When the brown Stetson fedora appeared on the big screen worn by Harrison Ford portraying Indiana Jones, the hat was back! Not since Humphrey Bogart appeared regularly wearing them in his films, had a hat been in such demand. Bogey would be proud. It seems everyone wanted to wear a Fedora…Johnny Depp, Justin Timberlake, and even some female superstars like Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears. For good reason. Men are just as aware of the sun’s harmful UV rays and are taking more precautions.
Last month women’s hats were all the rage with a late Easter, the Kentucky Derby, and Mother’s Day. In honor of Father’s Day this month, we salute the men who wore them well. Some credit Frank Sinatra with originally popularizing the fedora, a soft felt hat with a large brim and a lengthwise crease. In truth, Sinatra wore a Trilby, a Fedora-style hat with a smaller brim, because of the size of his head and shape of his face.
Some hat wearers were trendsetters. Maurice Chevalier wearing a straw ‘boater’ with a dinner jacket, and Cab Calloway’s enormous over-the-top ‘Tando’ complete with matching zoot suit. But the ultimate in style was the sophisticated Fred Astaire in silk top hat and tails. Of course, Uncle Sam and Abe Lincoln are synonymous with the top hat.
Many hats worn in Western movies and television shows became iconic. Clayton Moore’s bleached beaver hide with the pencil-rolled brim he wore as The Lone Ranger; the quintessential ‘Good Guy’ white hat.’ Clint Eastwood wore a flat-brimmed leather hat in the spaghetti westerns, and a felt beaver in later movies. Both typical of what cowboys actually wore as the hats were used for more than just shielding the sun; the hats had to be impervious to wet weather too.
The blockbuster Western series Bonanza had its share of memorable western hats. Dan Blocker as Hoss Cartwright, wore his trademark 10-Gallon hat, and Michael Landon as ‘Little Joe,’ wore a western hat named “The Gambler.” Other western actors made their presence known in a hat…Gene Barry as Bat Masterson in a derby; and Hugh O’Brien as Wyatt Earp, and Guy Williams as Zorro, both wore black Spanish Gaucho hats. Cowboys were more apt to wear a hat with a flat crown like Wyatt and Zorro, as did Clint Eastwood in his westerns, as it made them less of a target, especially if they were lawmen. Probably the most notable western figure was the legendary John Wayne wearing what is reported to be a Stetson “Boss of the Plains” high-crown, western hat.
Today’s country and western singers have their own signature style. Tim McGraw wears a hat by the same name, “The McGraw,” manufactured by Bullhide Hats. It’s said to be a shapeable shantung, Panama straw. Shantung is actually made out of a high-performance paper which is rolled into a yarn to imitate straw. And a Panama straw hat is whole different kind of hat.
An authentic Panama hat has a brim and is of Ecuadorian origin, made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant. It is unique and preferred for travel because its design allows it to return to its original shape after being folded in a suitcase. The quality of the Panama is determined by the number of weaves per square inch. Fewer than 100 would be considered low quality; 1600-2500 weaves per square inch would be of the highest quality. The finest is the “Montecristi,” named after the Ecuadorian city that produces the best Panamas. It is not unheard of for these straw hats to sell for thousands of dollars each.
One of my favorite hat-wearing celebrities was Telly Savalas in his portrayal as the television detective Kojak. My father bore a striking resemblance to Savalas and even more so when he donned a hat like Kojak, which was more like a Trilby due to the narrow brim. Children actually chased my father’s car hollering “Kojak, Kojak!” And many times my father was presented with Tootsie Roll pops from admiring fans. As this issue of the Antique & Collectors Guide comes out just prior to Father’s Day, I’ll tip my hat to all the men who wear one well, one of which was my father.
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