Sailor Headgear: Hats and Caps

Figure 1.--This boy wears a wide-brimmed sailor hat. These hats for formal wear at the turn of the century could be huge--even for small boys. The formal ones usually had long streemers. Note the light-colored streamer that can be seen hanging down at the back.

Sailor headwearv, both hats and caps, like sailor suits, were were originally worn exclusively by boys. One report indicates that boys were outfitted in sailor suits as early as the mid-18th Century, but the earliest image I have confirming this is a mid-19th Century image. It is certain, however, that it was the choice of sailor suits for the young Prince of Wales in 18?? that indelibly made the sailior suit acceptable as a boys' fashion. (We are not sure just whose idea this was, Victoria, Albert, or an adviser. We do knopw that tghe decission was beautifully recorded by Winterhalter.) It was not until the 1870s, however, that the sailor suit became a major fashion for boys and was also being worn by girls. The sailor suit while not as dominate a style for girls as for boys, was still widely worn by girls.

Origin

The original sailor hats were based on the hat worn by English sailors in the early 19th Century. The hats had broad brims and rounded crowns. This style for boys' sailor hats continued into the 20th Century, long after it had disappeared as part of the English sailor's uniform. Many other versions of the sailor hat appeared for boys with smaller brims and even flat crowns. These were fashion creations and never worn by actual sailors. Boys in the late 19th Century also began wearing sailor caps which were based on actual uniform caps.

Outfit

The sailor hat was an integral part of the sailor suit. Hats were much more commonly worn in the 19th Century. Thus any suit purchased for aboy would be worn with requisite headgear to complement it. Eventually sailor hats, less commonly the caps, would be worn with other styles of suits. Only sailor hats or caps would be worn with sailor suits. The wide brimmed sailor hat with long treemers and elastic chin strap became by the 1880s the primary dress hat worn by childre, both boys and girls. Sailor suits were worn with both hats or caps

Sailor Hats

The first sailor suits were worn with the broad brimmed sailor hats worn by British seamen. The sailor suits popularized by Queen Victoria's sons in the 1840s were worn with straw sailor hats. A hat differs from a cap in that it has full brim all around the crown. The sailor hat was the most formal style and was for years worn, not only with sailor suits, but with formal clothes like Little Lord Fauntleroy suits. Sailor hats were usually worn with streamers at the back and often with elastic chin straps.

Sailor Caps

Latter various styles of caps, headgear without full brims, were also worn with sailor suits. Caps were less formal headgear to be worn with sailor suits. They differed from sailor hats in that they did not have a full brim. Caps also came in many more different styles than hats. This is because after the mid-19th Century, most of the world's navies introduced caps of different styles rather than hats. Many of the caps had no brims at all, although most had streamers. Headgear for sailor outfits included both sailor hats and caps. Sailor caps were being commonly worn by the 1870s.

Girls follow suit

Girls by the 1870s were also wearing sailor suits, but not sailor caps. The original wide-brimmed hat eventually became associated with a style for girls and small boys--especially for formal occasions. The girls' style was usually the sailor hat. Girls never commonly wore the various styles of sailor caps that boys began wearing in the 1870s. Eventually wide-brimmed sailor hats were worn mostly by girls and younger boys. Older boys would wear sailor caps.

Figure 3.--Sailor hats were worn with sailor suits, but they were also with fancy party clothes like Little Lord Fauntleroy suits. This photograph was probably taken in the 1900s right after the turn of the century. This boy still in ringlets wears a wide-brimmed sailor hat with a flat crown. Note that the hat does not have a streamer.

Younger Boys

Many mothers so liked the sailor suit style that they would outfit their sons in sailor outfits before breeching. Many styes of sailor dresses or middy blouses to be worn with kilts/skirts were available. Boys in dresses or breeched boys still in curls would usually wear broad-brimmed sailor hats instead of the various styles of sailor caps.

Decorative Items

We note a variety of decorative items used with sailor headwer. The three most important are: chinstraps, streamers, and tallies. They are used with other headwear, but seem vthe most popular with sailor headwear. In part because they were derived from the headwear actually worn by sailors. We note chinstraps with both sailor caps and sailor hats.

Created: January 13, 1999
Last updated: 4:18 AM 7/1/2010