Embroidered Hats

An Embroidered Hat is a headcovering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, custom hats were an indicator of social status. In the military, they denote rank and regiment.

There are custom hats for men and custom hats for women, as well as custom hats worn by both sexes. Men's hats are made by hatters and women's hats by milliners.

Embroidered Hats

Custom Hat sizes are determined by measuring the circumference of a person's head about 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) above the ears and dividing by pi. In the UK, an equivalent hat size is an eighth of an inch smaller than in the US. Inches or centimeters may be used depending on the manufacturer. Felt custom hats can be stretched for a custom fit. Cheaper custom hats come in standard sizes, such as small, medium, large. Some custom hats, like baseball custom caps, are adjustable.

Parts of a custom hat:

A custom hat consists of four main parts:

Crown – the portion of a custom hat covering the top of the head

Brim – a projection of stiff material from the bottom of the custom hat's crown horizontally all around the circumference of the custom hat

Peak (British English), Visor (American English), or Bill – a stiff projection at the front, to shade or shield the eyes from sun and rain

Puggaree or sweatband or hatband – a ribbon or band that runs around the bottom of the body of the custom hat. The sweatband may be adjustable with a cord at the top and is on the inside of the custom hat touching the skin while the hatband and puggaree are around the outside. The band worn with various military custom hats, such as the Australian slouch hat and the pith helmet, is referred to as a puggaree.

Customs:

The general rule with removing custom hats in Western culture is that men do so frequently, while women do not, because they traditionally wore much more complex custom headgear, often requiring hatpins to hold down, making removal hard. Men remove their custom hats when entering a Christian church, for example, and women do not. An older custom in fact requires women to cover their heads in church, often with a scarf, which is still followed in some places, such as Germany or southern America. Similarly, when being introduced or talking to a woman, a man would always remove his custom hat, and "tip" it (a brief touch to the brim) when briefly acknowledging a lady but not conversing or meeting another man. Custom hats are removed by men when indoors, except in public or open places, such as stations, stairwells, or shops. Removing a custom hat can also be a sign of respect, so it was traditionally required in various other situations, such as public speaking outdoors.

In Eastern Orthodox cultures, it is customary to remove one's custom hat in the presence of a religious icon. Religious Jews wear a head-covering at all times, indoors and out. When entering a synagogue, men and married women must cover their heads. Upon entering an Islamic place of worship or religious learning, headscarves are required for women. Because of changing associations of custom hats, for example their use as gang indicators, they may now be forbidden in certain contexts, such as schools.

Custom Hat styles:

            Akubra:       Australian custom hat with similarities to fedoras and cowboy hats

            Baseball Cap:        A type of soft custom cap with a long, stiffened and curved peak

            Bearskin:    The tall, fur, full dress uniform custom hat of the Brigade of Guards designed to protect the footguards against sword-cuts, commonly seen at Buckingham Palace

            Balmoral Bonnet:            A traditional Scottish bonnet or custom cap that can be worn with Scottish Highland Dress. It is named after Balmoral Castle, a Royal residence in Scotland.     

            Beaver Hat:            Custom Hats made of felted beaver fur

            Beret:            Soft round custom cap, usually of wool felt, with a flat crown, worn by both men and women and traditionally associated with France. Also used in the military.

            Bicorne:       Military custom hat with upturned corners

            Boater:         Flat-brimmed and flat-topped straw custom hat, formerly worn by seamen, and now mostly at summer regattas or garden parties, often with a ribbon in club or college colors

            Boonie Hat:            A soft cotton custom hat wide-brim hat commonly used by militaries.

            Bowler / Derby: A hard felt custom hat with a rounded crown created in 1850 by Lock's of St James's, the hatters to Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, for his servants. Sometimes known as a derby custom hat

            Bucket Hat:            A soft cotton custom hat with a wide, downwards-sloping brim

            Busby:          A small fur military custom hat

            Casquette: A small-peaked custom cap often worn by cyclists

            Cocked Hat:           A naval custom hat worn by Captains or Admirals in Europe and North America

            Cloche Hat:            Popular bell-shaped ladies custom hat of the 1920s

            Cowboy Hat:          Rugged, utilitarian custom hats made of felt or straw featuring wide brims (four inches or more) to protect against rain and sun.

            Caubeen:     An Irish soldier's custom headdress, a variation on the beret or tam o'shanter.

            Chullo:         A Peruvian and Bolivian style of custom hat made from vicuña, alpaca, llama or sheep's wool.

            Chupalla:    Straw custom hat made in Chile

            Deerstalker:           Warm close-fitting tweed custom cap designed for hunting in the wet and windy Scottish climate, with brims in front and behind, and ear flaps which can be tied together either over the crown or under the chin; anachronistically associated with Sherlock Holmes.

            Dunce Cap:            A custom hat that was used as a punishment-humiliation hat in school during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is shaped like a cone and often has a big capital 'D' inscribed on the front.

            Fascinator:             A small custom hat commonly made with feathers, flowers and/or beads. It attaches to the hair by a comb, headband or clip.

            Fedora:        A soft felt custom hat with a lengthwise crease

            Fez:    Red felt custom hat in the shape of a truncated cone

            Flat Cap:     A soft, round men's custom cap with a small brim in front

            Gatsby:        A soft brimmed custom hat popular in New York after the turn of the century made from eight quarter panels. Also known as a newsboy cap

            Gaung Paung:       The Gaung Paung custom cap is part of the traditional attire of many ethnic races inhabiting modern day Myanmar - it is found in most of the Buddhist-professing ethnic groups - the Bamar, Mon people, Rakhine and Shan

            Hard Hat:    A custom hat predominantly used in workplace environments, such as construction sites, to protect the head from injury by falling objects, debris and bad weather.

            Ghutrah:      Three piece ensemble consisting of a Thagiyah skull custom cap, Gutrah scarf, and Ogal black band. Gutrahs are plain white or checkered, denoting ethnic or national identities.

            Homburg:    German designed custom hat

            Kepi:             A French military custom hat with a flat, circular top and visor.

            Kippah or Yarmulke:      A small close-fitting custom cap worn by religious Jews

            Kolpik:         A type of traditional custom headgear worn in families of many Chassidic Rebbes (Hasidic rabbis), by unmarried children on Shabbat, and by Rebbes on special occasions.

            Mortarboard:        Flat, square custom hat with a tassel worn as part of academic dress

            Porkpie:       Circular, flat topped custom hat

            Panama:      Straw custom hat made in Ecuador

            Salakot:       A traditional wide-brimmed custom hat in the Philippines

            Santa Hat:   A floppy pointed red custom hat trimmed in white fur traditionally associated with Christmas

            Shtreimel:   A fur custom hat worn by married Haredi Jewish men

            Slouch:         Generic term covering wide-brimmed felt-crowned custom hats like those worn by the military and ranchers

            Snood:          A close-fitting net that gathers up the back of a woman's hair

            Sombrero:   A Mexican custom hat with an unusually wide brim and conical crown

            Student Cap:          A custom cap worn by university students in various European countries.

            Top Hat:      A tall, flat-crowned, cylindrical custom hat worn by men in the 19th and early 20th centuries, now worn only with morning dress or evening dress. Also known as a stovepipe custom hat.

            Trilby:          A soft felt men's custom hat with a narrow brim and a deeply indented crown.

            Tricorne:     A soft custom hat with a broad brim, pinned up on either side of the head and at the back, producing a triangular shape

            Tudor Bonnet:       A soft round black academic custom cap, with a tassel hanging from a cord attached to the centre of the top of the hat

            Tuque:          A knitted custom hat worn in winter usually made from wool or acrylic. Also known as a ski custom cap or a custom beanie.

            Turban:        A headdress consisting of a long scarf wound around the head.

            Ushanka:     Russian fur custom hat with fold down ear flaps

            Vueltiao:      A Colombian custom hat of woven and sewn black and khaki dried palm braids with indigenous figures.