Hey, Hat Wearers!
Whether it’s a practical Winter Hat, Baseball Cap, a Party Hat, Cowboy Hat, Coonskin Cap, Beanie, Top Hat or Hard Hat, there’s almost no doubt that you’ve worn a hat in your life! Well, if you’re not already wearing one right now, I suggest you go pick one out for the day since today is none other than National Hat Day!
I myself am wearing a Chullo right now. That’s a hat with earflaps in case you were wondering.
I think one of the most interesting things about hats is that there are so many different kinds. I’ve mentioned nine different types of hats already in this post and that barely scratches the surface!
So how did hats get to be so popular and diverse. Well, we see hats being worn over five thousand years ago! The first sighting we have is from a tomb painting in Thebes which shows a man wearing a simple, straw hat. Other hats of the time were also simple skull caps until the Petasos came along and introduced the first brimmed hat. Hats at this time were articles mainly worn for special occasions.
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that hats really became a marker of one’s social status, similar to the way that military officials wear certain types of hats dependent on the rank of their position. The Middle Ages also brought along a hat intended for women in the late 1500s.
As hats became just as much a thing for women as they were for men, the look of hats evolved and became more and more developed—elaborate even!—in the early 1800s, bonnets were born. They got fancier and fancier as their time went on with bigger brims, more ribbons, more flowers, more feathers, and trim!
It’s the middle of January. Chances are you already planned on wearing a hat if you haven’t already today (NOTE: more body heat escapes through your head than any other part of the body); but in any case, maybe you should put on something special to celebrate National Hat Day. Till next time, Hatters!
- John