Flat cap

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A man wearing a flat cap

A woman wearing a flat cap

A flat cap is a rounded cap generally male worn, with a small brim in front and a somewhat stiff peak in the back. Materials range from wool, tweed and leather to lighter summer versions in polyester, perforated tiny vents to allow air to circulate.

1 History
2 Academia Regalia
3 In Youth Culture
4 In British popular culture
5 The flat cap today
6 Other names
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

The style can be traced back to 14th century Britain and Ireland and may have emerged from the French 'bonnet'. A 1571 Act of Parliament to stimulate domestic wool consumption and general trade decreed that on Sundays and holidays that all males over 6 years of age, except for the nobility and persons of degree, were to wear caps of wool manufacture on force of a fine (3/4d (pence) per day). The Bil was not repealed until 1597, though by this time, the flat cap had become firmly entrenched in English psyche as a recognized mark of a non-noble subject; be it a burgher, a tradesman, or apprentice. Flat caps were almost universally worn in the 19th century by working class men throughout Britain and Ireland, and versions in finer cloth were also considered to be suitable casual countryside wear for upper-class English men (hence the contemporary alternative name golf cap). Cloth caps were worn by fashionable young men in the 1920s.

The labeling of the flat cap as purely 'working class' is problematic. Many landed gentry wore flat caps due to their practicality as they sufficiently keep rain and sun out of the eyes when shooting, it doubles as a handy rag and keeps the head warm from frequent chilly winds. Mather states, "A cloth cap is assumed in folk mythology to represent working class, but it also denotes upper class affecting casualness. So it is undoubtedly classless, and there lies its strength. A toff can be a bit of a chap as well without, as it were, losing face."^[1]

[edit] Academia Regalia

The flat hat worn by academia is known as the bonnet and derives directly from the original 1571 Bill period medieval head wear. It remains essential ceremonial wear by members of the academic community, in many countries around the world. It is usually the headdress of Doctorate graduates (PhD's). Commonly it has a soft round crown and a stiff flat brim. The bonnet is often made of black velvet and trimmed, between crown and brim with gold cord and tassels. Some universities opt to trim their bonnets with coloured cord and tassels.

Numerous stylistic varieties of academic flat cap include

The Canterbury cap is a flat-topped soft cloth hat with a round headband deeper at the back than at the front.
The Oxford bonnet has a black ribbon between crown and brim
John Knox cap- a soft square cap made from black velvet and worn by the Doctors of certain Scottish Universities.
pileus: A round brimless hat with a flat top in the centre of which is a button.

see academic regalia for further information.

[edit] In Youth Culture

Boys in the United Kingdom and North America of all classes wore this cap in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The hat is often associated in popular culture with city newsboys (i.e.: street-corner newspaper sellers) in North America. Some may associate the cap more with working class boys, though this may be purely personal or regional.

[edit] In British popular culture

In British popular culture the flat cap has been associated with older working class men, especially those in northern England, as personified by Fred Dibnah and comic strip anti-hero Andy Capp. The strong working-class connection of the flat cap has and the East End of London has depicted by Eastenders' Jim Branning and Only Fools and Horses' Del-Boy Trotter. The popularity of the flat hat also remains strong with fans of English country clothing, rural and agricultural workers, the country set or those who simply find them practical, though it tends to be associated with an older generation of wearers. The English Royal and Heir Apparent, His Royal Highness Prince Charles is often photographed in a tweed or tartan flat cap at his various country residences. Taxicab and bus rivers are often depicted wearing a flat cap, as comedically portrayed by Norman Hale and Gareth Pace's (Hale and Pace) "London cabbies" sketches.

[edit] The flat cap today

Samuel L. Jackson, wearing a backwards flat cap

The style has remained popular among certain groups of people in Europe and North America. The hat is sometimes associated with older men, but has been popular (along with the newsboy cap) among some segments of younger people, particularly those with working class Irish heritage, making them very popular in cities such as Boston with a large Irish-American population, as well as those associated with skinheads and the Oi! and punk subcultures. The flat cap has also appeared in the hip hop subculture, worn back-to-front, proving very popular in recent years.

Celebrities who have worn flat caps include: movie star Brad Pitt, baseball player Mariano Rivera, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson and Bon Scott former Genovese crime boss Vincent Gigante, comedian Dave Chappelle, singer Madonna and her husband movie director Guy Richie, rappers Common, Missy Elliott, Notorious B.I.G., Proof (rapper), Babyshambles's drummer Adam Ficek, basketball player Michael Jordan, comedian Chris Rock, German comedian Bodo Bach, professional golfer Payne Stewart, James Bond film actor Daniel Craig, actor Samuel L. Jackson, actor and former pro-skateboarder Jason Lee, Australian TV veterinarian Harry Cooper (veterinarian) and actor C. Thomas Howell. Although it is mostly worn by men, some women have adopted the cap.

Rugby League team Featherstone Rovers supporters nick name is "The Flat Cappers", due to the fact that every supporter in years gone by used to attend matches in a flat cap.

The black leather flat cap is often combined with a black leather jacket and dark clothes in popular culture to depict a burglar, mugger, or robber, occasionally with a black blindfold (with eye cut-outs).