A fedora ( /fɨˈdɔːrə/) is a men's felt hat. The term is usually generic, describing most any men's hat that does not already have another name; also, a few fedoras have famous names of their own, including the famous Trilby.[1]
The hat is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" in the front on both sides, [2] though the creasing does not define the hat. Fedoras can also be creased with teardrop crowns, diamond crowns, center dents, and others, and the positioning of pinches can vary.
The brim is usually approximately 2.5 inches wide, but may be wider[3], can be left "raw edged" (left as cut), finished with a sewn overwelt or underwelt, or bound with a trim-ribbon. A trilby hat, as a contrary example, has a slightly narrower brim than a typical fedora; the trilby's is thus more sharply upturned in back and downturned in front than one sees in a typical larger fedora.
The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking Homburg (which is also a type of fedora).[4] Fedoras can be found in nearly any color, but black, grey, tan ("fawn"), and dark brown are the most popular.
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The word fedora comes from the title of an 1882 play by Victorien Sardou, Fédora, written for Sarah Bernhardt.[5] The play was first performed in the United States in 1889. Bernhardt played Princess Fédora, the heroine of the play, and she wore a hat similar to what is now considered a fedora. The fedora had been a female fashion. When the fedora became a male fashion item in the late 19th century, it was popular for its stylishness, ability to protect the wearer's head from the wind and weather. Since the early part of the 20th century, many Haredi and other Orthodox Jews have worn black fedoras and continue to this day.[6]
The hat is sometimes popularly associated with the era of Prohibition, Great Depression–era gangsters and detectives. Film stars in the 1950s such as Gene Kelly often wore fedoras in their movies. In Hollywood movies of the 1940s, the fedora was widely worn, especially by private detectives, gangsters, or other "tough guy" roles. The fedora is widely recognized as worn by the characters The Spirit, Daisuke Jigen, Freddy Krueger, Dick Tracy, Rorschach and most notably, Indiana Jones.
The fedora was popular from the early 1920s to the mid 1960s on the east coast of the United States. In the late 1950s, the hat began to lose favor due to the advent of more casual clothing. The late 1950s switch from wider lapels and ties to thin ones resulted in more narrowly brimmed hats.
Also playing a part in the unpopularity of the fedora was the shrinking automobiles of the mid-1950s, which often made it difficult to wear a hat while driving. By the early 1970s, the fedora was seen as a dead fashion, typically only worn by older or more conservative men. The fedora has seen a revival in recent fashion seasons.
The trilby, a type of fedora having a narrower brim and lower crown, has become a part of youth fashion in the 2000s due to its retro appeal. Leonard Cohen (whose sartorial merits have won him the 1997 BOM, Best Dressed Montrealer Award)[7][8] and his band members wore fedoras during the exceptionally successful world-tour of 2008–2010.
