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The bowler hat, made of hard felt with a rounded crown and upturned rim, originated in England in 1850 and was designed for Thomas Coke. It acted as a social leveler and gained popularity throughout the 19th century. Today, it is almost never worn in England but is associated with cultural icons such as Charlie Chaplin and Rene Magritte.
A bowler hat is made of hard felt and is characterized by a rounded crown and a slightly upturned rim. It is generally worn by men and often associated with England, where it originated. The hat was created in 1850, designed specifically for Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester.
The bowler hat gets its name from the first hatters to produce it, Thomas and William Bowler, although they worked from the designs of hatters James and George Lock. Originally called the iron hat, the bowler was hard to protect a horseback rider’s head from tree branches, perfect for game guard Thomas Coke. As the intermediary between the aristocratic top hat and the soft hats worn by lower-middle-class men, the bowler acted as something of a social leveler and gained popularity throughout the 19th century.
In the early 20th century, the bowler came to be identified with certain groups. In London, it meant a businessman, such as a lawyer or government official, while in the rest of England, valets and butlers wore the bowler hat. Today, although many people outside the country still consider this hat to be quintessentially English, it is almost never worn in England, except sometimes on formal occasions.
In America, the bowler hat became known as the derby and was commonly worn by former members of the working class. The derby also became the trademark of certain cultural icons, including Charlie Chaplin and the comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The Brown Derby, a popular restaurant in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles, open from 1926 to 1985, was designed in the shape of a gigantic bowler hat. The bowler hat also occupies a prominent place in the work of the Belgian painter Rene Magritte. Although this hat is more often worn by men in most cultures, indigenous women in Bolivia have adopted the hat as part of their national costume.
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