A Hat Born of a Practical Problem

The bowler hat was born in London in 1849, and like many good British inventions it solved a problem nobody had quite got round to solving. The story goes that a nobleman — usually named as Thomas Coke, later Earl of Leicester — wanted a close-fitting hat to protect his gamekeepers' heads from low branches while they rode. The tall silk top hat of the day was elegant but hopeless in a wood: it caught on everything, dented at the first knock, and cost a small fortune to replace. He asked a London hatter for something lower, harder and more practical. The hatter, working with his brother, blocked a stiffened felt hat with a rounded crown and a short, curled brim. The result was sturdy enough to take a knock and tight enough to stay put at a gallop.

The name settled on "bowler" after the brothers who made it, though plenty of people called it a billycock, a coke, or simply a bob hat. It was never a pretty hat. It was a useful one, and that usefulness gave it a remarkably long life.

Anatomy of a Bowler

A traditional bowler is built from fur felt — usually rabbit, sometimes hare — which is felted, steamed and blocked over a wooden form. The stiffness comes from shellac worked into the felt, and it is this that gives the hat its distinctive firmness. Tap the crown of a good vintage bowler and it should sound faintly like a drum rather than squashing under your thumb.

• Crown: rounded and domed, usually 10–12 cm at the front, with no dent or crease.
• Brim: short, around 4–5 cm, with the sides curled upwards in a tight roll.
• Finish: smooth, hard and slightly glossy; a good bowler sheds rain rather than soaking it up.
• Interior: a leather sweatband and a silk or cotton lining, often stamped with the maker's details and the original owner's initials.

That combination of dome and curl is the whole trick of the design. It reads as formal from a distance and slightly comic up close, which is exactly the tension that keeps the bowler interesting.

From City Uniform to Everyday Wear

By the 1860s the bowler had escaped the estate. City clerks and bank messengers took it up as a cheaper, tougher alternative to the top hat, and by the early twentieth century it was the default headwear of the London business day. Stockbrokers and office boys wore it; so did postmen, railwaymen and dockers, in coarser versions. Women adopted it too, particularly for riding and for the sharper tailoring that appeared in the 1920s and 1930s.

What made it universal was its flexibility. It was formal enough for the City and cheap enough for the factory, and it worked with both a three-piece suit and a rough overcoat. Few pieces of clothing have ever straddled the class divide so neatly.

The Decline and the Comeback

The bowler's fall was gradual and then sudden. The First World War loosened dress conventions, the 1930s brought the softer fedora and trilby into fashion, and after 1945 hats of all kinds began to leave everyday life. By the 1960s the bowler had become costume — worn by bankers in cartoons, by actors playing Victorians, and by a handful of City institutions clinging to tradition.

Yet the hat never quite vanished. It survives in ceremonial use here and there, and more importantly it survives with the people who simply like the look: the dandy, the collector, the person who has decided that a hat is not an accessory but a position. A bowler worn well today reads as deliberate. It says you have thought about it, and that is a rare quality.

Wearing a Bowler Today

If you are going to wear one, wear it properly. A bowler is a formal hat, and it looks best when the rest of the outfit acknowledges that.

• Fit: it should sit level, just above the ears, and grip without pinching. A loose bowler looks borrowed.
• Colour: black is the classic City choice; brown and grey are softer and easier with tweed.
• Clothing: a decent suit, an overcoat, or sharp tailoring. A bowler over a hooded sweatshirt rarely convinces.
• Proportion: short brims suit slim faces; on a broader head, look for a slightly taller crown rather than a bigger brim.

Don't tilt it back like a music-hall comedian. The bowler's power is in its straightness; wear it flat and let it do the work.

Buying and Caring for a Vintage Bowler

Nearly all the bowlers you will find today are vintage, and that is part of the pleasure. Fur felt of the sort used before the 1960s is denser and more resilient than much of what is made now, and a good hat can be reblocked and reshaped almost indefinitely.

• The sweatband should be intact and still stitched to the body of the hat, not hanging loose.
• The brim should be firm; if it flops, the shellac has gone and reshaping may not hold.
• Look inside for moth damage, which shows as small bald patches in the felt.
• Measure your head properly; felt will give slightly with wear but will not stretch two sizes.

In use, brush the hat with a soft brush in the direction of the nap, wipe it with a damp cloth rather than soaking it, and rest it upside down on its crown so the brim keeps its curl. Store it dry, away from direct sun, and it will outlast most of your wardrobe.

There is a reason the bowler has hung on for over 170 years. It is not charming in the obvious way. It is solid, slightly stubborn and entirely unbothered by fashion — and for the man who wears one well, that is the whole appeal.