ‘20s through the ‘60s, but quickly died out in the ‘70s. Fedoras made a comeback after they became standard apparel for characters and celebrities such as Indiana Jones, Freddy Kruger and Michael Jackson. I’ve seen people on campus wear them as well; if anything, it’s made me notice them. Top hats, though, have not made any real comeback; I imagine the oldest generations wearing them to formal gatherings — maybe the Hopkins Club — but otherwise, T-Pain wore a top hat to the 2008 American Music Awards, and Punxsutawney Groundhog Club members wear them every year for Groundhog’s Day.
Other hats are common, but less frequent at Hopkins. Skulls caps or beanies as well as flat caps are quite popular in some styles. Cowboy hats and other variants such as ten-gallon hats are still popular out west. Plus, there are many religious styles such as the Jewish Yarmulke, and foreign hat styles such as the East African Kofia that are popular, but might not be worn by the general public in the United States.
I’d love to wear a hat; I think a fedora or a flat cap would be nice to wear every day. I also have a Polska baseball cap from the 2006 World Cup that would be perfect for supporting my heritage; however, hats don’t look good on me. Many people face this same problem — usually they don’t look right or don’t form to the head properly. The shape of my head and my hairstyle don’t agree with hats. I personally feel that bangs should not poke out under the brim of a baseball cap — that means you, Justin Bieber. So, I would tuck my hair under the front of my hat, which then gives me horrible hat hair. Also, the shape of my head causes the hat to “crease” the hair on the back of my head, creating a weird ripple. I just look terrible, and there are others who can identify with me. My mother always tells me that she can never wear hats because they just don’t look good on her. Sadly, people like me can only admire hats from afar or purchase them and never wear them. I will admit that I get jealous on occasion when I see someone wearing a great hat that I know would look awful on me.
I should address hats and high fashion. Baseball caps are not something ever to be considered “formal”; they are baseball caps, meant to keep the sun out of one’s eyes at the game. Also, I don’t really care for flat-brimmed caps or wearing caps backwards — as mentioned, they are supposed to keep the sun out of your eyes. A flat brim blocks a considerably smaller amount of sun than a curved brim, and backwards the brim isn’t doing anything except covering one’s neck. Fedoras are great hats because they can be both formal and casual. However, I think they always make one appear more formal even if they are worn with a casual outfit. Top hats are definitely formal; a suit at 100 percent perfection would be taken up another 10 with the addition of a top hat, but as mentioned, they have fallen out of style.
There are a few hats that I think would be epic if they came back — usually only seen at heritage or historical restoration sites, but fancy nonetheless. The colonial tricorne hat, as worn by the minutemen during the American Revolution, would probably be considered a regal hat in this day and age. Walk into chemistry lecture with this and people would expect to see no less than Washington’s army at Trenton following you. A beaver hat, which looks like a top hat, was made of felted beaver fur and was easily shaped into other hat styles such as the Kepi worn by the French Army during the 20th century. One version of the beaver hat, although the name escapes me, looked like a top hat, but had a very deep and pointed brow, almost like a beak. I first saw this in a black and white film as a boy and wanted to have it; fortunately, I realized that hats and I don’t mix well and did not pursue getting one. I would, however, be delighted to see this hat grace the streets again.
In the past, hats were a major part of greeting other people. A man would tip his hat to a lady or two men would tip their hats to each other. Today, however, we do something a bit different. Even as hats and tipping hats have disappeared, men occasionally greet close friends or acknowledge them in passing with a slight nod or rising of the head, each meaning “hello” and “what’s up” respectfully.
Hats are interesting: they go back to the times of the Greeks and span into modern day with the baseball cap. In the future we might adapt a new hat. I envision the cyber-visor, a colored rim of energy that floats above the forehead, keeping the sun out of the eyes of hyper-ball watchers on Mars. We can only imagine.
