Sailor Hats: Chronology (1840-1920)

The sailor suit worn by the Prince of Wales was worn with a British Royal Navy hat. Early sailor suits were worn with hats, mostly brimmed sailor hats. The early sailor hats had relatively narroiw brims like the hats worn by Royal Navy enlisted men. Gradually wide-brimmed hats became more popular and by the late 19th century were wearing hats with vary wide brims. We note hats i the late 19th century with both rounded and flat crowns. Sailor caps also appear in the late 19th century. Sailor hats continued to be worn in the early 20th century. Sailor caps, however, become much more common. We note sailor hats with don-turned brims in the 1910s. We rarely see sailor hats after World War I (1914-18). Sailor caps, however became a standard boys' wear item. It is somewhat difficult to follow fashion trends with sailor hats because so few portraits were dated and often boys did not wear their hats for portraits.

The 1840s

The sailor suit worn by the Prince of Wales was worn with a British Royal Navy hat. Early sailor suits were worn with hats, mostly brimmed sailor hats. The early sailor hats had relatively narroiw brims like the hats worn by Royal Navy enlisted men.

Figure 1.--This American boy holds a boater-style hat. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was taken in the lte 1880s. Note that he is wearing his sailor hat with a Fauntleroy suit.

The 1880s

Gradually wide-brimmed hats became more popular. We note hats in the late 19th century with both rounded and flat crowns. We note a British boy, Carl Roos, wearing the same Royal Navy style that the Prince of Wales wore in the 1840s. We are not entitely sure when the boater-style had appeared , but we note them being worn in the 1880s.Sailor hats were not just worn with sailorcsuits, they were worn with many other out fits. Wide-brimned sailor hats were popular, for example, with Little Lord Fauntleroy suits.

Figure 1.--This American boy wears his wide-brimmed sailor hat with a maroon sailor suit. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was painted in the 1890s.

The 1890s

Silor suits became increasingly popular in the 1890s. They were commonly worn with sailor hats, although we see many sailor caps as well, especially the saucer-type caps.. By the late 19th century were wearing hats with vary wide brims. Sailor caps also appear in the late 19th century. The sailor hats in many instances seem to almost dwarf small boys in the 1890s.

The 1900s

Sailor hats continued to be worn in the early 20th century. We see the same wide-brimmed styles that were worn in the 1890s. Sailor caps, however, become increasinglt common after the turn if the century. We note sailor hats seem r=to bev more common with younger pre-school boys. School-age boys more commonly wore caps.

The 1910s

Sailor hats continued to be worn in the 1910s, although mostly by younger boys. We note sailor hats with down-turned brims in the 1910s. Sailor caps continued to grow in popularity.

The 1920s

We rarely see sailor hats after World War I (1914-18). Sailor caps, however became a standard boys' wear item. We some tims see sailor hats after Workld War I, but almost always it is for special occassions like formal weddings. Prince William wore a sailor suit and hat when his uncle got married. But except for these formal occassions the boy's sailor hat essentially disappeared after World War I.

Created: July 22, 2001
Last updated: 12:32 AM 1/29/2006