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Boater (hat)
Encyclopedia
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
.
It is normally made of stiff sennit
Sennit
Sennit is a type of cordage made by plaiting strands of dried fibre or grass. It can be used ornamentally in crafts, like a kind of macrame, or to make straw hats...
straw and has a stiff flat crown and brim, typically with a solid or striped grosgrain
Grosgrain
Grosgrain , also gros-grain and, rarely, gros grain, is a type of fabric characterized by its ribbed appearance. In grosgrain, the weft is heavier than the warp, creating prominent transverse ribs. It is called a "corded" fabric since the weft resembles a fine cord. Grosgrain is a plain weave...
ribbon around the crown. Boaters were popular as casual summer headgear in the late 19th century and early 20th century, especially for boating or sailing, hence the name. They were supposedly worn by FBI agents as a sort of unofficial uniform in the pre-war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years. It was also worn by women as well, often with hatpin
Hatpin
A hatpin is a decorative pin for holding a hat to the head, usually by the hair. In Western culture, a hatpin is almost solely a female item and is often worn in a pair. They are typically around 20cm in length, with the pinhead being the most decorated part....
s to keep it in place. Nowadays they are rarely seen except at sailing or rowing events, period theatrical and musical performances (e.g. barbershop music
Barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
) or as part of old-fashioned school uniform
School uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
, such as at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
. In more recent times soft, thin straw hats with the approximate shape of a boater have been in fashion among women.
Inexpensive foam or plastic skimmers are sometimes seen at political rallies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
the boater is still a common part of the school uniform in many boys schools, such as Shore School, Brisbane Boys' College
Brisbane Boys' College
Brisbane Boys' College , is an independent, Presbyterian and Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Toowong, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....
, Knox Grammar School
Knox Grammar School
Knox Grammar School is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Wahroonga, an upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College, known locally as College, is a public school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
, South African College School, St John's College (Johannesburg, South Africa)
St John's College (Johannesburg, South Africa)
St John's College is a private school for boys in Houghton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.-History:St John's College was founded in Johannesburg on 1 August 1898 and is an Anglican school....
, Wynberg Boys' High School
Wynberg Boys' High School
Wynberg Boys' High School is a public school for boys in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.It was founded in 1841 and is the second oldest school in South Africa. It had humble beginnings in Glebe Cottage under first Headmaster John McNaughton and changed site three times before moving onto its...
and numerous Christian Brothers Schools (CBC).
The boater may also be seen worn by the 'carreiros' of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, the drivers of the traditional wicker toboggan
Toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled which is a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people down a hill or other slope for recreation. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites...
s carrying visitors from the parish church at Monte (Funchal)
Monte (Funchal)
Monte is a civil parish in the municipality and a suburb of Funchal in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. Locally, the parish is also known as Nossa Senhora do Monte . Its population in 2001 was just over 7,444 inhabitants living in an area of approximately 18.59 km²...
down towards Funchal
Funchal
Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...
centre.
Being made of straw, the boater was and is generally regarded as a warm-weather hat. In the days when men all wore hats when out of doors, "Straw Hat Day", the day when men switched from wearing their winter hats to their summer hats, was seen as a sign of the beginning of summer. The exact date of Straw Hat Day might vary slightly from place to place. For example, in Philadelphia, it was May 15; at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, it was the second Saturday in May.
The boater is a fairly formal hat, equivalent in formality to the Homburg
Homburg (hat)
A homburg is a felt hat, a Tyrolean hat-style fedora, characterized by a single dent running down the center of the crown and a stiff brim shaped in a "kettle curl". The Homburg is a stiff, formal felt hat....
, and so is correctly worn either in its original setting with a blazer, or in the same situations as a Homburg, such as a smart lounge suit, or with black tie.
John Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV was an American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish-American War and a member of the prominent Astor family...
was known for wearing such hats.
In popular culture
In Chitty Chitty Bang BangChitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car is a children's book written by Ian Fleming for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham...
the characters wear skimmers and walking canes in "Ye Olde Bamboo."
The boater was the trademark hat worn by famed French performer and movie star Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
. He very often wore it when performing on stage, along with a tuxedo. It figures prominently in his wardrobe during the 1958 film Gigi
Gigi (1958 film)
Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
.
In the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in the third chapter, Smeltings' boys wore straw boater as a part of the school uniform.
In Lazar Lagin
Lazar Lagin
Lazar Yosifovych Lagin was the pen name of Lazar Ginzburg , a Soviet satirist and children's writer....
's book Old Man Hottabych the boater is worn in mid-1950's Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
by Hassan Abd-ar-Rachman ibn Hottab (aka Hottabych), an ancient genie disguising as teenage protagonist's old fashioned grandfather.