Straw hats are the most obvious accessories to use as protection against the sun. Straw hats are distinguished by their woven makeup of different types of straw like hemp, raffia, paper sinamaye or jute. By the early 1900s, straw hats were worn by everyone. And the first icons appeared: When President Theodore Roosevelt 1906 visited the Panama Canal he wore a straw hat. 25 years later the “Panama Hat” became Ecuador’s number-one export. In the decades that followed, straw hats appeared in every shape and style. And it became fashion: In 1976, Karl Lagerfeld sent out a ribbon band boater hat with a white Grecian-style dress. As time goes by the silhouettes outsized – and shrunk again. And new styles like the pirat hat (Anna Sui for her Spring/Summer 2007 collection) or the straw conical hat (again Karl Lagerfeld at a Chanel show in 2009) rose and fall. Today there is a burst of renewed interest in straw hats: We find basic and traditional forms, lengthened crowns, wide and small brims, basic and luxury materials, handmade pieces of art and mass production. The straw hat has been (and continues to be) one of those incredibly rare items that has been able to remarkably transcend age, class, gender, and fashion genres. It is, by far, the most democratic fashion item in our days.
Let us take a jump 50 years in time. Cold war is over and those of us who do not believe this may take a closer look around. We find a broad variety of Trilbys, Homburgern, Florentines, Fedoras, Borsalinos, Barets, Schuten, Kreissägen, Turbanen, Fascinators, Beanies, Caps , Bands and Bandanas, … in our streets. Not necessarily as expression of membership to a certain peer group (Well, let us put the slopingly and brim back worn Baseballcaps aside) but as expression of individualization. And, here again, many stiles in various styles forms and colors as the ultimative fashion statement. A large number of journalists and fashion bloggers are giving advice and help to make this individualization a bit more modern and fashionable. Since as well the cat walks of the world do showcase the new styles it has become obvious that hats and fashion, finaly, belong together again. In the scientific world of media and communication is a law which says that if one thing has ever experienced a broad acceptance and usage in society will never be forgotten but will break their way through again. The world top designers may find this idea usefull idea because from this perspective the todays Fedoras & friends may just be the door opener for the revival of the 19th century cylinder hat!?
Do you think it is possible to tell the cultural story of hatwear in less than just 40 lines? Well, it is at least worth a try and many of the following inspiring and lesson teaching thoughts do come from the book „Hut – Gut“ aus der „ALUF“ –Serie (Aus Lehre und Forschung) from Simon Gehlen and Thomas Strahleck under supervision of Prof. Dr. Rainer Zimmermann and Prof. Victor Malsy from Fachhochschule Duesseldorf.
Hats and hat fashion have stayed with mankind since the beginning of civilisation: Be it as fur hat for protection against wind and weather, as sign of membership of a certain state, as local statement of origin, as national costume, as fashion accessory, as expression pro or contra the current establishment, as demonstration of power and strength, or the other way round of deceny and politeness , as expression of fine mindness or reconnaissance and free thinking,… For whatever reasons: wearing of hats and other headwear has been a kind of duty into the 60th. It is been told that it has been the supposedly the for his fresh way of thinking woreshiped John F. Kennedy who initiated the fall of the hat wear for theses times beeing. Most of the pictures we all well know show Kennedy as the new fashion appearence – with no hat on. So this was it: „The New American Look“. Younger generations were exhausted – and only the conservatives wore hats. The rest was done by the cuba crisis and foremost by Nikita Chruschtschow himself because he symbolized cristal clear: The enemy wears hat. The decline started off with the men, the ladies world followed soon.
Strawhats made of Italien straw have been worn as the classical summer hat worldwide since middle of the 1920th. Typical are the longer ribbons at the backside. These hats are made out of particularly long wheat strawfibers, which are interwoven by hand under running water into fine strips which are time consuming sewn together meter by meter. The resulting circular mat is again treated with steam and special know-how by hand on wooden forms into the final form. The only suitable type of wheat which withstands this process was originally grown near Florence (Florentine Straw Hat). In the middle of the 19th century the cultivation of this kind of wheat was shifted into the neighborhood of Milan and “Florentine Straw” became the still famous “Milan straw”. Due to the high expenses for workmanship and alternative uses of the soil this tradition declined in the 1970s and this particular straw seeds found their way to China. In former rice fields the production found ideal conditions to increase the outcome again. However, the proportion of manual labor and the necessary knowledge around the sewing and the production of the hats have remained unchanged. Today the finely stitched hats from the original Florentine / Milan straw are rarely found even in China. Enthusiasts do compare this special styles with the classic car scene in the automotive industry: Wanted as a Porsche 911 or a Jaguar E-Type of the 1960s / 70s. Consequently prices have rissen accordingly. Next to industrially manufactured replica finest and handmade originals are hard to find for less than 200 Euros.
Out of question that hats are in fashion again. Models and streetstyle-stars are counting on headwear as the most liked accessoire for the upcoming autumn/winter season 2015/16. Next to floppy heads classic mens styles like Trillby, Borsalino Style, Fedora have conquered the ladies dressing rooms. Even Bowler Hats and Porkpies are seen. Smartly used a hat make an basic outfit a super-chic one. Shirt, jeans a casual leather jacket, flats – combined with a stylish hat. This is how the celebrities can be spotted on their private shopping trips in Berlin, London or New York these days. Want to get ready for a stylish nightlife outfit? Just change to high heels, a fashionable blazer – and a cool Fedora. Choose your colors this season rather basic: natural ones as vino or dark green, the whole range of sand and for sure black and grey. The latter preferably combined the new ‘two-tone-look’ way. In winter tightly suited wool coats are dominating the scene. An ideal opportunity for nicely warming felt hats. But please look at the details: brims are cutted, not sewn – pretty cool!
Even the 1867 published German proverbs Glossary of Karl Friedrich hiker lists over 150 phrases with the hat for example: Hat off as a sign of respect, marry someone, thus bringing them under the hood, in the Middle Ages a small group of fighters under the leadership of a man (with hat). Bringing the old hat, throwing this hat into the ring to show a mans presence in advance, hang his hat on a nail, or do you prefer to take your hat,and get one on the cap, Love is the best hat or under a round hat the kiss tastes twice as good, …The hat is representative of the whole
man and his noblest part, his head.
Celebrities like Collin Farrel, Kim Kardashian, January Jones or Johnny Depp have for a long time already discovered the hat and there are more and more that follow, because in Hollywood the time of “nothing on top” is over. Classic shapes like the floppy hat or the fedora or are especially seen in many materials and colors. They are otherwise chosen by shape and size of the individual themselves and so it should be, because with hats individuality remains in demand.
During the middle ages the hat was worn to show rank and status of the wearer. The hats, caps and hats worn since the 18th century until today are rather worn for fashionable purposes (See also Part 4: hat fashion). The outdoor boom of the 90′s moved the hat back to it’s very original purpose of protection against sun, wind and weather: Mothers protect the sensitive scalps of their little ones again today against the sunlight and not only the die-hard hikers are aware: In the case of windy and cold weather a person loses 25 percent of body heat through their head and while on the subject of UV protection: The modern summer and beach hats are now high-tech products with the most modern materials and the highest sun protection factors.
© 2018 Loevenich Fashion GmbH
