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The boater was especially popular in England. We note them in England during the late 19th century. They were worn at many private schools. I'm unsure how common they were other than at school. We have alo noted in being worn in English colonies around the world. The photograph here from New Zealand is a good example (figure 1). We also note the boater in America. We see images of boys wearing them in the late 19th century. They do not seem to have been as associated with schoolwear in America as was the case in Britain. We see quite a few images of boys wearing them, usually when dressed up for some event. France was another country where the boater seems to have been popular. The boater was worn in many other countries, although our information is still quite linited. No where, however, was the boater more extensivey worn than England.
A boater is a summer hat normally made in straw. They are also called bashers and skimmers. I am not entirely sure of its origins, but may have been originally a Royal Navy style. This explains the name. There is a definite association with sailing and boating. The boater is a hat with a medium width brim and flat crown. It can be worn with a colorful ribbon band. In England boys wore it as a school cap and the hat band would be done in the school ci=olors. This was less common in Anerica. We see American boys wearing straw boaters. It was not a major style for American boys, but we do see some wearing them. I am assuming it wasa style imported from England, but am not yet positive about this. We are not sure about the chronology. We note straw boaters in the 1870s, but they may have appeared earlier. We note boys wearing them at the turn of the 20th century. The 1900s-10s seems to have been the peak of popularity. We also notice them in the 1920s, but do not see many boys wearing them by the 20s
We believe that the boater was commonly worn in Australia during the late-19th and early 20th centuries, although we are not sure how commonly boys wore them. We do know that they were wore at schools, especially the private schools, emulating styles in British public (private) schools. They are still worn at some private schools in Australia.
The boater was often seen as a kind of sailor hat and this was its origin as the Royal Navy was beginning to develop uniforms for ratings (enlisted men). As can be seen here, however, they were often worn with other outfits and not just sailor suits. We think they were especially popular with well off families. Boaters were very popular in England during the late-19th century and at the turn-of-the 20th century. We do not yet have a complete chronology. We first notice them at mid-century. We presume they were worn earlier, but because English Dags and Ambros are relatively rare, we have not yet found images from the 1840s and 50s. This of course does not mean that they were not yet worn. With the appearanve of the CDV in the 1860s we do see boaters. The earliest boater we have found so far was was worn by Earnst Frederick in 1861. It has a plain dark hat band. We see another example with the Watson boys in 1863, this time with a light-colored hat band. We note a Wade-Gery boy in 1873. Thus we can assume the boys wearing them went to private schools that had uniforms. We note the Gibbs family in 1906. Almost the entire family wore boaters. They were widely worn at many private schools, but in the 19th century were not just schoolwear. After the early-20th century anf World War, the boater becomes less common and most of the boaters we still see were worn as part of school uniforms.
France was another country where the boater seems to have been popular.
We see Japanese men wearing boaters in the warly 20th century, but we do not see boys wearing them. We have noted a few private schools adopting boaters in the late 20th century, but they were not very common.
We have also noted in being worn in English colonies around the world. The photograph on the previous page from New Zealand is a good example.
We see both boys and girls wearing boaters at some private schools in South Africa. South Africa of course is another english colony that adopted English school unifirm styles.
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