Sailor hat explained

Sailor hat should not be confused with Sailor cap.

A sailor hat is a brimmed straw hat similar to those historically worn by nineteenth century sailors before the sailor cap became standard. It is very close in appearance to the masculine boater,^[1] although "sailors" as worn by women and children have their own distinct design, typically flat-crowned, wide-brimmed and with a dark ribbon band extending into streamers hanging off the brim.^[2] Such hats could also be made in felt as an alternative to straw.^[3]

Origins

The sennit or straw hat formed part of the British naval uniform from 1857 up until March 16 1921 when it was formally discontinued by order.^{[4] [5]} Sometimes worn with a black cover in bad weather or a khaki cover on active service ashore, the sennet hat usually included the ship's name on a tally band around the crown.^[6]

Fashion

The "sailor" was a standard form of fashionable headgear for women and children in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Children often wore it with sailor suits.^[3] For women, the sailor became fashionable from the 1870s onwards, in a rather smaller form than its inspiration.^[7] One 1870s variation on the style was the Marin anglais bonnet, which added extra trimmings of flowers and ribbons to the sailor hat form.^[8] In most decades since the 1870s the sailor, or variations thereof, has been in fashion, or a staple form of headgear. One popular variation was the "short-back sailor", distinguished by its large broad flat brim, narrowing sharply (sometimes to nothing) in the back, and frequently worn at an upwards tilt.^[9]

The sailor hat was a key part of Chanel's trademark 'little boy' look that she popularised in the 1920s and revived in 1954 for her comeback collection.^{[10] [11]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Lewandowski. Elizabeth J.. The complete costume dictionary. 2011. Scarecrow Press, Inc.. Lanham, Md. . 9780810877856 . 88 .
2. Book: Severa. Joan L.. Dressed for the photographer : ordinary Americans and fashion, 1840-1900 . 1995 . Kent State Univ. Press . Kent, Ohio. 9780873385121. 108, 158.
3. Book: Amphlett. Hilda. Hats : a history of fashion in headwear. 1974. 2003. Dover Publications. Mineola, NY . 9780486427461 .
4. Book: Brassey's Naval and Shipping Annual . 1921 . William Clowes and Sons, Limited . 24 . As regards naval ratings, the most interesting change was the abolition of the sennet or straw hat, by an order dated March 16..
5. Web site: NMM: Search the Collections.Royal Naval uniform: pattern 1910. National Maritime Museum. Royal Museums Greenwich.
6. Book: Wilkinson-Lathan, Robert. 35–36. The Royal Navy 1790-1970. 15 June 1977. 0-85045-248-1.
7. Book: Ginsburg. Madeleine. The hat : trends and traditions. 1990. Barron's. Hauppauge, N.Y.. 9780812061987. 97. 1st U.S.. registration.
8. Book: Cumming. Valerie. Cunnington. C. Willett. C. Willett Cunnington. Cunnington. Phillis Emily. Phillis Emily Cunnington. The dictionary of fashion history. 2010. Berg. Oxford [u.a.]. 9781847885333. 128. New.
9. Book: Picken. Mary Brooks. A dictionary of costume and fashion : historic and modern : with over 950 illustrations. 1999. 1957. Courier Dover Publications. 9780486141602. 167.
10. Book: Koda . Harold . Bolton . Andrew . Chanel . 2005 . Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York . 9781588391483 . 208 . https://books.google.com/books?id=LQ-Yuan-IzcC&pg=PA208. Iconography.
11. Book: Sicard. Marie-Claude. Luxury, lies and marketing : shattering the illusions of the luxury brand. 2013. Palgrave Macmillan. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire. 9781137264695. 159.