The fedora is an iconic hat that has withstood the test of time and has been among the most preferred fashion accessories for both men and women for more than a century. The versatility of fedoras has been the reason for its astonishing longevity despite the ups and downs it had to face. The fedora hat started with a bang way back in 1882 as it premiered in a play where the female lead by the same name wore the hat. Although it became an instant hit with women, it was not until the first quarter of the twentieth century when the Prince of Wales wore a fedora for the first time in 1924 to establish it as a fashion accessory for men. Since the prince was a powerful fashion influencer of those days, his influence catapulted the fedora to the mainstream.
Since then, it has been a roller coaster ride for the fedora’s popularity that peaked in the mid-twentieth century, and after a brief decline during the closing years of the twentieth century, it bounced back once again on finding favor with the millennial generation. Soon, the celebrities started adoring the quintessential hat that is now a rage among fashion lovers who want to make a style statement that is essentially their own. Wearing a straw fedora mens hats not only makes you look stylish but hints at your styling sense that goes well with the current trends.
The rich legacy of fedora hats
The secret of the extraordinary longevity of fedora hats is that it is not a specific type of hat but a bundle of characteristics that hat makers can mix and match to create hundreds of variations of the style. As a result, fedoras have always found favor with Hollywood celebrities who have handsomely contributed to sustaining its popularity throughout the years. From the vintage gangster movies of the 1920s to the musicals of the 1950s and 1960s and extending up to the 1980s when Harrison Ford reinvented the fedora in the Indiana Jones movies, the fedoras have managed to maintain their popularity.
Surprisingly, the new age stars of Hollywood are reinventing the charm of the fedoras by constantly wearing the hat to create modern styles by experimenting with its innumerable characteristics. It is the reason for fedoras staying contemporary and never falling out of favor. Michael Jackson’s reinterpretation of the fedoras converted fedoras into a thoroughly modern accessory that lighted up the environment with its black and white shades.
Identifying fedoras
Unless you know the identification marks of fedoras, you might land up buying a trilby. Like any other hats, fedoras have a crown and brim. Viewing from the top of the crown looks like a teardrop; it is undoubtedly a fedora perhaps available from Americanhatmakers.com. The hatband usually runs around the base of the crown at the junction where it meets the brim. The hat brim stays attached to the bottom of the crown. In addition to the teardrop crown shape, another typical fedora feature is the pinched crease of the crown that runs on both sides.
Fedora styles and crown shapes
The pliable brim of fedoras allows you to create your style by keeping the brim flat or curled. From pointed to round, the crowns come in different shapes, and it is possible to create various designs of the crown by altering the position and depth of the pinch, typical of the fedora design. The classical style of fedora displays a dented or pinched crown consisting of two large indentations on each side that culminate at a point to form a teardrop shape. However, dents are not mandatory for the fedora design, and you can have a design without any dent.
Blending fashion and functionality
Although hats are fashion accessories, their functionality is equally important. Choosing the style and design of fedoras depends greatly on what you expect from the hat and whether fashion rules over functionality or vice versa or you want something in between. The versatility of fedoras allows you to use them in the way you want according to the occasion and situation. Fedoras offer exceptional flexibility in styling. Suppose you wish to create the edgy looks of Johnny Depp and Michael Jackson or want to wear it with some classic menswear that displays a considerable amount of formality. The beauty of fedoras is that you can pair them up elegantly with a suit and tie and have the same kind of satisfaction when wearing them with a pair of jeans. Whether you want fedoras to accompany formal attires or casually step out in your informal attire, fedoras will never look misfit.
The functional aspects of fedoras
Hats protect the head from the elements of weather. The choice of fedoras depends on the manner of its use beyond style and fashion. The fedora style with a wide brim of 4 inches is an ideal summer hat as it creates a conical shadow that extends to the shoulder and beyond, depending on the height of the person wearing it. It protects the face, neck, and some parts of the shoulders from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Choosing straw, cotton, and twill as the hat material is ideal for summer use, just as good are some synthetic material, wool felt, or leather for using the heat in the cold seasons. Fedora hats for summer wear have a sweatband made of soft leather or cowhide that increases comfort.
Besides knowing the styling options, you must also learn about hat care because proper maintenance of hats ensures longevity and retains good looks. Unfortunately, there is no standard method of hat maintenance because different materials need different kinds of maintenance. For example, the way you should maintain wool felt fedoras will be utterly different from maintaining a straw fedora or a leather fedora.
As you adore your fedoras, you must take their proper care so that you can enjoy a long association with your favorite hat. Only when you have fun and feel confident about wearing the hat shows that you have made the right choice.