The introduction of caps to the fashion vocabulary, was a major part in its history to be remembered.
The recent year of 2020 menswear shows certainly got statement headwear right. There was everything from dressy and dapper styles to more streetwear-minded takes. Well-dressed men from celebrities to a regular man have been wearing caps and hats for years as a regular fashion accessory.
Feeling inspired by all this, we wanted to showcase you the history of caps and how it all started.
Hats may serve protective functions but often signify the wearer’s sensibility to fashion or serve ceremonial functions, as when symbolizing the office or rank of the wearer.
Back in times!
Hats of plant fibres were associated with the ancient rural traditions of Europe and Anatolia
An early statue of Mercury shows his hat to be of finely plaited straw. Artisans of classical Athens and Rome usually wore conical caps with egg-shaped crowns made of felt. The material that protruded under the band evolved into a brim. In Rome this cap was a badge of the plebeian class, a slave being freed was presented with such a cap. Men of the upper classes usually went hatless except in bad weather or when hunting or traveling. The emperor Augustus Caesar, in his old age, set a new fashion by never going out without a hat.
In Egypt caps and simple kerchiefs were worn over the head and brow, falling in a drape to the shoulders. Wigs of human hair or sheep’s wool were also worn as protection from the sun. Helmet caps were ornamented with symbols of rank - the asp for kingly power, the feather for sovereignty.
Also, in the early medieval era city people wore hats usually made of cloth, such as the chaperon, a loose hood for both men and women. Throughout the Middle Ages women of all classes wore veils or draperies hiding the hair and framing the face. During the 15th century women’s hats showed increasing elaboration. The hennin, or steeple headdress, was fashionable in France and Flanders between 1460 and 1480. Women also wore the turban and the so-called butterfly headdress of transparent gauze raised above the head by means of long pins.
In the 17th century Europeans wore hats indoors as well as out. Hats predominated among men in the 17th and 18th centuries. European and American women in the 18th century sometimes wore the calash, a great bonnet that resembled the extension top of a calèche, or French carriage. The silk top hat originated in Florence in about 1760. Soon other types of hats were adopted by the expanding middle classes.
Cloth caps with visors became standard attire for workingmen and boys. During the last quarter of the century, the soft felt hat became popular in the United States. In much of the Western men and women largely ceased wearing hats in the 1960s, and then hairstyles became more important.
A myriad of other styles of headgear have been developed as well, ranging from the many kinds of straw hats worn worldwide by people who work outdoors.
Caps really have had a lot of transformation from place to place and from country to country. Even today we have more varieties of caps and hats around the world than we actually know!
FINAL THOUGHTS…
So, that is it for today’s blog from CAPS WHOLESALERS. See the present different styles of caps available on our website. You’ll soon see the cap is an effortless and inspired final touch to your fashion outfits. Come check out our website, and start listing your favourite caps only from CAP WHOLESALERS.
Visit our online store CAP WHOLESALERS and shop for hats today from brands like Ascolor, Winning spirit, Flexfit, Headwear safari, Grace collection and many more. We have several colors to choose from and some of these hats are available for both the genders.