Hat Terminology

Baseball cap > Cloth cap with wide brim at the front. Originally a 5-panel cap, worn by baseball players with the team monogram on the front panel.

Basher > A straw hat

Ben Hogan > English driving cap

Beret > Cap of felt, felted jersey or fabric with soft, wide, circular crown. With or without a headband.

Bicorne > Men’s hats of the late 18th. And early century> wide brims were folded up to form two points. Signature hat of Napoleon.

Bird cage > A small hat with stiffened veiling surrounding the wearer’s face.

Biretta > Square cap worn by clergy

Boater > Oval, flat-topped hat with rigid flat brim. Typically, made of straw braid. Also called a sailor or a skimmer.

Bonnet >1. Women’s or girl’s head-dress, with deep brim and ribbons to tie under the chin. 2. Men’s or boy’s brimless head-dress

Bonnet Rouge > Red cap worn during the French Revolution as a symbol of liberty.

Bowler > Oval hat with round, rigid crown and modeled brim. Also known as a derby, because the style was made popular by the Earl of Derby in 19th. century England.

Breton or Bretonne > Women’s hat with ample round crown and brim turned-up all around.

Bucket Hat > Fabric hat with a flat-topped, slightly conical crown sloping brim.

Canadian Mounties > Official head-dress of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police made by Biltmore Hats

Canotier > Boater

Cap > A hat without a brim, or a small brim at the front.

Cavalier Hat > A wide-brimmed, plumed hat worn by cavaliers in the 17th. century> the right side of the brim was pinned up to the crown so that the wearer’s sword arm could move more freely above the shoulder.

Chapka > Cap of fur with flaps that can be turned down to cover ears and neck or fastened to the side of the flat-topped crown.

Chef’s Hat > White, starched bonnet worn by chefs. The tall crown should have 100 pleats.

Cloche > Women’s hat with round crown and modeled brim. Current usage of women’s hat of the 1920’s> close-fitting round crown, with no brim or a small flare at the brim edge.

Coalman Hat > A short visor cap with a protective flap at the back, derived from a hat worn by English coal deliverers to protect their backs from dust.

Cocked Hat > Bicorne or tricorne

Cocktail Hat > A small, often frivolous, hat for women, usually worn forward on the head.

Coke > Bowler

Cowboy Hat > Hat with high crown and wide brim, originally worn by cow hands. Usually of felt, leather or straw.

Crush Hat > Collapsible top hat

Deer Stalker > A hunting cap with visors at the front and back, and ear-flaps that can be tied up over the crown. Also known as Sherlock Holmes hat.

Derby > Bowler

English Driving Cap > Low–profile cap, originally only for men, with small brim at the front. Crown may be tailored with side panels, or gored.

Fedora > Felt hat with a lengthwise crease in the crown, and a medium brim.

Fez > Conical, flat-topped cap of fed felt, once made only in the city of Fez, Marocco. Men’s headcover.

Five-Point cap > English driving cap

Forage Cap > Military cap with a small brim, also typical for police uniforms.

Gainsborough > A wide-brimmed, plumed hat with the brim turned up on one side. Named for the 19th. century English painter who often portrayed this style in his works.

Garbo Hat > Slouch hat

Gatsby > English Driving Cap

Gaucho Hat > A black felt hat with a wide flat brim and shallow flat-topped crown.

Gibus > Collapsible Top Hat

Glengarry > A Scottish cap with pointed front, usually a pair of trailing ribbons at the back.

Gossamer Hat > Lightweight muslin hats sized with shellac and used as bodies for silk plush hats.

Helmet > Protective head-cover> for soldiers, aviators, motor-cyclists, miners, bee-keepers, fencers, etc. Military head-dress.

Homburg > Men’s felt hat with a soft lengthwise crease in the crown. And a narrow slightly rolled brim. Made popular in the 1890’s by Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), who borrowed the idea from the hat of local militiamen in Bad Homburg, Germany.

Ivy Cap > English Driving Cap

Jockey Cap > Cloth cap with close-fitting 6 panel crown and wide brim at the front.

Mitre > Head-cover worn by bishops, characterized by two peaks.

Mortarboard > Flat, square head-cover worn by professors and students for solemn academic occasions.

Newsboy > Large, soft, 8-panel fabric cap with visor.

Night Cap > Men’s cap worn informally indoors from the 16th. to the 19th. century. The cap had a deep crown made of four segments, with the edge turned up to form a closed brim.

Panama Hat > Straw hat made with panama cloche

Peak > Visor

Picture hat > A hat with a very wide brim, worn tilted to the side of the head.

Pillbox > A small brimless cap with a flat tip and cylindrical side.

Pith Helmet > Helmet of cork or pith (dried spongy tissue from the sola plant), covered with cloth.

Poor-boy Cap > Large, soft, 6 or 8 panel fabric cap with visor and peak snap. Sometimes with ear flaps. Also called a newsboy.

Porkpie > Hat style made popular during the 19th. century, it has a round, flat-topped crown and a small brim turned up all around.

Profile Brim > A brim turned up on one side only, front, back or side. See also releve.

Puritan > Black felt hat with high conical crown and narrow straight brim, worn by the Puritans during the 17th. century. It was usually trimmed with a buckle at the front.

Releve > Word of French origin, referring to brim, softly turned-up at the front on one side of the hat.

Roller > A brim turned up symmetrically all around the hat.

Sailor > Boater

Sherlock Holmes > Deer Stalker

Skimmer > Boater

Skull-cap > Small, close-fitting cap of fabric, knit or crochet. When made of fabric it usually has six gores.

Slouch cap > A soft hat with a high crown and drooping flexible brim. Also called a Garbo hat, from the name of the actress who wore the style in many films.

Smoking Cap > Men’s pillbox shape cap, worn during the 19th. century to prevent the hair from smelling of tobacco.

Snap Brim > A brim which can be bent into various positions, such as fedora.

Sombrero > Mexican hat with a high, conical crown and very wide brim. Usually of straw or felt.

Stocking Cap > Knitted cap, usually conical, often finished with a pompom.

Stovepipe hat > A tall 19th. century top hat, made popular by the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

Tammy > Tam-o’-shanter

Tam-o’-shanter > Beret with close-fitting headband, usually trimmed with a pompom.

Ten Gallon Hat > Cowboy hat

Top Hat > Tall, cylindrical, flat-topped hat with modeled brim.

Toque > Small hat for women with no brim, or small turned-up brim.

Tricorne > Men’s hat of the 18th. century-wide brims were folded up to form three points.

Turban > Typical head-dress for Muslin and Sikh men, constructed by winding a long scarf around the head. Women’s head-dress resembling men’s turbans.

Veil > Cloth, often transparent, or netting used to cover the head and/or the face, for women’s head-dress.

Visor > A partial brim, usually extending out at the front of a hat or cap. Also known as a peak.

Wimple > Head covering worn by nuns, usually of linen or silk, arranged in folds. Formerly worn by other women as well.

Yarmulke > Skull-cap worn by Jewish men. Also known as kippah.

Zucchetto > Skull-cap worn by Roman Catholic clergy> black for priests, purple for bishops, reed for cardinals and white for the pope.

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