Cowboy hat
The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-
The cowboy hat as known today has many antecedents to its design, including Mexican hats such as the sombrero, the various designs of wide-brimmed hat worn by farmers and stockmen in the eastern United States, as well as the designs used by the United States Cavalry.
The first western model was the open-crowned "Boss of the Plains", and after that came the front-creased Carlsbad, destined to become "the" cowboy style.[1] The high-crowned, wide-brimmed, soft-felt western hats that followed are intimately associated with the cowboy image.[2]
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.[3] 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 sombrero 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 hats, bowlers, Civil War headgear such as cavalry and slouch hats, and sailor hats.[4][5]
Contrary to popular belief, it was the bowler and not the cowboy hat that was the most popular in the American West, prompting
The original "
The durability and water-resistance of the original Stetson obtained additional publicity in 1912, when the battleship
The cowboy hat has been adopted as a regional identifier among Māori tribes living in Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island collectively called "Ngā Kaupoi" ("The Cowboys") for their native adoption of horses; one of its resident politicians, Rawiri Waititi, is well known for his hat-donning appearance.[16]
Design
Modern cowboy hats are made of fur-based
Modern designs
The modern cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and underlying design since the Stetson creation.[19] The cowboy hat quickly identified its wearer as someone associated with the West.[20] "Within a decade the name 'John B. Stetson' became synonymous with the word 'hat' in every corner and culture west of the Mississippi River."[21] The shape of the hat's crown and brim were often modified by the wearer for fashion and to protect against weather 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 ranch, simply by looking at the crease in the crown.[13] Common modern hat creases include the classic Cattleman crease, Cool Hand Luke, Minick, Brick, and the Gus.[22]
Later as the mystique of the
The first American law-enforcement agency to adopt Stetson's western hat as part of their uniform was the Texas Rangers.[24] The Texas Legislature designated the cowboy hat as the official "State Hat of Texas" in 2015.[25]
Variations
Ten-gallon hats
Some cowboy hats have been called "ten-gallon" hats. The term came into use about 1925.[26] There are multiple theories for how the concept arose.
One theory is that the term "ten-gallon" is a corruption of the Spanish modifier tan galán, which loosely translates as "really handsome"[27] or "so fine". For example, "un sombrero tan galán" translates as "such a fine hat".
Another theory is that the term "ten-gallon" is a corruption of the Spanish term galón, which means "
Early print advertising by Stetson showed a cowboy giving his horse a drink of water from a hat.[29] The Stetson company notes that a "ten-gallon" hat (equivalent to 38 liters) only holds 3⁄4 US gallon (2.8 L).[28][30]
Calgary White Hat
The Calgary White Hat is a white felt cowboy hat which is the symbol of both the Calgary Stampede 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. In 1983, the Calgary White Hat was incorporated into the design of the flag of Calgary.[31]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Sertanejo is a Brazilian musical rhythm associated with rural areas in the Centre-South of Brazil that originated from caipira music. Due to American cultural influence musicians of this musical rhythm sought to adopt and imitate the fashion used by North American singers and by actors of western films, even if the rhythm developed independently, with no connection to Mexican Regional music or to American and Canadian Country music. Sertanejo, in a metaphorical way, emerged through convergent evolution.
- ^ Foster-Harris, p. 106.
- ^ a b Snyder, p. 5.
- ^ Bender, p. #
- ^ a b Carlson, p. #
- ^ Cowboyhathistory.org. Web page.
- ^ Beebe, Lucius (26 October 1957). "The Hat That Won the West". The Deseret News. p. 10A. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
- ^ Bender, p. 11.
- ISBN 067357735X.
- ^ Snyder, p. 73.
- ^ Snyder, p. 51.
- ^ Bender, p. 54.
- ^ Snyder, p. #
- ^ a b Reynolds & Rand, p. 17.
- ^ Snyder, p. 49.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Muru-Lanning, Charlotte (9 December 2020). "From fedoras to fascinators: A history of Māori and hats". The Spinoff. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ Christian.
- ^ Snyder, p. 27.
- ^ a b Reynolds and Rand, p. 8.
- ^ Reynolds & Rand, p. 10.
- ^ Bender, p. 12.
- ^ "The Essential Guide to Cowboy Hats". 11 December 2023.
- ^ Reynolds & Rand, p. 15.
- ^ Snyder, p. 10.
- ISBN 978-1625110664.
- ^ Bender, p. 31.
- ^ "'The Story of Spanish' offers a rich history of the language". Los Angeles Times. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ a b Reynolds & Rand, p. 11.
- ^ Snyder, p. 11.
- ^ Frequently asked questions, Stetson Hat Company. Web site. Archived 26 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Klaszus, Jeremy (4 January 2016). "The White Hat: A Calgary symbol we love to hate". CBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
References
- Bender, Texan Bix (1994). Hats & the Cowboys Who Wear Them. ISBN 1586851918
- Blevins, Winfred ( 2001). Dictionary of the American West: over 5,000 terms and expressions from Aarigaa! to Zopilote. ISBN 1570613044
- Carlson, Laurie. (1998) Boss of the plains, the hat that won the West. ISBN 0789424797
- Christian, Mary Blount. (1992) Hats off to John Stetson ISBN 002718465X
- Foster-Harris, William (2007) The Look of the Old West: A Fully Illustrated Guide ISBN 160239024X
- Reynolds, William and Rich Rand (1995) The Cowboy Hat book. ISBN 0879056568
- Snyder, Jeffrey B. (1997) Stetson Hats and the John B. Stetson Company 1865–1970. ISBN 0764302116
External links
Media related to Cowboy hats at Wikimedia Commons