Conical hats have been used for thousands of years in many cultures, with the modern use primarily seen in East and South Asian countries. They can be made of one or many pieces of material and come in two shapes: sharp and obtuse. Sharp conical hats are primarily used for ceremonial clothing, while obtuse conical hats are more practical for everyday wear and outdoor activities.
A conical hat is a hat that consists of one or more pieces of material and is shaped, as the name suggests, generally like a cone. While a conical hat can be made of a single piece of material that is rolled into a cone shape and held together with some form of binding, it can also be made of many pieces woven or joined together to form a cone shape. Hats of this shape have been used for thousands of years in many different cultures and on many continents. The modern use of conical hats is typically seen in East and South Asian countries, such as Japan, Vietnam, China, and the Koreas.
Particularly narrow or sharp conical hats were seen throughout much of the ancient world, from Greece to Babylon and Egypt. A sharp conical hat is usually quite tall, coming to a sharp point on the wearer’s head. These types of hats have been found in burial chambers and are depicted in various ancient works of art. Such hats remain in modern use primarily as ceremonial clothing and are not generally seen in everyday wear.
This type of sharp conical hat can still be seen in vintage classroom performances where a misbehaving student may be forced to wear a “donkey cap.” Some stereotypical depictions of witches or wizards in the mainstream media or for Halloween costumes often also have a hat or cap with a sharp conical shape. Hoods that have a sharp conical shape are also worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan, and that negative association has led to limited use of similarly shaped hats in the United States (US).
The other typical conical hat shape is one that points at an obtuse angle which makes it more similar to a wide-brimmed hat than the other shape. These types of hats are most often seen in South Asian or East Asian countries and can be worn by people from all walks of life. Obtuse conical hats are usually made of many pieces of straw with a piece of cloth fastened under the chin to hold the hat on the wearer’s head. A similar piece of cloth is also placed inside the top of the hat in a ring to prevent the hat from actually resting on the wearer’s head.
This type of hat is typically simple to make and ideal for working or walking outside for long periods of time. The wide angle of the hat keeps the sun and rain off the wearer, as the shape of the hat makes it act like a small umbrella. On particularly hot days, the hat can also be submerged in water before wearing to keep the wearer cool by acting as an effective evaporative cooling system.
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