History of Hats — From Ancient Headwear to Modern Style

A History of Hats

Humans have been covering their heads for at least 5,000 years — for protection, status, religion, and style. The history of hats is the history of human civilisation told through what we put on top of it.

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Ancient World (3000 BCE – 500 CE)

Egypt

The earliest depictions of headwear come from ancient Egypt. The Nemes — the striped cloth headdress seen on Tutankhamun's death mask — signified pharaonic power. Priests wore leopard-skin caps. Workers wore simple linen wraps for sun protection.

Greece and Rome

Greek men wore the petasos, a wide-brimmed felt hat tied under the chin — one of the earliest sun hats and remarkably similar to modern designs. The pileus, a brimless felt cap, was given to freed slaves in Rome as a symbol of liberty. It later inspired the French revolutionary cap and, arguably, the modern beanie.

The Phrygian Cap

This soft, forward-leaning cap from Anatolia became a symbol of freedom in both the French and American revolutions. It appears on the head of Marianne (the French Republic symbol) and influenced the design of the Santa Claus hat.

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Medieval Period (500 – 1500)

Headwear became a marker of social class across medieval Europe:

The hennin — the iconic conical "princess hat" — is one of the most recognisable silhouettes in fashion history. Some reached a metre in height, requiring women to pass through doorways sideways.

During this period, sumptuary laws regulated who could wear what. In England, only gentlemen were permitted beaver-felt hats; commoners wore wool or cloth.

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Renaissance and Early Modern (1500 – 1750)

The Rise of the Beaver Felt Hat

Beaver fur creates the finest hat felt — smooth, water-resistant, and easily shaped. Demand for beaver pelts drove European exploration of North America and fuelled the Canadian fur trade for three centuries.

Tudor and Elizabethan Era

Henry VIII favoured flat caps adorned with jewels and feathers. In 1571, an English law required all males over six to wear a wool flat cap on Sundays — to support the domestic wool trade. The law lasted nearly 30 years.

The Cavalier Hat

The 17th century brought the wide-brimmed, plumed Cavalier hat — associated with dashing Royalist soldiers. Its shape influenced the tricorne, which replaced it.

The Tricorne

The three-cornered hat dominated the 18th century. Worn by everyone from George Washington to pirates (well, to actors playing pirates). Practical for keeping rain off the face and shoulders.

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The 19th Century — The Golden Age of Hats

The 1800s was the peak of Western hat culture. No respectable person appeared in public without headwear.

Top Hat (1797–)

Invented by John Hetherington in London. Initially caused a scandal — women fainted, children screamed (according to possibly apocryphal accounts). By the 1820s, it was the essential hat of the upper classes. Remained standard formal wear for over a century.

Bowler/Derby (1849)

Designed by London hatters Thomas and William Bowler for Edward Coke. Originally a practical riding hat — hard enough to protect from low branches. Became the standard hat of City workers, then of Charlie Chaplin, then of surrealist painters.

• Called "bowler" in the UK and most of the world
• Called "derby" in the United States (after the horse race)

Stetson / "Cowboy Hat" (1865)

John B. Stetson created the "Boss of the Plains" — a wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat for the American West. It protected against sun, rain, and dust. Cowboys used it to fan fires, scoop water, and wave down stagecoaches. The American cowboy hat is, functionally, one of the most successful hat designs ever created.

Deerstalker (1860s)

A hunting cap with ear flaps, permanently associated with Sherlock Holmes (though Arthur Conan Doyle never specifically described it — illustrator Sidney Paget added it).

Boater (1880s)

A flat-topped, flat-brimmed straw hat. Standard summer wear for men from the 1880s to 1920s. Still seen at Henley, rowing clubs, and in barbershop quartets.

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The 20th Century — Rise, Peak, and Fall

1900s–1930s: Peak Hat Culture

Everyone wore a hat. The fedora (1891, named after a play) became the dominant men's hat by the 1920s, displacing the bowler. Women's hats grew elaborate — massive feathered constructions that prompted the Plumage Act of 1921 in the UK to protect birds.

The cloche hat (1920s) defined the flapper era — a close-fitting bell shape that covered the forehead and required women to bob their hair.

1930s–1950s: The Hollywood Era

Hats were glamorous. Humphrey Bogart and his fedora in Casablanca. Audrey Hepburn's wide-brimmed hats. Grace Kelly. Frank Sinatra's tilted fedora became inseparable from his persona.

The beret moved from military use to artist's accessory, thanks partly to its adoption by Parisian intellectuals and later by Che Guevara and the Black Panthers.

1960s: The Death of the Hat

John F. Kennedy's hatless inauguration in 1961 is often blamed — but the real killer was the car. You can't wear a hat in a small car. Suburban living, casual culture, and central heating all contributed. By 1970, the formal hat was essentially dead for daily wear.

1970s–1990s: Subcultural Revival

Hats survived in subcultures:

• Baseball caps became universal casual wear
• Beanies became counterculture staples (skating, hip-hop)
• Bucket hats peaked with Madchester and rave culture (1989–1992)
• Cowboy hats remained standard in the American West and country music

2000s–Present: The Return

Hats are back — and more diverse than ever. The flat cap crossed from working class to fashion essential. Fedoras returned (sometimes controversially). Bucket hats made an improbable comeback via streetwear. Beanies are year-round. And social media created a new wave of hat interest — vintage hat restoration videos, millinery tutorials, and hat collecting communities.

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Timeline at a Glance

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