Today’s focus is on the Boater hat. Why? Because of the its natural material. The Boater’s top is flat and the crown is relatively upright. This shape is entirely due to the material it’s made of: straw/wheat stalk.
The original boaters were made from a type of flat straw called SENNIT. Most boaters were also handmade, with the most minor addition being a sewing machine. As a result, there were slight discrepancies in the measurements of each boat, which made each one unique.
Boater hats always feature a signature single-color or two-color band that tightly wraps around the crown. As for the shape inside, its oval shape is well maintained. Because of the volume provided by the SENNIT, the entire space is particularly three-dimensional, and it is normal for there to be a little extra gap between the face and the back of the head when wearing it (that is, the sides fit the head more snugly).
Literally, a boater is a tool hat worn by boatmen. This claim is widely debated, and we can treat it as mere historical anecdote. However, to be precise, the boater was initially not used by men.
As early as the 1760s, boaters were used by many children and women.
It has even become one of the school uniform styles for many schools. For example, at Harrow School in London, the uniform navy blue suits are paired with white shirts and gray trousers, and adding a boater hat gives it a true Ivy style.
Not only Harrow School, but Princeton University’s band also included the Boater in their uniforms. As one of the eight Ivy League schools, Princeton University and the Boater’s style were a perfect match. In October 1955, Sports magazine even featured him on the cover.
Therefore, the transition from children and women to men was a gradual process. Initially, the Fedora was a hat exclusively for women, while men mostly wore Homburgers. However, Homburgers were quite hot in the summer, so when the Boater appeared, it quickly became popular among men.
To this end, they also established a Straw Hat Day. In ancient Europe, wearing a hat was a matter of dignity, and the arrival of this day marked the time when men replaced their felt hats with straw hats, signifying the arrival of summer. The date of this day varies by region, but it mostly falls in May.
The reason the boater is the first choice is not only because it’s a representative hat of IVY STYLE, but also because of its semi-formal feel. In other words, it’s a versatile hat option. You can wear a boater today if you want to look sophisticated and dressed in a suit, and you can wear a boater tomorrow if you want a more relaxed and casual look. This versatility makes it a frequently considered and used item for modern people.
Perhaps it’s this accumulated sense of history that gives Boater a stronger retro feel, so if you’re a fan of vintage clothing culture, Boater will definitely meet your various everyday dressing styles. Even if you’re not, you can still comfortably rock an IVY STYLE look.
In my opinion, we definitely need to try things that are different from what we’ve experienced before—there’s absolutely no harm in that.So when hot, we can have a try on a boater hat to get an Ivy Style.