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One of the most popular types of hats for American boys in the 19th century were rounded-crown hats, both straw and fabric hats, odten felt hats. As they were so popular, many boys worn them with kilt suits. It was not just a hat style for the younger boys wearing kilt suits. We also see older boys wearing these hats after they were breeched. These rounded crown hats had a range of variations involving both the crown and brim. The brims were basically rounded, but they were done in a range of shapes, some more rounded thasn othes.
The brims were even more varied. The size of the brims varied. Here we are talking about small- and medium-sized brims. The wide-brimed we classify as a different type of hat became the brim becomes the dominant element. The brims were also done differently. Some had nasically level brims with only a slight curve of the brim. Others had the brims curved upwards to varying degrees. hose that had the brims turned all the wat up we call folded brim hats. We have, however, been unable to find precisely what these hats and the many variations were called at the time. The boy here had a hat with an unturned brim. (figure 1). Another example is an unidentified Providence boy, These rounded-crown hats were a style that does does not seem to have been as common in Europe, although our archive European archive is more limited so we can not yet make definitive assessments.
We do not know what these hats were called at the time. Unfortunately peripod catalogs just say 'hats'. Some times the material is mentioned. The catalogs we have found are not very common. As with other similar cases, we have created descriotive terms so we have pne term to use om our various pages, We think rounded-crown hat is the best way of describing these hats.
One of the most popular types of hats for American boys in the 19th century were rounded-crown hats. Here we are talking about hats with relatively small brims. Wide-brimed hats might hazve rounded crowns, but there the brim and not the crown was the major feature of the hat. As they were so popular, many boys worn them with kilt suits. Ilustrators often picture boys in kilts suits wearing wide-brimed hasts, but the photographic record suggests that these rounded crown hats were more common. Boys often did not have have their hats in the portraits, but quite a number did. There were different types of rounded crown hats with variying brim treatment. But based on the photographic record they definitely seem the most popular headwear with kilt suits, at least uin America. While vary popular in America, these rounded-crown hats were a style that does does not seem to have been as common in Europe, although our archive European archive is more limited so we can not yet make definitive assessments. Other styles seem more popular in Britain and other European countries.
These rounded crown hats were stiff conctruction, unlike the soft hats that could be folded. These rounded crown hats were very common for boys, all ages of boys. It was not a style just for younger boys. There were several different elements to these hats. The most important was the crown and the brim. The crown was made at different heights. A few had embroidery. The brim characteristics varied. There were different withs of brims. In addition the brim was handled differently. We see some brims molded upward. For some this was done only slightly. In other instances it was molded way up, cobering a good bit of the crown. The most common style was the one in which the brim was only slifglty turned up. The hat the boy here is wearing is a good example of a brim molded up (figure 1). Hat bands also varied. The rounded-crown hats for the younger boys might have streamers. We also notice hat bands with bows.
We see these these rounded-crown hat done in a variety of material, both straw and fabric hats. Some were done in felt. Some seem to be the same fabric as the suit, suiting material matching the suit. This mean thst were soth soft and fully shaped hard hats. Both felt and straw could be shaoped in a hard style. It is not always easy to determine the material involved from the photograph. The easiest to spot are straw hats. Straw hats were introduced a decade or more before kilts suits became an important style. Straw hats were worn by the 1830s, but did not became a fashionable mainstay until the really well made Ecuadorean straw hats (called Panamas) were popularized by the 49ers headerd to califiornia to hunt for gold. Straw hats persisted even when the kilt suit disappeared after the turn-of-the 20th centuty. The most common hat style for straw was the rounded crown hat. There were also flast topped boarters, but vthis was astyle less common for boys--rspecially during th 1870-90s. And the same general trend is the case for rounded-crown hats in general made of the other mterials.
Rounded-crown hats were not just a hat style for the younger boys wearing kilt suits. It was a general style for boys from about 3-12 years of age during the second half of the 19th century. It seems to be the most common boys' headwear during that period. There were quite a range of headwear worn during that period. But no other type of headwear or style approached the rounded-crown hat in the photographic record. The age range of avout 3-6 years and the chrnological period encompassing the second half of the 20th century dovetails with the age and chromology of the kilt suit. So there was no associatui with the kilt suit and riunded crown hat. It is just that this was the populat tyype and style of headwear worn by boys, including the younger boys wearing likt suits at the time. We also see older boys wearing these hats after they were breeched and wearing more mature-style suits with trousers. The kilt suit wa associated with younger boys, the rounded crown-hat, however, had a much wider age range extendeding to boys nearing their teens.
These rounded crown hats had a range of variations involving both the crown and brim. The brims were basically rounded, but they were done in a range of shapes, some more rounded thasn othes.
The brims were even more varied. The size of the brims varied. Here we are talking about small- and medium-sized brims. The wide-brimed we classify as a different type of hat became the brim becomes the dominant element. The brims were also done differently. Some had basically level brims with only a slight curve of the brim. Others had the brims curved upwards to varying degrees. Those that had the brims turned all the wat up we call folded brim hats. We have, however, been unable to find precisely what these hats and the many variations were called at the time. The boy here had a hat with an unturned brim. (figure 1). Another example is an unidentified Providence boy. We also notice a variety of hat bands, some with bows. Streamers do not seem very common.
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