History of the Bowler Hat Twitter 7 Facebook 138 Share 145 By Laura Roberts7:30AM BST 06 Oct 2010 The first bowler hat was originaly created for Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester in 1849. It was designed by London hatmakers Thomas and William Bowlers for hatters Lock & Co of St Jamess. The brief was to create a piece of headgear that could be worn by gamekeeps when they were out riding to protect their heads from low-hanging branches. RELATED ARTICLES Bowler hat makes a comeback Bowler and brolly for Cornet Wales It is thought that before accepting the hat Coke arrived at the shop in London and stamped on the crown twice to check its robustness. He paid 12 shillings for it. The Bowler went on to be associated with businessmen in the City of London. During the 1950s and 60s men wore the Bowler as part of the City uniform but the practice died out during the seventies. Perhaps one of the most famous icons of the 21st century to wear a bowler hat was Sir Winston Churchill. Cavalry officers still traditional wear Bowler hats and suits for their annual parade and both Princes William and Harry have worn them for official duties. The tradition for officers to wear bowler hats for their annual parade dates back to the first such event 82 years ago, when the outfit was considered correct dress for walking out. Officers are still expected to wear their City gent attire whenever they are in London on duty. The Bowler rather than a cowboy hat or a Stetson was also the most popular hat worn by men in America in the 19th century - such Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy. Lock & Co still sells around 4,000 to 5,000 Bowlers each year mostly to City workers, ex-miolitary gentlemen and young Americans. Famous Bowler hat icons: A bowler hat is the logo of British bank Bradford & Bingley. In the James Bond film Goldfinger, the evil henchman Oddjob threw an iconic, razor-edged bowler as a weapon. Thomson and Thompson, identical twin detectives from Herges The Adventures of Tintin, are recognisable for their bowler hats and walking sticks The villains in the steampunk anime Steamboy wear bowler hats; as well as one of Batmans best known villains, The Riddler. In Stanley Kubricks film A Clockwork Orange the lead character Alex DeLarge wears a bowler hat Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were well-known for their bowler hats, as was Lou Costello. During the Silent Film Era, Charlie Chaplins character The Tramp almost always wore a bowler.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 21:09:31 +0000
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