Mens Hats History Timeline

  • The Panama

    The Panama
    This hat was made for warmer weather. It was made very light with hand woven South American reed straw. This was an expensive hat, so you'd only see the wealthy wear them.
  • The boater

    The boater
    This hat was worn for outdoor sports. It was woven with thick straw with a 2 or 3 inch brim. Typically, they wore it with a solid or stripped ribbon around the base.
  • The Flat Cap

    The Flat Cap
    Known as the "Great Gatsby" hat. It is made of 8 triangle panels that meet at the top and covered with a button with the same material.
  • The Derby/Bowler

    The purpose of this hat being made was to ride horses and protect your head from bushes and branches. It is a lighter weight felt. This was the most common hat in the 1920s.
  • The Fedora

    This hat has a 3 inch brim. The brim would turn down on the front and back sides. It was known as the "swagger hat" style. It was often worn by middle class and judged by the wealthy.
  • The Walking Hat

    The Walking Hat
    Also known as the "bucket hat." It was made of tweed with a wide, turned down brim. It has an unconstructed crown without creasing and a thin fabric band with a flat bow.
  • The 1940s

    The fedora, homburg, and flat caps were still worn with certain styles. If someone was wearing a hat it would be tilted and the back of the brim would be turned up.
  • The Porkpie

    The Porkpie
    This hat was made of fur felt. It's short with an oval top and a deep crease. The brim was wide and curled up. It also had a thin leather band.
  • The 1950s

    During this time, they introduced splashes of color and fun designs. Straw hats were also very popular. This was the last decade that men were required to wear hats to be fashionable.
  • The 1960s

    By this decade, hat wearing was declining. When before you'd see almost every man wearing a hat, you didn't see it nearly as much now.
  • The 1970s

    Slouch hats or wide casual hats became popular. Fedoras also made an appearance again after so many years.
  • The 1980s

    The 1980s
    Baseball caps became huge. They loved bright, bold colors and prints. You'd often see these hats at sporting games. This hat has stayed popular for many many years and people still wear them today.