Hello there! We are staying with the classic hat silhouette for a bit since the classic hat countdown brought such a lot of new interest.
Who remembers this classic hat?
Robin 2017
Robin 2017.
Robin 2018
Here is Robin 2018 in blue and red.
Robin 2018 in Blue.
Robin 2018 in Red.
Can’t you just see some of these designs on merchandise and sold at Target? How cool would that be? Alas, it’s all just a bit of fun. We thought you might get a kick out of seeing it, though. Which one(s) would you pick?
This is a favorite hat around the world— the classic fedora. Vivian named the design after Hollywood film star James Cagney — he wore it well. Here is Hattingdon’s Cagney hat in three colorways.
Cagney Fedora in Grey and Black.
The Cagney fedora in taupe and red.
The Cagney fedora in shades of blue.
Did you know . . . ?
. . . that the fedora was first popularized by women?
Fedora hats were first seen as a feminine hat with masculine undertones in 1883, inspired by a drama called “Fédora,” created by the French playwright Victorien Sardou.
Sarah Bernhardt, a French Actress, played the star role of Princess Fédora Romanoff who was wearing a stylish, center-creased, soft brimmed hat. Sarah was known for adopting men’s fashion and acting roles that shocked audiences.
The play’s first review named the style of Bernhardt’s hat “fedora” after the play title. This review coined the name “Fedora Hat” into womenswear of the time, and later menswear too. Soon after, fedora hats became a popular fashion statement and symbol for women’s rights activists, standing for liberation and assertiveness. Before long, the fedora style spread to all women and fashion-forward men like Oscar Wilde and Prince Edward VIII.
In 1924, Prince Edward VIII wore his fedora Hat to the United States and dressed it up with a suit instead of everyday dress. The style was seen on stars like Humphrey Bogart and the infamous Gangster Al Capone. In the 1940’s and 50’s, cinema helped to create the iconic symbol of manliness and mystery with fedora hats worn by Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and even football coaches Paul Bear Bryant and Tom Landry. The fedora later resurfaced onscreen in the 70’s and was styled as edgy and unique, yet still practical as seen on Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Most recently, fedoras have made their existence known on shows like Mad Men and Peaky Blinders.
After about a year or two of making hats for Hattingdon, Mrs Farrell created a basic hat silhouette and began designing for it. It came to be called the “classic hat.” They were immediately popular, building up a large and dedicated fanbase that is still going strong today, more than a dozen years later.
As voted by the Hattingdon Classic Hat Club, in reverse order, here are their top ten favourite classic hats of all time.
10. Savannah
Savannah.
9. Greta
Greta.
8. Genevieve
Genevieve.
7. Cherie
Cherie.
6. Lauren
Lauren.
6. April
April.
4. Aspen
Aspen.
3. Candie
Candie.
2. Zara
Zara.
Drum roll please! And the winner is . . . .
1. Eden
Eden.
The Hattingdon Classic Hat Club also voted (without our asking them — this is a rowdy crowd!) on their favourite Classic Hat for Christmas.
They have done a good job.
Peppermint
Peppermint.
Thank you for stopping by here with us, and come back soon!
Hattingdon is off to the cinema to take in a movie. And she has the “picture perfect” hat to wear. It is a novelty hat based on popcorn, the kind you get at the movies in a red and white striped box.
Zea Popcorn Hat.
This is a recreated version of the first one made by Hattingdon’s hatmaker, Mrs Farrell. She chose the name Zea which is part of the classification name for the type of maize that popcorn is made from.
Hattingdon 