I say, jolly good, old boy: a history of the Bowler Hat

[@henrymach]

Hats really should make a comeback

[@blackoak4978]

Hats are worn all the time... Baseball caps in all their variation, beanies, fedoras in their varieties, cowboy hats, even the odd flat cap. I wear an Under Armor baseball cap almost all the time. It protects my bald head from the wind, my sensitive eyes from the sun, it's mild but crucial protection from contact with low branches(I'm over 6'), and when I'm sweating at work I can use the padded bill to wipe sweat off my forehead.

[@gerardoramoncesarreynaldo9469]

I'll add that the villain Oddjob in the James Bond movie "Goldfinger" had a deadly bowler hat

[@harriettanthony7352]

And in the Monty Python Movies!

[@PhilMasters]

@@harriettanthony7352Those were both back in the '60s, when you still might see City of London business types wearing bowlers. Monty Python built a lot of jokes around the British class system, and the city gent in a bowler was one of the archetypes they played with.

[@lordeden2732]

Not forgetting John Steed's steel-lined bowler

[@MrAlsachti]

I think he only wears a top hat.

[@paulbennett4415]

For me, the exemplification of the Bowler Hat was by Old Etonian Patrick Macnee in the rôle of John Steed, both in The Avengers and The New Avengers. Thanks for mentioning him!

[@Balrog2005]

Oh yes, that man is still for me the first thing to come to mind when the words english and gentleman are put together.

[@robg521]

A fact I liked about the character was that his hat had a steel lining, in couple of episodes he beat the baddies over the head with it. [he looked unarmed but both his umbrella and hat were his weapons]

[@klyanadkmorr]

Hey ITA since young girl I loved bowlers from STEED!

[@TheDungeonMinister]

I proudly wear my Bowler from Sept. 15 to May 15, when I switch to the Boater for hot weather.

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Cool.

[@elfpimp1]

I own a bowler. I wear it when horseback riding. In fact did you know that the bowler was more popular among cowboys on the plains than the iconic western hats we know today? How cool..

[@colindeer4908]

I wore a bowler during the cold winter mornings while walking to work in Adelaide South Australia. It never blew off and it kept my head warm and dry. My grandfather wore one every time he went pruning. He was many times a local champion. He was known as the man in the bowler hat, at competitions. As for me in modern Adelaide, I enjoyed wearing one. Never saw anyone else with one.

[@YakubibnEsau]

Akubra doesn’t make the bowler anymore!😢 It’s a crime against humanity I tell you!

[@blackoak4978]

I think that's something that I can't understand as a Canadian. Frankly, head protection that doesn't warm the ears is pretty pointless for the task. If you don't have to worry about keeping your ears warm, then it's not cold enough to warrant a special hat/head covering.

[@madmandu]

I am a mobile notary public living in the PNW. A brown bowler had is my daily driver, so to speak. I always get compliments on it, and I’ve come to prefer its stiffness to the relative floppiness of a fedora. I’m going to invest in an homburg hat very soon, I think.

[@HotWheelsBurban]

One of the things I remember from watching "Are You Being Served?" is how the bowler hat was reserved for the higher ranks of male staff, and the junior members were only allowed to wear a trilby hat(similar to a homburg?).

[@cyberempire3541]

I’ve always seen trilbies as scaled-down fedoras, they’re also soft hats, unlike the homburg, which is a hard hat more akin to the top/bowler hat

[@southhams]

Bowler were also a sign of rank in English dockyards. These were for the tradesmen only, workers wore flatcaps, management wore top hats, the taller the higher in rank or position. Good video BTW 😊

[@Rogsie-p6l]

Not only there but on the railway. Once a steam driver was promoted to shed foreman or locomotive inspector the bowler would be adopted as the symbol of his authority.

[@simongee8928]

Would be interesting to find out when & why the bowler took over as the 'hat of authority' when previously, most workers had worn the very similar billycock. 🤔

[@mortdecai6655]

Splendid video, I must say, people in my experience underestimate the strength of a bowler hat. Additionally, you mentioned that retired British calvary members wear Bowler Hats on formal occasions, however, I merely wished to point out that to my knowledge Grenadier Guards and a majority of retired Household regiments wear Bowler hats rather than just the calvary.

[@hathistorianjc]

Interesting, I didn't know that, thanks for the additional info!

[@hownekin3755]

I thought that former Officers would wear Bowlers and carry umbrellas. Former enlisted men seemed to be uncovered or regimental covers.

[@23rdFoot]

@@hownekin3755 Bowlers and umbrellas were part of an officer's "walking out" order of dress, i.e. off duty in civilian wear, which I assume is why former officers wear them for regimental parades.

[@JimmyYuen-n5n]

Long ago there was a sbop named the old school tie

[@JimmyYuen-n5n]

There were days girls in asia wore cancans under petticoats looks like victorian maidens

[@neilwilson5785]

This channel is underrated, and should be seen by more people.

[@celticperspective5183]

Viddy well my brother, viddy well

[@akpatriot6398]

I wouldn't be without my Bowler. It is absolutely my favorite hat. Versatile, in both weather and engagement. Black for formal and brown for everyday wear. Capital video!

[@TheDungeonMinister]

@@akpatriot6398 I'm with you! Bowler from September 15th through May 15th, straw boater for the summer.

Very intersting. I think the one Show you mentioned in French has "Mit Schirm charm und Melone" as its german title. "with Umbrella, Charm and a Bowler hat" I think

[@philvanderlaan5942]

I’m very very glad that John Steed made it into this video.

[@NickRatnieks]

I am impressed that you pronounced Coke of Holkham's name correctly so we can forgive your attempt at Englishness!

[@johnusher1921]

Hear, Hear, Old Boy - a fine attempt! 👍

[@oliversmith9200]

My Grandfather (of the working class, btw) wore a bowler till the day he died in 1965.

[@spaghettiking7312]

I was thinking of saving up for a Lock & Co. Bowler. I was inspired from a clip of a man in his 90s filmed in the 1920s. He was wearing a frock coat and top hat, and looked like the most Victorian man you've ever seen. I thought he was rich, but he was actually middle class. He said he saved up to buy his top hat when he was a young man, and it was the only hat he ever needed after that.

[@hathistorianjc]

I would like to get one from there as well

[@keithattwood59]

I got mine to wear as Master in the lodge. Love it!

[@lawrencecarlstrom3465]

Your other video was right, the Stetson won the west. I love your videos. I feel bad even mentioning it, but this is my heritage. Having grown up in historic Montana in the U.S. I was surrounded by the history of the wild west, cowboys, farmers, prospectors, and pioneers. People owned bowlers in the civilized eastern U.S. but I've seen hundreds of photos of working cowboys. Unless someone out west was dressing up for a special occasion almost no one wore a bowler. The photo you showed really was of famous western outlaws, Butch Cassidy and the Hole in The Wall Gang. But, it was taken in the east. They were dressed for the city. They didn't look like that back home. I love your work, keep it up.

[@danielstickney2400]

I love how the French title for "The Avengers" manages to be both oddly specific and tangentially vague.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

👍Thank you for video. In the UK, I remember some older businessmen wearing bowlers in the 1980s.

[@janepage3608]

Excellent! Informative and amusing. My first job was in the City of London in 1968 and nearly all the men wore bowlers, with a few top hats. But when that fashion ended I don’t remember another hat taking over - hatless became the norm. Maybe because hair got longer. I love hats, particularly men’s hats (I’m female) and I have neat caps for the winter, a Panamá for the summer, and a bowler for fun.

[@simongee8928]

The hats worn by the working classes of Britain were generally known as a billycock and can be recognized by the brim being noticeably curled up at the sides as opposed to the 'traditional' bowler which has an even brim. 😊 Excellent English accent - !

[@666devilknight]

I like hats and I like your videos. They are really very interesting.

[@Rob.Martin]

In Norfolk, where the hat originated, it is still called a "Billy Cock hat" after Sir William Coke and is still accepted dress when showing stock at the Royal Norfolk Show.

[@frogandspanner]

That's the name my Yorkshire (of Irish stock) grandfather called his hat.

[@PhilMasters]

That family were noted as agricultural reformers - all quite forward-thinking by the standards of the time. Inventing a new type of hat would be in character.

[@archivist17]

I had (idly) wondered about the origin of this name. Thanks.

[@lordeden2732]

Rubbish is not known in Norfolk as the Bily cock in Norfolk. Plus the Billy cock bowler had a higher crown. And is worn by officals at many county show in the UK

[@davidpreston9909]

There's a pub not too far from me called 'The Clog & Billycock'.

[@GazilionPT]

In Portugal it is known as "chapéu de coco" = "coconut hat".

[@JH-lo9ut]

In Sweden it is known as "Plommonstop" = Plum hat or literally "Plum beaker"

[@luizcandidoborges2282]

In Brazil is "chapéu côco", only. Almost the same.

[@rayhilchey6706]

Well thank you. You have answered a question that has been on my mind for a long time, specifically why women in Panama wear bowler hats.Ain't it a funny world.

[@gustavochinchilla4324]

Bolivia, me permito agregar.

[@banjoman44]

Very good. Super interesting.

[@ACDBunnie]

I'm American and I've never heard of "Derby". I've only heard it called a Bowler. I'm surprised with some of the hat's associations. I've only ever associated it with gangsters and the Italian American mafia, for some reason. Not exactly sure why. Although now that you mention it, I do notice that a lot of wild west people wore them.

[@philvanderlaan5942]

Well I always thought they were two different hats

[@23rdFoot]

I think the English term is now used more in the US. I had always heard them called Derbies in my distant youth.

[@davekent4829]

Batt Masterton wore it well, cowboys did wear them,

[@rwd76]

You didn't mention its part of the dress of the orange men during the marching season in Northern Ireland.

[@Fred-zc8lt]

Loves the opening gag!

[@jimmartell]

Of all the rabbit holes I've fallen into in the last fours years, your channel has captured a lighter more youthful memory lane for me. i have a lot of episodes to catch up on, but so far every one has had a hat that i can personally associate with, whether by relative, friend or just simply "the neighbourhood". Fascinating channel. Tks.

[@butchbinion1560]

Thanks. ✌🏻👊🏼

[@jamesguschke9338]

Fantastically informative and entertaining 🎉

[@JeremiahsFiles]

In the 1996 computer games Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego & Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego, some of the male bystanders wear bowler hats & bow ties with their suits. Two of these characters in the games are two of Carmen’s crooks, Ben E. Ficiary & Art Schrival. Carmen’s crooks have pun names in these games.

[@sebastienluquet194]

Hâte de voir le Fedora et le Bolsaniro dans une future vidéo. Très bonne continuation à toi, old chap !

[@hathistorianjc]

Ca vient bientôt!

[@gordonhensley432]

I'm in my 60's. I have been wearing the same brown bowler for about 12 years. I started admiring the look when Steampunk came into popularity, so my family bought one for me for Christmas. I have never worn any other kind of hat except for insulated ones in extreme cold weather and a boonie hat to catch the sweat while working outside. It's getting a little bit frazzled now, and I'm contemplating a new one. (It came from a place called Hats in the Belfry.) I'm one of only about three people in my small community who wears a bowler, and I frequently get compliments on it. "Hey, I like your bowler hat. You don't see many people wearing those any more."

[@aahhlleexxxx]

Hello, i really appreciate your relaxt Style of Presentation, one of the first Memorys of the Bowler Hat i have is from the Czechoslovakian Childrens TV Programme "Pan Tau" about a nice, strange Man who never spoke and had a magical Bowler-Hat he used to solve Problems with 😊

[@stephanvenner2939]

I would add Malcolm MacDowell as Alex Delarge and his Droogs in the A Clockwork Orange Movie by Stanley Kubrick.

[@zappababe8577]

Your accent was fine! BTW, I think out of all the hats you've worn, the bowler hat suits you the best! It compliments the nice shape of your face. I love how the Bolivian women have embraced the bowler hat, and made it part of their culture - even using it as a way to announce their marital status.

[@Dappertrucker]

0:31 indeed as my Sartorial wardrobe has fine fur felt and wool bowler hats and the bowler hat is a favorite of my personal classic Sartorial Gentleman wardrobe

[@earnestwanderer2471]

It’s amazing to me. I’ve never given the history of headwear much thought. But I find these videos fascinating. They’re almost addictive.

[@spamcannon5917]

I appreciate someone who knows the difference between the British and American pronunciation of "Derby". Also, did you know that Holkham Hall is in Norfolk and not Leicester (confusingly)?

[@hathistorianjc]

I'll admit I did not know that!

[@PhilMasters]

@@hathistorianjc British aristocrats often live a long way from the places that their distant ancestors got their titles from.

[@darwinortiz6394]

Another great video. Thanks for sharing

[@johnfisk811]

The old working class version was the Billycock hat which had a much higher crown. Allegedly high enough to carry his lunch.

[@ashleythom1052]

Love these Blogs. And a Yank that talks proper English ! Refreshing !!

[@TheWhimsicalMimzy]

I would like to add kudos to you for the mention of John Steed, possibly the first celebrity crush of my life. The Avengers aired on television when I was literally an infant. 🤗

[@sticks4632]

Amazing video! Now that you mentioned the cowboy hat I would love a video on that.

[@hathistorianjc]

It is planned eventually!

[@johnfisk811]

In the original Ulster Defence Force it marked the social divides of the day with the men parading in flat caps, the senior NCOs in bowlers and the officers in soft brimmed hats. In the shipyards the foremen wore bowler hats and the workmen flat caps.

[@CaseyJonesNumber1]

The bowler was the traditional headgear of foremen in British factories, especially heavy industry, and as you say, in shipyards. Watch any old film of activities in heavy industry and the foreman is easily identified!

[@johnfisk811]

I did have some brain fade and meant to say Ulster Volunteer Force BTW.@@CaseyJonesNumber1

[@WeimarAmerica]

Dear Hat Historian, I adore your work! In the German version of "The Avengers," the Bowler hat is referred to in the vernacular as, "Melone," a melon, in allusion to its shape: "Mit Schirm, Charme, und Melone," which translates as, 'With Umbrella, Charme, and a Melon."

[@Place_to_keep_videos]

Love your channel. Great concept.

[@sirrliv]

One factoid I've stumbled across that seems tangentially relevant today (April 14th, the anniversary of the Titanic's sinking): In many British industrial sites of the early 20th Century, especially shipyards, yard foremen and similar lower management positions could be distinguished from the ordinary workers by wearing bowler hats rather than the more popular flat caps. This was so prevalent that it entered shipyard slang, referring to the foreman as "The Hat".

[@nuadsilverhand]

Thanks for your blogs but you said in one of you podcasts that you did a history of the 'Slouch' hat but I don't see it.

[@Liquid_People]

I don't wear hats, I thoroughly enjoy this channel.

[@davidberrada5993]

Thanks for the video 👍

[@allangibson8494]

The Bowler and Derby are slightly different. The Derby is taller and not nearly as robust. The original Bowler was functionally the predecessor of the industrial hard hat.

[@luisantolafrancis519]

Please dont forget its impact in the art world depicted frecuently in the paintings, self portraits and used by Rene Magritte. nice videos , cheers!

[@KarlWitsman]

Another well-researched and well-presented program. Thank you.

[@crystalperry6370]

I love your videos. You answered a lot of my questions. I have wondered for years what was the name of the flat hat. Even a gentleman I dated who wore a flat hat didn't know what it was called. As a knitter, I have written my own pattern for the tam. As a lady who loves hats in general, thank you.

[@charlotteillustration5778]

I used my grandfather’s bowler hat as a cycling helmet before they really existed. It was brilliant, especially in keeping the rain off whilst still giving me all round visibility.

[@MikeSamuelsII-ve8gp]

I have several but my favorite is a cork-bodied riding version whereas my others are stiff felt. Nice viddie.

[@ERJones-fd6oh]

Can't go wrong with a classic

[@rschultz9492]

I really enjoyed this. A lot.

[@robert-trading-as-Bob69]

Very interesting as usual.

[@dannystaples2832]

Superb. I’ve been enjoying all of your stuff. Thank you.

[@Frankie4007]

I love my bowlers and love to wear them. I also love to juggle them. It can be beautiful manipulation to music.

[@helenvojtko9673]

Coincidentally I am currently reading “The Lady in Waiting” by Anne Glenconner, who is the eldest daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester. She writes of her father’s ancestral home, and got a kick from seeing Holkham referenced in this video. (Being a female, she could inherit nothing from her father’s estate so I do not know to who owns it now). Thank you for your enjoyable hat lessons.

[@magi2]

I am 64 years old and I have worn hats since I was 06😮 years old (thanks to my Dad) my first hat when I was about 6 or 7 (in the 69s) was a Fedora to this day depending on the day or month I wear Fedora's, Tam (at Scottish events along with my kilt) Cowboy hats, Bowler Hat (along with suit) Top Hat in December along with a Suitand Casmer Scarf and during tha Cold season with everyday coothes I wear a Jeep Cap (think of Radar on Mash)

[@indiosveritas]

Your presentation was superlative . Immediately subscribed.

[@MichaelLeBlanc-p4f]

Fascinating. From Worker to Lord style hat.

[@Brian.Heffernan]

Love you videos... Bravo 👏👏👏

[@fergspan5727]

Can you do the Australian slouch hat, Barmah hat and Akubra hat

[@hathistorianjc]

I'm sure i'll get around to it eventually!

[@garyfrancis6193]

You are correct about cowboys wore Bowler hats more than Stetson hats.

[@derche4005]

Another great video. Will you do one on the other famous French hat, the beret and how it became a military hat.

[@hathistorianjc]

Merci! And yes, I'm filming one very soon on that subject!

[@derche4005]

@@hathistorianjc Dankeschön & спасибо

[@michaelamos4651]

Splendid video 👌

[@bnthern]

THANK YOU

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

I remember my father wearing one in the early to mid 1970s..he was an Edinburgh Solicitor and the hat was mandatory office dress with a morning suit trousers and a dark bearatha suit jacket. Around 1978 the dress code was relaxed to lounge suits and no hats although many swiched to flat caps in the British climate

[@mynameisnobody211]

Great video. I would like you to do one on the Pork Pie hat ,very much.

[@shedactivist]

Bowlers are still seen today at agricultural shows around the UK, typically worn with green tweed blazers.

[@stephenmanning1553]

My father worked in the City of London and would have been thrown in the Thames if he was improperly dressed. He became sufficiently respected to the stage he could dispense with separate collars and cuffs which were delivered to our home on Friday afternoon (ready for work at the Royal Exchange on Monday morning). You seem to forget the most famous Bowlers worn by a Mr. Oddjob and Mr. Steed (the perfect Englishman) of course played by an Irishman.

[@vickisharp138]

nice bro

[@rogersheddy6414]

😊George Atzerode wore a bowler...

[@Historical_events]

Wonderful channel, Christ bless.

[@TattoosAndGin]

If I had to pick a hat, it would be this. Maybe one day Ill walk into a store and try one on.

[@timfurminger7931]

Ahh yes, my favorite hat

[@TimHarrison1970]

Fun fact, Thomas and William Bowler were from Denton, near Manchester. One of the centers of hat production in the 19th Century.

[@Sparkster8044]

My favorite brand of gin (Brokers Gin) comes with a little plastic bowler hat on the cap. I also wore one all throughout college (this was before hipsters were a thing) often paired with a beat to heck old Army bdu jacket.

[@TDCF355]

The 'bowler' is said to be one of the most efficient rail channels. But the other thing about it is because of it's rigidity it is ideal for 'doffing'. But for that, in my experience, you don't hold it purely by the brim, because it can flop over, as it does in the video. It's thumb and forefinger on the brim with other fingers forming a brace against the dome.

[@frankwu4747]

TIL bowler hats were the original hard hats.

[@dalegray934]

Enjoyed the lesson, but after working 36 years as a western American historian, I would suggest you revisit your statements about the hat that won the west. Western photographers had special dress clothes, including hats, available for people coming into their shops for portraits. Further, westerners dressed "to the nines" if they knew their likeness would be immortalized. I don't actually remember ever seeing a Bowler hat in historic working cowboy photos that I examined as part of my work. The use of "wooly chaps" is another example, by their use in staged photos, one would think cowboys used them from Canada to Texas, however, they were a specialty item used by northern tier cowboys to keep their legs warm in winter conditions. The heavy fleece would become so heavy when wet that it made dismounting a horse an extreme effort, but they looked great in staged photographs. Cowboys going in to get their picture taken, would see the chaps in the photographer's wardrobe and have a good laugh at being photographed in them. The point is that there is a bias in how people dress for a photograph back in the day that rarely reflected their day-to-day life. Ugly slouch hats typical of the western frontier simply weren't good enough for a dressed-up photo to be sent to the folks back home.

[@TS-1267]

... A Spiffing Hat Indeedy Old Bean 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 0:33

[@alexsawa2956]

Does the Earl give a brand new hat every year to each game keeper, (so they get a new one every year)...or did you mean (more unlikely) that they didn't get a hat issued to them until they did one year of service first?

[@DoctorHaggis]

Love a bowler, but get few opportunities to wear one. Fun flag fact! Generally a flag is displayed against a wall, the canton should appear in the upper-left corner unless otherwise indicated by the region of origin.

[@KaosNoKamisama]

It's also worn by guards on campus in Cambridge (the ones who look out for non faculty members going on the lawn).

[@logfeldi]

05:20 in german "Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone" 😀

[@hathistorianjc]

Ist das der Deutche Titel?

[@logfeldi]

@@hathistorianjc genau.

[@brendanwong4140]

Can you look into the square crown bowler, or the Cambridge? Aka the Oddjob

[@BaronessErsatz]

Interestingly, there is a suburb of Wichita, Kansas called Derby. Situated directly south, it's in Sedgwick County. Sedgwick is in tight competition with Johnson for the richest county in that state. Sedgwick has a number of major aircraft factories, and Johnson just has millionaires. So there's that.

[@VonPlanter]

Nice intro

[@Deiwos0]

In the UK Civil Service you can still request funding to buy a bowler hat.

[@lordeden2732]

Rubbish Urban legend

[@rxinpharoah]

If you don’t mind, may I suggest you do the history of the cowboy hat?

[@hathistorianjc]

It is planned! Might take a little bit, there's a few coming up before, but the script is written, so don't worry, it's going to happen!