The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

best known as the defining piece of attire for the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

workers in the western and southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, with many

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, regional Mexican and sertanejo music performers, and with participants in the North American rodeo circuit. It is recognized around the world as part of

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

apparel. The cowboy hat as known today has many antecedents to its design, including Mexican hats such as the

sombrero A sombrero (Spanish , ) 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 (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck and shoulders of the w ...

, the various designs of wide-brimmed hat worn by farmers and stockmen in the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

, as well as the designs used by the

United States Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one ...

. The first western model was the open-crowned "

Boss of the Plains 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. This design and the term " Stetson" eventually became all- ...

", and after that came the front-creased Carlsbad, destined to become "the" cowboy style.Foster-Harris, p. 106. The high-crowned, wide-brimmed, soft-felt western hats that followed are intimately associated with the cowboy image.Snyder, p. 5.

History

The concept of a broad-brimmed hat with a high crown worn by a rider on horseback can be seen as far back as the Mongolian horsemen of the 13th century.Bender, p. # The hat has a tall crown that provides insulation, and a wide brim that provides shade. Hot and sunny climates inspire designs with very wide brims such as the

of Mexico. It is not clear when the cowboy hat received its name. However, European-Americans in the Western United States originally had no standard headwear. People moving West wore many styles of hat, including

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditional ...

s, bowlers, Civil War headgear such as cavalry and slouch hats, and

sailor hat Operation Sailor Hat was a series of explosives effects tests, conducted by the United States Navy Bureau of Ships under the sponsorship of the Defense Atomic Support Agency. The tests consisted of two underwater explosions at San Clemente Island ...

s.Carlson, p. # Contrary to popular belief, it was the bowler and not the cowboy hat that was the most popular in the American West, prompting

Lucius Beebe Lucius Morris Beebe (December 9, 1902 – February 4, 1966) was an American writer, gourmand, photographer, railroad historian, journalist, and syndicated columnist. Early life and education Beebe was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, to a prom ...

to call it "the hat that won the West". The working cowboy wore wide-brimmed and high-crowned hats. The hats were most likely adopted from civil war era slouch hats and may have been influenced by the Mexican

Vaqueros The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

before the invention of the modern design.Bender, p. 11.

John Batterson Stetson John Batterson Stetson (May 5, 1830 – February 18, 1906) was an American hatter, hat manufacturer, and in the 1860s, the inventor of the cowboy hat. He founded the John B. Stetson Company as a manufacturer of headwear. The company's hat ...

is credited for originating the modern day American Cowboy Hat. 1800s Boss of the plains 5

The original "

", manufactured by Stetson in 1865, was flat-brimmed, had a straight sided crown, with rounded corners.Snyder, p. 73. These light-weight, waterproof hats were natural in color, with four-inch crowns and brims.Snyder, p. 51. A plain hatband was fitted to adjust head size.Bender, p. 54. The sweatband bore Stetson's name. While only making one style of hat, they came in different qualities ranging from one-grade material at five dollars apiece to pure beaver felt hats for thirty dollars each.Snyder, p. # J.B. Stetson was the first to market the "Boss of the Plains" to cowboys, and it has remained the universal image of the American West.Reynolds & Rand, p. 17. The charisma of the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

was carried back East when adventurers returned in the expensive "Boss of the plains" style hat.Snyder, p. 49. In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, a hat was an indispensable item in every man's wardrobe. Stetson focused on expensive, high-quality hats that represented a real investment for the working cowboy and a statement of success for the city dweller. Reagan with horse

The durability and water-resistance of the original Stetson obtained additional publicity in 1912, when the battleship USS ''Maine'' was raised from Havana harbor, where it had sunk in 1898. A Stetson hat was found in the wreck, which had been submerged in seawater for 14 years. The hat had been exposed to ooze, mud, and plant growth. However, the hat was cleaned off, and appeared to be undamaged.John B. Stetson Company (1927) ''Stetson Hats the World Over. The Story of 50 Years of Stetson Foreign Business.'' Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: John B. Stetson Company.

Design

Modern cowboy hats are made of fur-based

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

, straw or, less often,

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

. They are sold with a tall, rounded crown and a wide flat brim. They have a simple sweat band on the inside to stabilize the fit of the head, and usually a small decorative hat band on the outside of the crown. Hats are customized by creasing the crown and rolling the brim. Hats are also sold pre-creased and pre-rolled. Often a more decorative hat band is added. In some places, "stampede strings" or "wind strings" are also attached.Christian. Hats can be manufactured in virtually any color, but are most often seen in shades of beige, brown and black. Beginning in the 1940s, pastel colors were introduced, seen often on hats worn by movie cowboys and rodeo riders.Snyder, p. 27. "Today's cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and design since the first one was created in 1865 by J.B. Stetson."Reynolds and Rand, p. 8.

Modern designs

The modern cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

and underlying

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

since the Stetson creation. The cowboy hat quickly identified its wearer as someone associated with the West.Reynolds & Rand, p. 10. "Within a decade the name 'John B. Stetson' became synonymous with the word 'hat' in every corner and culture west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

."Bender, p. 12. The shape of the hat's crown and brim were often modified by the wearer for fashion and to protect against

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmos ...

by being softened in hot steam, shaped, and allowed to dry and cool. Because of the ease of personalization, it was often possible to tell where a cowboy hat was from, right down to which

, simply by looking at the crease in the crown. Williamshart

Later as the mystique of the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

was popularized by entertainers such as

Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

and

western movies The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

starring actors such as

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

, the Cowboy hat came to symbolize the American West.Reynolds & Rand, p. 15. John Wayne christened them "the hat that won the West". The Boss of the Plains design influenced various wide-brimmed hats worn by

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

ers and ranchers all over the United States. Later designs were customized for law enforcement, military and motion pictures. The first American law-enforcement agency to adopt Stetson's western hat as part of their uniform was the Texas Rangers.Snyder, p. 10. The

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ar ...

designated the cowboy hat as the official "State Hat of Texas" in 2015.

Variations

Ten-gallon hats

Some cowboy hats have been called "ten-gallon" hats. The term came into use about 1925. There are multiple theories for how the concept arose. One theory is that the term "ten-gallon" is a corruption of the Spanish modifier , which loosely translates as "really handsome" or "so fine". For example, "" translates as "such a fine hat". Another theory is that the term "ten-gallon" is a corruption of the Spanish term , which means "

galloon Galloon (sometimes spelled galon in British English) is a heavily-decorated woven or braided trim, typically made of, or featuring, gold or silver thread, which may be woven or embroidered. Galloon trim is used in the trim of military and polic ...

", a type of narrow braided trim around the crown, possibly a style adapted by Spanish cowboys. When Texas cowboys misunderstood the word for "gallon", the popular, though incorrect, legend may have been born. According to Reynolds and Rand, "The term ten-gallon did not originally refer to the holding capacity of the hat, but to the width of a Mexican

hatband, and is more closely related to this unit of measurement by the Spanish than to the water-holding capacity of a Stetson." Early print advertising by Stetson showed a cowboy giving his horse a drink of water from a hat.Snyder, p. 11. The Stetson company notes that a "ten-gallon" hat holds only 3 quarts, not even one gallon (about 3 L instead of ).Reynolds & Rand, p. 11.Frequently asked questions, Stetson Hat Company. Web site.

Calgary White Hat

The Calgary White Hat is a white felt cowboy hat which is the symbol of both the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

annual rodeo and the city of Calgary. Created by Morris Shumiatcher, owner of Smithbilt Hat Company, it was worn for the first time at the 1946 Stampede. In the early 1950s, Mayor of Calgary Donald Hugh Mackay began presenting the white hat to visiting dignitaries, a tradition that the office of the mayor continues to this day. Thousands of tourists and groups also participate in "white hatting ceremonies" conducted by Tourism Calgary and by volunteer greeters at the

Calgary International Airport Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 squa ...

. In 1983, the Calgary White Hat was incorporated into the design of the flag of Calgary.

Footnotes

References

* Bender, Texan Bix (1994). ''Hats & the Cowboys Who Wear Them.'' * Blevins, Winfred ( 2001). ''Dictionary of the American West: over 5,000 terms and expressions from Aarigaa! to Zopilote''. * Carlson, Laurie. (1998) ''Boss of the plains, the hat that won the West''. * Christian, Mary Blount. (1992) ''Hats off to John Stetson'' * Foster-Harris, William (2007) ''The Look of the Old West: A Fully Illustrated Guide'' * Reynolds, William and Rich Rand (1995) ''The Cowboy Hat book.'' * Snyder, Jeffrey B. (1997) ''Stetson Hats and the John B. Stetson Company 1865–1970.''

External links

{{Rodeo 1860s fashion Cowboy culture 19th-century fashion 20th-century fashion 21st-century fashion Hats History of clothing (Western fashion) History of fashion Rider apparel Western wear Rodeo clothing

Hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...