Fedora

This article is about a hat. For the operating system, see Fedora Linux. For other uses, see Fedora (disambiguation).
A fedora made by Borsalino, with a pinch-front teardrop-shaped crown
A fedora made by Borsalino with a gutter-dent, side-dented crown, the front of the brim "snapped down" and the back "snapped up"

A fedora (/fəˈdɔːrə/)[1] is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.[1][2] It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides.[3] Fedoras can also be creased with teardrop crowns, diamond crowns, center dents, and others, and the positioning of pinches can vary. The typical crown height is 4.5 inches (11 cm). The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking homburg.[2]

The fedora hat's brim is usually around 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) wide, but can be wider,[2] can be left raw-edged (left as cut), finished with a sewn overwelt or underwelt, or bound with a trim-ribbon. Stitched edge means that there is one or more rows of stitching radiating inward toward the crown. The Cavanagh edge is a welted edge with invisible stitching to hold it in place and is a very expensive treatment that requires a highly-skilled craftsman.[4] Fedora hats are not to be confused with small brimmed hats called trilbies.[2][5]

Fedoras can be made of wool, cashmere, rabbit or beaver felt. These felts can also be blended to each other with mink or chinchilla[4][6] and rarely with vicuña, guanaco, cervelt,[7] or mohair. They can also be made of straw, cotton, waxed or oiled cotton, hemp, linen or leather.

A special variation is the rollable, foldaway or crushable fedora (rollable and crushable are not the same) with a certain or open crown (open-crown fedoras can be bashed and shaped in many variations). Special fedoras have a ventilated crown with grommets, mesh inlets or penetrations for a better air circulation. Fedoras can be lined or unlined and have a leather[8] or cloth[9] or ribbon sweatband. Small feathers are sometimes added as decoration. Fedoras can be equipped with a chinstrap, but this is uncommon.

  1. ^ a b "fedora". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  2. ^ a b c d Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern. R. M. McBride Company.
  3. ^ Cotton, Elizabeth (1999). Hats. Stewart, Tabori & Chang.
  4. ^ a b The Hatted Professor: the Cavanagh Edge Retrieved 10.16.2024.
  5. ^ When a Fedora That Isn't a Fedora Is a Fedora Archived 2017-03-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 03-09-2017.
  6. ^ Super felt Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  7. ^ Cervelt Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  8. ^ "Observations on Fedora Sweatbands, Size Tags, and Fedora Dating Tips". Publius Forum. 2 January 2011.
  9. ^ Sweatbands Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2016-03-15.