Hat in the history of different nations

In today's world filled with convenience and comfort, a hat is only a fashion accessory. Historically, the hat is a significant part of the culture of many peoples. This fact is due to the fact that in those days when there were no air conditioners, cars and many things familiar to us, people felt an urgent need for protection from the scorching sun, insects and winds. Each country has its own, unique, traditional hat. The features of their cut take into account the peculiarities of the climatic zone and the historical events of the country.

The favorite hat of Captain Jack Sparrow, the hero of Johnny Depp in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, actually has nothing to do with pirates. The cocked hat is the traditional men's hat of the French soldiers of the time of Louis XIV. For a long time, the Western European uniform of the military was equipped with wide-brimmed hats, a striking example of which can be considered musketeer hats.

With the advent of firearms, the wide-brimmed hat is losing its popularity. This is explained by the fact that the brim of the hat made it difficult to conveniently position the butt of a bulky gun on the shoulder. The military folded the edges of the hat up and fastened them to the crown. This tradition has taken root. Over time, the army completely switched to cocked hats.And after some time, cocked hats became popular among civilians.

Since the cocked hat was a uniform, such a hat was decorated according to the title of its owner. Traditionally, the edge of the hat was decorated with gold lace. The higher the rank of officer, the wider was the band of galloon. Middle-ranking officers were allowed to attach a cockade. Officers of the highest ranks were supposed to wear a plume - an ornament made of ostrich feathers. His size also depended on the status of the officer.

This headdress is in demand among the Austrians and is an integral part of the German national costume. It first appeared in Tyrol, a region of Austria located in the mountainous part of the country, hence the tradition of sewing a bundle of wool from a mountain goat's beard into real Tyrolean hats arose. It was originally part of the costume of the Tyrolean soldiers, but over time passed into the culture of Austria and Bavaria and became better known as the Bavarian hat.

This is a small, practical hat made of felt. It has a low crown in the shape of a trapezoid, turned inward, the brim of the hat is not wide, turned up at the back and straightened in front. Traditionally, the Tyrolean hat is usually decorated with a twisted cord and a bunch of feathers. Particularly wealthy men decorated their headdresses with large tassels sticking up.

Later, army hunters began to wear such a hat, among whom there was a tradition to add a feather to the decoration after each successful hunt. Among the military, a whole set of distinctive badges arose to decorate headdresses; they served as a symbol of the troops to which the soldier belonged.

Fashion for a hat-cylinder went all over Europe, visited Russia and reached the USA. This hat has become a symbol of wealth, style and an entire era. Despite the fact that the first cylinder was made in 1797, the popularity of this headdress came only 20 years later.

Initially, the cylinder had many cut options, various materials and colors were used. There was even a folding look of these hats - a hat hat. Over time, the fashion for the top hat became more demanding, they began to be made exclusively from the skins of hogs. The production of such a headdress required a lot of expenses, such hats were sewn only by hand - that is why the top hat became a symbol of wealth.

In the middle of the 19th century, almost all beavers were destroyed for the manufacture of cylinders, so production switched to the use of silk plush. This material has a characteristic luster, so that rich people stood out among gentlemen who wore top hats made of cheaper felt and felt. At the end of the 19th century, the fashion for cylinders faded away, but the richest people did not refuse them until 1930.

This classic hat goes by several names such as Coke, Blauwer, Melon Hat or Derby, but we know it as the Bowler Hat. It was assumed that the bowler hat would become the uniform hat of the English foresters. In the middle of the 19th century, men wore high top hats. Such a headdress was convenient in the city, but not in the forest, where foresters lead most of their time. Tall cylinders clung to branches and often fell or were completely lost.The first bowler hat was made by the Buhler brothers according to the sketch of the Lok brothers in 1849. The hat was sewn from thick felt, it sat tightly on the head and well protected it from branches. The bowler hat gained the greatest popularity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During this period, the fashion for bowlers spread throughout almost all of Europe and reached America. Since the production of this headdress was not expensive, its cost was not great.

In the US, the bowler hat was popular with absolutely all segments of the population. In the UK, it was considered a formal type of clothing and served as an addition to a classic suit. The most famous admirer of the bowler hat was the great Charlie Chaplin. He introduced in England the fashion for a combination of a bowler hat with a sweater, which made this type of hat even more popular.

The favorite hat of bandits and gangsters of the early twentieth century was conceived as an exclusively female accessory. In 1882, the great Sarah Bernhardt played the title role in the play "Fedora" by Victorien Sardou. For this role, the director ordered the costume designers to make a unique new hat. The play was a resounding success, and queues of those wishing to replenish their wardrobe with “a hat like Bernard's” lined up to the hat makers. At the beginning of the 20th century, cinemas began showing films about brutal gangsters. These courageous and daring heroes defy the Great Depression and Prohibition, carry machine guns and scorn the rules. On the head of each of them is a fedora. So she became popular with men.

In the 1970s, interest in this headdress practically disappears, but only until the appearance of a new, bright show business star. The great Michael Jackson instantly brings back the fashion for fedora. At the same time, Christian Dior launches a collection of women's clothing that pays special attention to this type of hat..

Can a headdress be cheerful? And how! For example, the well-known sombrero hat. This is the only headdress in the world that has its own festival. Sombrero is associated with unbridled fun and hot Mexico, but is this hat really the creation of the hands of a Mexican? The history of this headdress is very complicated, and several countries claim the title of the city.

The main distinguishing feature of a sombrero is a very wide brim. This hat has a lot of styles, is made from a variety of materials and has different purposes depending on the region. An Italian sombrero is absolutely any wide-brimmed hat with a high rounded crown.In Mexico, only a hat made by hand is considered a real sombrero. The poor Mexicans weave it from straw, the rich order richly decorated felt hats for themselves.

Spanish shepherds have their own traditional version of the sombrero, the vaquero sombrero. This headgear is known to us as a cowboy hat. Colombia also has its own version of the sombrero, it is distinguished by its black and white color. Wide-brimmed hats and cowboy hats are still a huge success to this day. In the summer collections of fashion houses such as Prada, Cavalli and Gaultier, images often appear complemented by such hats.

The most popular today can be called a small Hawaiian hat. At first glance, it has nothing to do with a sombrero, but then why is it called a mini sombrero? It is difficult to say who and when brought the fashion for hats to Hawaii, one can only assume that someone brought the sombrero to the paradise islands, and the locals adapted it to their needs.

The climate in the Hawaiian Islands is much more pleasant than in Mexico, so wide fields here would not be practical. The high crown was replaced by a short and flat one. Hats became very light, so they no longer needed a cord to fasten to the head. The crown began to be decorated with a motley colored ribbon.

Over time, the Hawaiian hat has also been transformed and acquired a modern look that we love. Now the Hawaiian hat is a short slanting crown with a pleat at the back of the head. The fields of the hat can be either flat or curved at the back or sides. Such hats are made from straw. They can be any color. The crown is still decorated with a ribbon, but now it is matched to the color of the hat.

The traditional Australian hat, the digger hat, which translates to "prospector's hat", is as unique and interesting as anything to do with Australian culture. During the gold rush, in search of wealth, a lot of daredevils went to Australia. They were searching for gold on the territory of a continent little explored at that time. These daredevils were called prospectors. Few of them really got rich, but there were those who were able to "make capital" without picking up picks and shovels. In 1847, a young man named Benjamin Dunkerley arrived in Australia in search of happiness. He developed an innovative method of dressing rabbit hair and kangaroo skin, which allowed him to open a hat business without much effort. The unbearable heat of the Australian desert forced prospectors to buy hats, hence the name digger hat.

The history of the appearance of this hat is amazing and has been passed down by the Vietnamese people from generation to generation for many centuries in a row. According to legend, in one particularly rainy year, a very beautiful girl came to Vietnam. She was fantastically tall and wore a pointed hat on her head. She walked through a country devastated by rains and taught agriculture to the exhausted people. Wherever she appeared, good weather came, and an excellent harvest ripened. Then she just disappeared. The Vietnamese believe that they will be fine as long as they wear hats like the girl from the legend.

To make such a hat does not require special skills, so the Vietnamese have been able to make them since childhood. The main material for the production of Non la are palm leaves. They are well dried, distributed in an even layer on a frame of thin bamboo rings and fastened with the same leaves.

Such a hat is very practical: it covers well from the hot sun and heavy rains, the hat has practically no weight, and in a difficult situation it can serve as a container for water or fruit, since it is very durable. Such hats are popular to this day, both among Vietnamese women and men. It is a symbol of Vietnam, therefore it is also popular among tourists.

The Japanese sister of Non la is called amigasa, which means "wicker hat" in translation.. Japanese craftsmen make them from the leaves of a young sedge. In Japan, such a hat is a sign of poverty and people working on the land. During the war years, it was often used as a throwing weapon and a means for obtaining and storing intelligence.

The Chinese equivalent is called douli, which translates as “10 liter hat”, because this is the volume of water that a high-quality hat made of palm leaves must withstand. For the Chinese, there are several types of such hats. A poor Chinese can afford palm-leaf hats. The rich choose hats made of expensive silk, painted or embroidered with branches of cherry blossoms. Often these hats are decorated with hieroglyphs, which contain folk wisdom or poems by famous Chinese poets.

The hat is still a popular fashion accessory today. The democracy of fashion allows you to choose different hats for different situations and images.The largest hat manufacturer in the world is the Czech company Tonak. The headwear of this company appears in the fashion collections of Dior and Chanel. Czech hats are rightfully considered the best in the world, but if you can’t afford one, don’t despair! You can also be fashionable in a hat from a more affordable manufacturer!