Historical figures in wideawake hats
Rembrandt
Thomas Carlyle on a midnight ramble by Charles Bell Birch
Quaker Oats Mascot
A wideawake hat is a broad brimmed felt "countryman's hat" with a low crown, similar to a slouch hat. A wideawake hat is most commonly seen in dark shades of cloth, such as dark brown or black felt. The brim is fairly wide, and is flat in front and back but with a moderate upturn on the left and right sides. The brim may be asymmetric from side to side, as seen in the Rembrandt portrait, or symmetrical, as seen in the Quaker Oats logo. If asymmetric, it is more similar to a slouch hat, which has one side pinned to the crown and the other side allowed to droop. [1] The top is styled flatly, rather than in a bowler curve. A hatband at the base is common. [2] The name may derive from a humorous pun – the hat "never had a nap , and never wants one". [3]
The best-known portrayals of a wideawake hat are two self-portraits by Rembrandt from 1632.
In the United States, wideawake hats have also been known as "Quaker hats", after their adoption by Quakers in the 17th century. A well-known depiction of this style is part of the logo for Quaker Oats. It was also associated with the Wide Awake Party, an abolitionist Republican Party affiliate organization in the 1860s in the United States. [4]
The hat gained in popularity in the Victorian era, [5] and was adopted in the 20th century as part of the dress uniform for some British boy-scouting organizations. [6] [5] Photos of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), in a wideawake hat are the best-known images of the young Tennyson. [7]
A baseball cap is a type of soft hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front.
A top hat is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or sometimes grey, the top hat emerged in Western fashion by the end of the 18th century. Although it declined by the time of the counterculture of the 1960s, it remains a formal fashion accessory. A collapsible variant of a top hat, developed in the 19th century, is known as an opera hat.
A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia, France, the United States, the Confederate States, Germany and many others. Australia and New Zealand have had various models of slouch hat as standard issue headwear since the late Victorian period.
A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain and was frequently seen at the horse races.
Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting.
In English, a sombrero is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high, pointed crown; an extra-wide brim that is slightly upturned at the edge; and a chin strap to hold it in place.
A pork pie hat is one of several different styles of hat that have been worn since the mid-19th century. The pork pie hat gained further popularity in the 20th century, being worn by famous actors and musicians. This style of hat features a flat crown that resembles a traditional pork pie, thus earning its name.
The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western, midwestern, and southern United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with many country music, regional Mexican and Sertanejo music performers, and with participants in the North American rodeo circuit. It is recognized around the world as part of traditional Old West apparel.
Akubra is an Australian hat manufacturer owned by Tattarang since November 2023. The company is associated with bush hats made of rabbit fur felt with wide brims that are worn in rural Australia. The term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind, however the company manufactures a wide range of hat styles including fedora, homburg, bowler, pork pie, and trilby.
A campaign hat, sometimes called campaign cover, is a broad-brimmed felt or straw hat, with a high crown, pinched symmetrically at the four corners. The campaign hat is occasionally referred to as a Stetson, derived from its origin in the company's Boss of the Plains model in the late 19th century.
Fashion in the period 1600–1650 in Western clothing is characterized by the disappearance of the ruff in favour of broad lace or linen collars. Waistlines rose through the period for both men and women. Other notable fashions included full, slashed sleeves and tall or broad hats with brims. For men, hose disappeared in favour of breeches.
The Tyrolean hat, also Tyrolese hat, Bavarian hat or Alpine hat, is a type of headwear that originally came from the Tyrol in the Alps, in what is now part of Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. It is an essential and distinctive element of the local folk costume, or tracht.
A cavalier hat is a variety of wide-brimmed hat which was popular in 17th-century Europe. These hats were often made from felt, and usually trimmed with an ostrich plume. They were frequently cocked up or had one side of the brim pinned to the side of the crown of the hat which was then decorated with feathers. Cavalier hats derived their name from supporters of Charles I of England during the English Civil War, known as Cavaliers, who were noted for wearing extravagant clothing. It was a common hat style throughout Europe during the 17th century, until it was later replaced in fashion by the tricorne, which was originally a cavalier hat with its brim bound into a triangle.
A boonie hat or booney hat is a type of wide-brim sun hat commonly used by military forces in hot tropical climates. Its design is similar to a bucket hat but with a stiffer brim.
Romanian traditional clothing refers to the national costume worn by Romanians, who live primarily in Romania and Moldova, with smaller communities in Ukraine and Serbia. Today, the vast majority of Romanians wear modern-style dress on most occasions, and the garments described here largely fell out of use during the 20th century. However, they can still be seen in more remote areas, on special occasions, and at ethnographic and folk events. Each historical region has its own specific variety of costumes.
The Boss of the Plains was a lightweight all-weather hat designed in 1865 by John B. Stetson for the demands of the American West. It was intended to be durable, waterproof and elegant. The term "Stetson" eventually became all-but-interchangeable with what later became known as the cowboy hat due to later style-designs based on how the rounded-crown would deform from regular use.
A picture hat or Gainsborough hat is an elaborate woman's hat with a wide brim. It has been suggested that the name may be derived from the way the broad brim frames the face to create a "picture".
A mushroom hat is a millinery style in which the brim of the hat tilts downwards, resembling the shape of a mushroom. It is a style that first emerged in the 1870s and 1880s, when it was usually made of straw. It became fashionable again from around 1907 to the late 1920s; these versions featured a distinctly downturned brim although the size and shape of the crown varied according to prevailing fashions.
The shovel hat was a style of hat formerly associated with the Anglican clergy, particularly archdeacons and bishops.
Media related to Wideawake hats at Wikimedia Commons