Flat cap
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A flat cap (see alternate names below) is a rounded soft men's cap with a small brim in front and a somewhat stiff peak in the back.
The material is usually wool or tweed, although some have been made with leather. The style can be traced back to 14th century England. In its current version, the caps were worn in the 19th century by working class men, and it has also been considered casual country wear by wealthy English men (hence the alternate name golf cap).
Boys in the United Kingdom and North America of all classes wore this cap in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The hat is often associated in popular culture with newsboys. Cloth caps were worn by fashionable young men in the 1920s. In British popular culture, the flat cap is associated with working class men in northern England, as personified by Fred Dibnah and comic strip anti-hero Andy Capp.
The style has remained popular among certain people in Europe and North America. The hat is sometimes associated with older men, but has been popular among some segments of younger people, particularly skinheads and those associated with the Oi! and punk subcultures. The hat has also appeared in the hip hop subculture. Although mostly worn by men, some women have adopted the cap.
Celebrities who have worn flat caps include: AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, comedian Dave Chappelle, hip-hop artist Common, Babyshamble's drummer Adam Ficek, professional golfer Payne Stewart, rapper Notorious B.I.G., James Bond film actor Daniel Craig and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
[edit] Other names
- Bunnet - Scotland
- Cheese-cutter - in New Zealand and Canada
- Cloth cap
- Coppola - in Sicily
- Derby cap
- Driving cap
- Gatsby cap
- Golf cap
- Hogans cap
- Halibut cap
- Irish cap
- Jeff cap
- Ivy cap
- Newsboy cap
- Paddy cap
- Phatty Hat
- Scally cap - mostly in North America
- Scone bunnet
- Sixpence - in Norway.
- Touring cap
- Windsor cap
- Dai cap- in Wales
- Conductor's hat
- Old fogey hat (used humourously rather than as an actual name)
