Sailor Headgear Types: Hats and Caps

Figure 1.---This cabinet card portrait shows an unidentified English boy wearing a sailor suit and holding a straw broad brimmed sailot hat. Notice notice the dark edging around the brin. He ish olding his hat with the chin strsp. Its has a tally, but there does not appear to be any stramers. He looks to be aboyt 5 uears old. Notice he ringlets. The studio name is difficult bto make out. The daeler suggests the portarit was taken in the 1880s. It olooks more like the 1890s to us. .

The first boys' sailor suits were worn with the broad brimmed sailor hats British seamen were wearing. The sailor suits popularized by Queen Victoria's sons in the 1840s were worn with straw sailor hats. A hat differs from a cap in that it has full brim all around the crown. Gradually the hats for boys and girls began to appear with much wider brims that actual seaman ever wore. Sailor hats were an important part of a boys' sailor suit outfit. The sailor suit outfit selected by Victoria and Albert for their sons included the straw broad-brimmed sailor hat actually worn by British sailors at the time. .At the time the broad brim was fairly modest. While caps were subsequently adopted by Royal Navy and other navies of the world, it was the sailor hat that was the principal headgear for dressy boys' outfits. The broad-brimmed sailor hat was a formmal style, not only worn with sailor suits, but also with dressy outfits such as Little Lord Fauuntleroy Suits. Sailor caps becamr popular beginning in the 1870s, but for dressy occasions boys most commonly wore the broad-brimmed sailor hat. Gradually sailor caps began to appear, reflecting styles worn bu sailors. Latter various styles of caps, headgear without full brims, were also worn with sailor suits. Caps were less formal headgear to be worn with sailor suits. They differed from sailor hats in that they did not have a full brim. Caps also came in many more different styles than hats. This is partly because after the mid-19th century, most of the world's navies introduced caps of different styles rather than hats.

Sailor Hats

Sailor hats were an important part of early boys' sailor suit outfit. The sailor suit outfit selected by Victoria and Albert for their sons included the straw broad-brimmed sailor hat actually worn by British sailors at the time. The headwear chosen was the hats worn by the enlisted seaman (ratings), not the officers. And this set the standard not only in Enland, but around the world. It was the headwear .At the time the broad brim was fairly modest. While caps were subsequently adopted by Royal Navy and other navies of the world, it was the sailor hat that was the principal headgear for dressy boys' outfits. The broad-brimmed sailor hat was a formmal style, not only worn with sailor suits, but also with dressy outfits such as Little Lord Fauuntleroy Suits. Sailor caps becamr popular beginning in the 1870s, but for dressy occasions boys most commonly wore the broad-brimmed sailor hat. Sailor hats were usually worn with tallies that identified ships, streamers at the back, and often with elastic chin straps.

Sailor Caps

Sailor suits were worn with both hats and caps. Boys wore sailor hats with the early sailor suits, but gradually sailor caps began to appear, reflecting styles worn bu sailors. The difference between a hat and a cap is that a hat has a full brim, while a cap has only a partial brim or no brim at all. The first sailor suits were worn with the broad-brimmed sailor hats worn by British seamen. The The sailor suits popularized by Queen Victoria's sons in the 1840s were worn with accurate child-size reproductions of the full-brimmed straw sailor hats. The original sailor hat chosen for Victoria and Albert's children was the wide-brimmed straw hat worn by British seamen. Naval styles evolved and by the 1860s more practical caps without full brims were being introduced in navies around the world. Caps were less formal headgear to be worn with sailor suits. Sailor caps were being commonly worn by the 1870s. Caps also came in many more different styles than hats. For the most part sailor caps were worn with sailor suits. A wide variety styles were availavle for the discerning mother. Any style could be selected, but a mother gerally selected the cap worn by the national navy, although for younger boys more fancifal caps might be chosen. Generally speaking, however, sailor caps generally adhered to regulation styles more commonly than sailor hats. Many came with chinstays, but the chinstay was less commonly worn than the case of hats. There were also tallies and streamers. Unlike sailor hats, sailor caps were primarily a boy's garment.

Created: 4:43 AM 9/16/2019
Last updated: 4:43 AM 9/16/2019