History of the Cowboy Hat

The cowboy hat is a defining piece of attire for farm and ranch workers in the western and southern United States, Canada and northern Mexico, for country-western singers, and for athletes in the North American rodeo circuit. It is recognized around the world as part of Old West cowboy lore.

The concept of a broad-brimmed hat with a high crown worn by a rider on horseback came primarily from the tradition of the Mexican vaquero. However, the cowboy hat as known today has many antecedents to its design, including Mexican hats such as the sombrero and galan, the various designs of wide-brimmed hat worn by farmers and stockmen in the eastern United States, as well as the design used by the United States Cavalry.

The shape of a cowboy hat once depended very much on the region from which it originated. At one time a person could tell where a working cowboy was from simply looking at the crease in his hat. John B. Stetson is credited with designing and marketing the first "cowboy" hat in the USA, which he called the "Boss of the Plains."

In the early days, the cowboy hat was valued for being functional, with the wide brim protecting working cowboys from the sun and rain. It could be used to signal others, fan a campfire, or pull water out of a stream. Today, while the hats can still serve these purposes, most people wear them for aesthetic value as a part of Western lifestyle. A cowboy hat even appears on the flag of Calgary, Alberta, where "white hat ceremonies" are held by the civic government to welcome visiting dignitaries - the traditional gift from the city's mayor to foreign guests is a white cowboy hat.

Today, classic designs are available in muted colors such as black and various shades of beige, brown and gray, notably a warm light gray known as "silver belly". Styles for men and women are virtually identical, though women's cowboy hats are available in a much wider variety of colors, including bright, vivid shades

This artical is from http://www.westernwear.co.uk

BC Hats-----Cov-ver Hats

Below you can read information on Bill Conner and his world famous Australian hats. He is definitely one of the most colorful characters in the hat business today. Besides making amazing hats at his Byron Bay factory, BC plays a mean rhythm guitar in two bands, surfs every morning at sunrise, and snowboards whenever he gets the chance!




Cov-ver Hats:
BC's son Will, designs and manufactures Cov-ver hats. So far he has created over 360 styles with many unique and very functional. The warehouse is located in St Augustine Florida where the family hat tradition continues with his Aunt Margie overseeing operations when Will is out searching for new hats. A chip off the old block, the younger Conner writes and plays music, (recently opened for Jack Johnson on his "Sleep through the Static" Australian tour) and surfs as much as possible. You can find all of Will's music at www.willconner.com


History

Bill Conner chews on some grass and ponders his new designs. He says the fresh air gives him inspiration.



In April of 1969 Bill Conner was making and selling all kinds of fine handmade leathergoods. In the beginning, sandals were his most popular item but it wasn't long until his original hats became his most sought after product. Below is an old, torn and faded magazine I found in a shoe box called Earth Garden. It contains early information about Bill Conner and his first published article on leather work.
I was recently speaking with one of my father's leathercraft teachers form the 60's, Dan Holiday and he said, "young Bill was able to figure out the best way to put a wire in the brim of a leather hat so that it could be shaped, he just had a knack for it." Today his original design and construction method is world renowned and the quality of a B.C Leather hat is still unsurpassed.

With the creation of B.C Leather Hats, Australia's hat industry was revolutionized. Suddenly there was a choice on the market for a new type of functional headwear besides the traditional Fur Felt. In 1988 when Australia hosted the World Expo, B.C. Hats became internationally recognized. And later, in 1993, Bill won the prestigious Exporter of the Year Award for the State of New South Wales. He received this coveted award in recognition for not only creating Australia's original leather hat but successfully bringing it to the world market
Today, B.C. Hats is still a family owned company dedicated to quality, service, and original Australian hats!

Will Conner-

Measure Your Hat Size

Use a soft measuring tape or a piece of string (not elasticized or stretchy).

Place the tape measure or string on your forehead and measure the circumference about 1/2 inch or so above your ears, about where your hat would sit. If you have another hat that shows the size, you can use that information also.


Check the length of the tape measure or string to determine your size. (if using a string, hold it up against a ruler)


Use the size charts on the product pages to find your perfect fit. e.g. If your measurement comes to 22 inches or 56cm, then you would choose a Medium hat. Remember if you fall in between sizes, choose the next biggest size. If this is the case please send us a note requesting FREE inner size tape. We can send this along with your hat incase it is just a little too big.

Cowboy hats

The cowboy hat is one of the most well known images in popular history. Initially made for practical purposes to keep the harsh north American sun off the brave souls that tamed the land and drove livestock to market. Cowboy hats were made to fan the fire and water your horse and still are today. Felt, leather and straw are the most popular cowboy hat materials for their various properties and now days can be found in many colors and variations but never straying far from a generous brim and tall crown.

STRAW HATS

A straw hat can refer to any brimmed hat that is woven out of straw. Straw hats are designed to protect the head from the sun and heat. There are several styles of straw hats, but all of them are made of woven straw. Many of these hats are formed in a similar way to felt hats; they are softened by steam or by submersion in hot water, and then formed by hand or over a block. Finer and more expensive straw hats, such as a Panama, have a tighter and more consistent weave. A Panama straw hat is a traditional brimmed hat of Ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant. Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe. For some products, the name of their point of international sale rather than their place of domestic origin stuck, hence 揚anama hats.?When President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Panama Canal construction, he wore such a hat, which increased its popularity.

How to size a hat

Adult-sized is medium, large and extra large while Kids' hats are one size.



Start by measuring the head around the widest part: 1/2 inch above the eyebrows and 1/2 inch above the ears for most people. If the head measures small and you don't want a child size hat, buy the medium and reduce the size as in the article "How to Size a Hat". If there is a question it is usually better to buy the larger size and tighten the hat with sizing tape.

Ways to cool in your cowboy hat?

How do you wear a cowboy hat? We get asked this question all the time.



A cowboy hat should sit about 1-2 fingers above the eyebrows and 1-2 fingers above the ears. It should be nearly parallel to the ground, not tilted back on the head.



It should be just tight enough to feel snug and not slip around. If it feels too tight, go for the larger size. It's easy to snug up a hat with sizing tape. A h

at that is too tight will give you a headache.

Western hats keep their shape best when stored properly

Keep the front, back and underside of the hat from resting on a surface any way you can.

One way is to roll up a bath towel or sweatshirt in to a large, tight ball. Stuff this up into the hat leaving enough underneath that the hat sits up off the shelf. This keeps pressure off the brim of the hat and will keep the hat nicely shaped.

Or, if the hat has a firm crown, just turn it upside down and store it on its crown.

And never leave your hat on the dashboard of your truck. The heat and humidity will do irreparable damage.

Borsalino Hats

Giuseppe Borsalino (1834-1900) is known for making fashionable and great quality fedora hats. In wanting to learn the hat trade, Borsalino went to Italy to study the best hat trade secrets and opportunities. In 1857, Borsalino set up a factory in Alessandria, Italy mainly producing Belgium lapin fur. When he passed away in 1900, his company employed more than 1,000 employees and was producing more th

an a million hats a year. The trade name, Borsalino, became famous worldwide and the majority of their production was made with the intent for exporting to other countries.


After Borsalino's passing, his son, Teresio Borsalino succeeded his business. He was able to continually increase the initial success that his father started until the 1940’s when there was a drastic decrease in the hat business worldwide.


Giuseppe Borsalino was not only known for making hats, but as one of the most important and influential Italian industrialists of the 20th century. In addition to being a worldwide philanthropist, he was also a humanitarian. Considering the social aspects of employees in a modern industry, Borsalino implemented health insurance and pension fund plans. Borsalino’s influenced became so prominent that in 1970 a film, inspired by Giuseppe Borsalino, was made. It was simply titled, “Borsalino.”


In 1986, the factory was moved to a new location in the suburbs of Alessandria. The new factory was more modern and efficient at producing the same great quality hats. Part of the old factory was turned into a museum to secure Borsalino’s time in history. Another part was turned into the Piedmont University School of Law.

Stetson Hats

John Batterson Stetson, known as the inventor of hats, was born in Orange, New Jersey, in 1830. John B. Stetson’s father, Stephen Stetson, taught him how to make hats and of the hat trade. After his father’s death, John B. Stetson decided to open his own business, but befell ill with tuberculosis. So before he could open his business, he had moved out to St. Joseph, MO landing a job in moulding bricks. Stetson soon became a partner in the brickyard. Soon, nature struck with heavy rain and flooding before Stetson could secure a future at the brickyard. It destroyed nearly all the non-baked bricks. This caused Stetson to lose his job. Afterwards, Stetson in need of financial stability, set out on foot, with some companions, to the Rocky Mountains ( Pike’s Peak), in search of gold. In the summer of 1862, during a gold trek, Stetson demonstrated the process of felting to his companions. He shaved off the fur from the hides they had taken to use during the trek and began pounding the fur together. Occasionally adding water and dipping in into boiling water, he turned the fur into a felt hat. He then explained how wearing a hat can shelter the person from rain, snow, sun, and cold temperatures. After reaching Pike’s Peak, a horseman saw Stetson’s hat and purchased it from him for a five-dollar gold piece. Thus, began the all encompassing image of the western cattleman and the cowboy hat.


By the mid-1880's, Stetson had employed nearly 4,000 employees and was operating the world's largest hat manufacturing company in Philadelphia. Stetson introduced iron cutting and pressing machines which greatly improved the quality and speed of production. Turning a manual labor intensive hat making industry into a mechanized industry, Stetson enabled his company to produce some 2 million hats a year by 1906. Stetson, an industrialist and philanthropist, saw a need to offer internal and external benefits to his employees. He set up a free health care system and began offering shares of his company to his employees. Stetson also set up a hospital in Philadelphia and was a founding trustee of the Stetson University in Deland, Florida. John B. Stetson not only turned his hat making skill into a multimillion dollar company, but into a legend

Straw Cowboy Hats And Felt Cowboy Hats

Since the dawn of mankind, humans have been wearing hats as a protective covering. Historical evidence such as cave painting, tomb painting, coin heads, and sculptures have proven that ancient civilizations throughout the world had a shared knowledge of the importance of hats. It is believed that the first type of hats worn by ancients civilizations were made of animal skins and then of felt. Historians generally believe the felting process was discovered by ancient Asian nomadic tribes, such as the Mongolians. There are evidence that they have used felted wool to make tents, blankets and various articles of clothing (leg, body, and head coverings) to protect themselves from the harsh cold weather.


Many different types of hats have been made using the felting process. We have seen it used to make the Capotain hat in the 16th century and the Bicorne hat of the late 18th century. (The Bicorne Hat is the Napoléon Bonaparte hat.) However, it wasn't until 1862 when it was first used to make a cowboy hat. Known as the inventor of cowboy hats, John B. Stetson, made a felt cowboy hat during a summer's night, to entertain his companions around a camp fire. He later sold the hat to a horseman and then named the hat, "The Boss of the Plains." Over one hundred years later, the cowboy hat is still the most striking image of the western horseman.


Numerous types of straw have also been used to make all types of hats. The most notable would be the panama straw hat. It is made out of toquilla straw from the Ecuadorian palm, Carludovica Palmata. The panama hat is often considered "The Legendary Hat," as it has been sought after by the average person to the Royalty in all corners of the world. In the mid-1800's, the finest panama hat was presented to the Emperor of France, Napoleon III and in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt donned a panama hat for a press photo shoot. Even after hundreds of years later, the finest of panama hats, the Montecristi, are still being sought after by hat enthusiasts from all parts of the world.


Many presidential candidates have worn Stetson cowboy hats during their campaining trails to show their american heritage. From emperors to empresses and presidents to first ladies, royal families have historically worn hats as a mark of class, rank and fashion.