Fedora (hat)

The fedora is a soft felt hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and pinched in the front on both sides. It was invented in the mid-1910s. Any hat that resembles the soft felt version is also usually called a fedora, including straw and twill ones. Similar hats with a C-crown (with an indentation for the head in the top of the crown) are occasionally called fedoras. It is usually worn by men, but ladies' versions can also be found.

The popularity of the fedora has resulted in being able to purchase one in nearly any style. Fedoras can be found in nearly any color imaginable, but black, grey, and tan/brown are the most popular and universal.

In traditional courtesy, when a man doffs this hat (women do not tip their hats), he often grasps a fedora by placing his thumb in one of the pinched indentations at top front and at least two fingers on the other side.

In Europe a fedora is also called a trilby. They typically have a shorter, "stingy" brim and the back of the brim is distinctively more sharply upturned as a result.

The word comes from the title of a 1882 play by Victorien Sardou, Fédora, the heroine of which, Princess Fedora Romazova, wore this or a similar style of hat.

Famous uses

The fedora was worn mostly in the early part of the twentienth century within urban industrialized settings as a stylish way to protect from the wind and weather while being compact enough to deal with the newer technologies such as the automobile. It is often associated with Prohibition-era mafia and private detectives and tops off most zoot suits.

Red Hat Linux uses it in their logo and named their free Linux distribution Fedora Core.

A variation of the fedora, the pork pie hat, is also often associated with ska music and its "rudeboy" culture.

Notable wearers

Historical

Synyster Gates of the metal band Avenged Sevenfold usually sports a black fedora
Journalist and author Jim Knipfel
Jack Abramoff, the infamous Washington lobbyist, wore a Borsalino fedora to the federal courthouse where he pled guilty.
Spider-Man and Evil Dead film director Sam Raimi can often be seen wearing a fedora on set.
Run-DMC, the rap crew, wore black fedoras.
Many Haredi ("Ultra-Orthodox") Jews wear black fedoras.
Larry Campbell, the former mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, is known to be quite fond of wearing a fedora.
Frank Sinatra, performer of the mid twentieth century and member of the Rat Pack, was often depicted wearing a fedora.
Bob Dylan, legendary American songwriter, musician, and poet has been wearing a fedora when performing live in the new century.
Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys NFL coach
Michael Jackson dons the hat as one of his trademarks.
Matt Drudge of Drudge Report fame.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Chabad Hasidim made this hat especially popular among his followers.
Adam Savage of the television show MythBusters has worn one in some appearances
Malcolm Allison, the flamboyant soccer manager from the 1970's, was a famous fedora wearer.
Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant of the University of Alabama wore a fedora made of a fabric woven in a houndstooth check pattern.
Legendary American Football coach Vince Lombardi
On NBA Draft night, 1996, Samaki Walker was noticed for wearing an all-white suit with matching fedora
Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, the trombonist from Late Night with Conan O'Brien's house band, the Max Weinberg Seven, nearly always dons a white fedora. This hat sometimes makes its way into Conan's comedy routine.
Members of the Punk bank Rancid are often seen wearing a fedora.
Legendary Z-boy skater Jay Adams often wore a fedora.
Larry Harvey

Fictional

Indiana Jones, the fictional archaeologist and adventurer, is known for his brown fedora and leather jacket.
The Blues Brothers wore fedoras in both movies.
Carmen Sandiego almost always appears in a red fedora with matching trench coat.
Fictional detective Mike Hammer always wears one, with a trench coat.
Fictional detective Dixon Hill (on The Next Generation) always wears one, with a trench coat.
In Hollywood movies of the 1940s, actors often wore a fedora, particularly when playing private detectives, gangsters, or other "tough guy" roles. A trench coat was frequently part of the costume, a notable example being Humphrey Bogart's character in Casablanca. The fedora is closely associated with film noir characters, such as Bogart in The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon or Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past.
James Bond actors Sean Connery and George Lazenby wore a fedora when portraying the secret agent. When Roger Moore took over the role, he didn't wear a fedora, although he threw one on the coat rack on several occasions.
Chip from Disney's 1989 children's cartoon Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, wore a fedora as a trademark.
In Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom sometimes wears a black fedora.
The comic strip hero Dick Tracy wears a yellow one.
The first costumed comic strip crime-fighter The Phantom (aka Mr Walker) wears a signature trench coat and fedora when walking in town as an ordinary man.
Clark Kent was often seen wearing one (including in the 1978 feature movie of The Movie), though in more recent incarnations it has been absent.
In the Bowery Boys movies, Slip Mahoney always wore a fedora with the brim folded up.
New Zealander Sam Neill, an actor, often wore a fedora when portraying fictional paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III.
In the anime series Hellsing, Alucard is usually seen wearing a red fedora hat.
Freddy Krueger, the fictional dream mass-murderer is noted for wearing this hat, along with a Christmas-colored striped sweater
Daisuke Jigen, Lupin's marksman in the Lupin III manga and animé, wears a fedora, supposedly as an aid for aiming his gun.
Tex Murphy, the fictional gumshoe of the 2040s.
In The Spirit created by Will Eisner, Denny Colt began a life of fighting crime wearing only a small domino mask, blue business suit, fedora hat and gloves for a costume.
Joey Jeremiah, from the original Degrassi series, always wore a fedora to school. That is, until his teacher yanked it off.
The comic book superhero/vigilante The Question always wears a fedora (usually blue) with a matching trench coat and suit, and a mask that makes it appear that he has a blank, featureless face.
Bill McGovern had his fedora stolen, leading to his untimely demise in Stephen King's Insomnia (novel).
Professor Gunther von Hagens; scientist,inventor and sculptor/artist is never seen in public without his fedora, even while performing anatomical dissections.
In the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series, the turtles would often wear fedoras and trenchcoats as disguises when going undercover.
Jack McCoy has recently started wearing a fedora in episodes of Law & Order.
Charles "Fat Charlie" Nancy in Neil Gaiman's Novel Anansi Boys also wear a green fedora hat which he acquired from his dad "Mr. Nancy".
Pipboy from the Fallout series, some times wears a fedora Hat.
The original DC Comics superhero known as the Crimson Avenger wore a fedora as part of his first costume.
DC Comics superhero Midnight, a character made in homage to the Will Eisner creation known as The Spirit, wore a fedora.

Signage

The Red Hat logo features a red fedora on its Shadow Man logo. In addition, the Red Hat community-oriented distribution of Linux is called Fedora.
The newsreader Forté Agent uses a person wearing a fedora as logo and icon.

External links

The Fedora
The Fedora Lounge - forum for fedora and vintage fashion enthusiasts

Hats