Figure 1.--This Nebraska boy wears a sailor suit with bloomer knickers. Note the flst-toped sailor hat with part of the the brim turned down. The portrait is undated, but the hat and the double-bar sandals hedlp date the image to the 1910s.

The wide-brimmed sailor hat originated in England and appeared later in America. It was, however, very popular in America as well. We are not sure when it first appeared in America. They seemed to have been most popular in the 1880s-1900s. The styles were fairly standard in the late-19th century. The wide-brimmed sailor hat was a classic. There were variations. but the stling was fairly standard. We see quite a number of boys wearing them at this time. They were often, but not always worn with sailor suits. We also see them being worn with Fauntleroy suits and kilt suits as well during this period. After the turn of the 20th century, caps became increasingly popular and we see fewer hats. They were still worn in the 1900s. We note a change in hat styles during the 1910s. The popularity of sailor hats continued to decline in the 1910s, but we see boys wearing hats with with turned downed brims. We see fewer boys wearing the classic style. Here either parts of the brim or the whole brim was turned down. We note these hats with various crowns. We note a number of different styles. Some of the crowns were the same as the traditiional sailor hats. Some had flat crowns shaped rather like fedoras. We only see this style in the very late-1900s or 1910s. After World War I in the 1920s we no longer see sailor hats to any extent.

The 19th Century

There were different types of sailor hats. The only importnt type in America ws the wide brimmed sailor hat. The wide-brimmed sailor hat originated in England and appeared later in America. It was, however, very popular in America as well. We are not sure when it first appeared in America. The photographic record suggests that it made the passage to America very quickly. The earlies example we have found looks to date to the 1850s, albeit perhaps the late-1850s. These hats seem to have been most popular in the 1880s-1900s. A good example is two unidentified brothers visiting Provincetown, Masschusetts in 1885 for a summer vacation. Notice how the smaller boy has the larger brim. The styles were fairly standard in the late-19th century. The wide-brimmed sailor hat was a classic. There were variations. but the stling was fairly standard. The opening of the South American (Ecuadorean/Pananamian) trade introduced high-quality, low priced staw hats. We see quite a number of boys wearing them at this time. They were often, but not always worn with sailor suits. we see them being worn with kilt suits. We also see them being worn with Fauntleroy suits which became popular in 1885. and kilt suits as well during this period.

The 20th Century

After the turn of the 20th century, caps became increasingly popular and we see fewer hats. And we we see the sailor hats still worn increasingly being worn with sailor suits. The classic style wide-brimmed sailor hats while declining in popularity were still being worn in the 1900s. We note a change in hat styles during the 1910s. The overall popularity of sailor hats continued to decline in the 1910s. And we see new styles. We see boys wearing hats with with turned downed brims. Here either parts of the brim or the whole brim was turned down. We note these hats with various crowns, but flst crowns were prevalent. . We note a number of different styles. Some of the crowns were the same as the traditional sailor hats. Some hat flat crowns shaped rather like fedoras. We only see this style in the very late-1900s or 1910s. We see fewer boys wearing the classic style, but they did not totally disappear. After World War I in the 1920s we no longer see sailor hats to any extent. Some boys may have worn the hats with turned down brims, but we rarely see them after the very early-1920s.

Created: 9:36 PM 6/12/2009
Last updated: 2:48 PM 5/25/2016