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  • Fedora

Fedora

Feb 25, 2017 | by admin | Hat Resource | Articles

The fedora hat is generally made of soft beaver, rabbit, and/or wool felt, with smooth, brushed, velour, and/or longhair textures. It has a low-to-medium height crown with a length-wise or teardrop/diamond-shaped crease running along the crown’s top from front to back; a short, medium, or wide turned-up or turned-down brim; and the crown is usually ringed with a ribbon – often grosgrain with a flattened bow on the crown’s side.

The fedora is named after the 1882 play Fedora by Victor Sardou in which actress Sarah Bernhardt donned a soft felt hat to play the role of a Russian princess dressed like a boy. Contrary to popular lore, the play did not launch the fad of women wearing fedoras, but rather the hat was immediately marketed to and worn by men with its popularity slowly increasing from the 1880s through the 1910s.

The fedora’s prominence skyrocketed in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was worn by such actors as John Gilbert, William Powell, and Humphrey Bogart in popular Hollywood films. The fedora continued to be popular during the 1940s with support from gangster and Noir films – you simply couldn’t think of a gangster without imagining a fedora on his head!

During the 1950s and 1960s the fedora managed to maintain a menswear fashion presence, albeit an increasingly small one due to changing styles and times. By the early 1970s, as informal clothing became more acceptable and even popular, the fedora went out of fashion for most men, but enjoyed new popularity as womenswear with famous faces such as Lauren Hutton popularizing the look for ladies.

The list of famous fedora wearers is long and varied and includes everyone from gangsters, actors, and musicians to coaches, politicians, and even government employees. The fedora hat is a classic – both timeless and practical – and while other styles have come and gone, the fedora never truly goes out of style.

Written by JauntyRooster

See Also: Homburg , Trilby


1913 ladies Edwardian fedora  - Courtesy of rue_de_la_paix
1913 ladies Edwardian fedora
Courtesy of rue_de_la_paix
1930s Huckel Czechoslovakia wide brimmed fedora -  Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1930s Huckel Czechoslovakia wide brimmed fedora
Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1930s Borsalino fur felt fedora - Courtesy of thespectrum
1930s Borsalino fur felt fedora
Courtesy of thespectrum
1940 ladies felt tilt fedora  - Courtesy of alleycatsvintage
1940 ladies felt tilt fedora
Courtesy of alleycatsvintage
1940s Borsalino fedora - Courtesy of rue_de_la_paix
1940s Borsalino fedora
Courtesy of rue_de_la_paix
1940s Bonwit Teller fur felt fedora - Courtesy of pastperfectvintage
1940s Bonwit Teller fur felt fedora
Courtesy of pastperfectvintage
1940s Lee felt fedora with windstring - Courtesy of thespectrum
1940s Lee felt fedora with windstring
Courtesy of thespectrum
1940s Borsalino wide brimmed fedora - Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1940s Borsalino wide brimmed fedora
Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1950s fedora  - Courtesy of stellarosevintage
1950s fedora
Courtesy of stellarosevintage
1950s Champ fedora -  Courtesy of lunajunctionvintage
1950s Champ fedora
Courtesy of lunajunctionvintage
1960s Austrian green velvet fedora  - Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1960s Austrian green velvet fedora
Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1950s felt fedora  - Courtesy of lunajunction
1950s felt fedora
Courtesy of lunajunction
1950s Strawbridge & Clothier fedora  - Courtesy of lunajunctionvintage
1950s Strawbridge & Clothier fedora
Courtesy of lunajunctionvintage
1950s Wormser Panama straw fedora - Courtesy of thespectrum
1950s Wormser Panama straw fedora
Courtesy of thespectrum
1960s felt fedora  - Courtesy of soulmanvintage
1960s felt fedora
Courtesy of soulmanvintage
1960s narrow brim fedora  -  Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1960s narrow brim fedora
Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1960s Haband felt fedora - Courtesy of thespectrum
1960s Haband felt fedora
Courtesy of thespectrum
1960s Schiaparelli  rat pack fedora - Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1960s Schiaparelli rat pack fedora
Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1960s Knox velour stingy brim fedora - Courtesy of thespectrum
1960s Knox velour stingy brim fedora
Courtesy of thespectrum
1960s Bond fur felt stingy brim fedora -  Courtesy of cur.iovintage
1960s Bond fur felt stingy brim fedora
Courtesy of cur.iovintage
1960s Suzy Michelle sculpted ladies fedora   - Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1960s Suzy Michelle sculpted ladies fedora
Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1960s Churchill Pocket Hat fedora - Courtesy of thespectrum
1960s Churchill Pocket Hat fedora
Courtesy of thespectrum
1970s Borsalino fedora - Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1970s Borsalino fedora
Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1970s tweed fedora  - Courtesy of wyomingvintage
1970s tweed fedora
Courtesy of wyomingvintage
1970s Harris Tweed fedora -  Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1970s Harris Tweed fedora
Courtesy of poppysvintageclothing
1970s Mr John ladies fedora - Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1970s Mr John ladies fedora
Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1970s Kangol angora ladies fedora  - Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1970s Kangol angora ladies fedora
Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1970s Kurt Jr ladies fedora - Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1970s Kurt Jr ladies fedora
Courtesy of pinkyagogo
1970s Gwen Pennington Kashmir fedora  - Courtesy of myvintageclothesline
1970s Gwen Pennington Kashmir fedora
Courtesy of myvintageclothesline
1970s ladies fedora hat - Courtesy of thespectrum
1970s ladies fedora hat
Courtesy of thespectrum
1980s Adolfo II straw ladies fedora - Courtesy of myvintageclothesline
1980s Adolfo II straw ladies fedora
Courtesy of myvintageclothesline
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