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Other memorable instances of hats appearing on men in popular culture would be Anthony Hopkins wearing a Panama hat in his iconic role as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1990), or Gene Kelly hugging wet lampposts in 1952's Singing in the Rain, and of course, who can forget Charlie Chaplin's Bowler-wearing comedic tramp?
Despite no longer being as prominent in our imaginations these days as they used to be, hats are still undeniably a part of modern – i.e. Westernized – culture. The still-contemporary British culture of hats, in particular, has had a huge role to play. What mental picture of the United Kingdom would be complete without an image of a Buckingham Palace Foot Guard togged out in their trademark scarlet uniform replete with massive black bearskin hat?
Or indeed, how about the once-essential Western
custom of men donning traditional headwear such as the Bowler Hat,
or the very regal Top Hat? These styles are less than popular these
days, and are mostly reserved for very special occasions. Other
countries, of course, particularly cold northern countries such
as Russia where furry hats such as the muskrat and the Steppe hat
are more the norm, have their own particular customary styles. There
is the very French-looking Beret, and the very English-looking Oxford
flat cap, whilst South Americans have their distinctive Sombrero.
It may also be stating the obvious to point out that in the southern
United States ten-gallon hats, or cowboy hats, would be the norm.
Or indeed, so would baseball caps. But for the purposes of this
article, we shall limit our discussion to some of the crafted hats
that dominated the past couple of centuries – whose style and association
with the aristocracy persist to this day.
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Lock & Co.
Founded in 1676, Lock & Co. has remained a name synonymous
with fine hats for over three hundred years. Claiming to have
the world's widest range of ladies' and gentlemen's headwear,
Lock's is probably the first place one would turn to in order
to procure as fine a formal hat as possible. They can even secure
for you a now-discontinued silk top hat, which has since all
but been rendered irreplacable with the extinction of the silkworms
that were once used to create them.
Over the generations, and through all sorts of fads, Lock &
Co. have been creating the best headgear for all occasions,
with hundreds of styles catered for, from Mongolian-style fur
winter hats, to the ubiquitous baseball cap. What they are most
famous for, however, are their traditional Coke hats –
also known as the Bowler – as well as their top hats.
These days, Lock & Co. are by no means a relic. They have,
indeed, recently expanded their ladies' department to meet their
demand for fashion hats, perfect for high society events. For
men, of course, they remain the iconic hatters of our time. |
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Next page: The Coke hat, Panama hat and Top hat
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