![]() ![]() ![]() With mass emigration in the early 19th century, the flat cap gained popularity in the United States and beyond where it became the epitome of the common man uniform and donned a myriad of names: the driving cap, duffer cap, golf cap, scally cap, cabbie cap, paddy cap (after the Irish community) and the newsboy. This law remained upheld for almost 30 years before it was repealed, by which point the style of the flat cap had become widely accepted as the working man’s attire particularly in the industrial areas of Western and Northern England as well as across Ireland. Imposed on the working class in 1571, the UK government made it law under the Statute of Apparel that all males above the age of 6 must wear an English made woollen hat on Sundays and public Holidays or risk a beating and a fine. ![]() In particular, the wool trade which was the foundation of the English economy in the mid 1500’s and was under threat due to competition in exports from Southern and Western Europe. It is interesting then that the origin of the flat cap would be embedded in the need to bolster the UK economy by its own government. In a post-Brexit landscape, the desire for homegrown UK manufacturing is stronger now than ever. The humble flat cap, having little to nothing change about its appearance since the 19th century, somehow defies the laws of passing fashion trends and thus remains a firm favourite as an everyday hat for the everyday man. Born in the industrial era, it is as natural to see herds of city goers in their flat caps as it is the quint-essential country man’s hat. Having never really gone ‘out of style’, the hat has seen resurgences in popularity over the decades due to its strong representation in popular culture, as well as its adoption by all ages and realms of status. However, the flat cap is rather an anomaly in the fashion world. Take for example the Barbour wax jacket or the Burberry trench coat. ![]() Last Updated on Februby Rachel Thomson By order of the Flat Capįashion is always re-appropriating elements of its itself: moulding contextual pieces of clothing which in the past were pigeonholed into one place and purpose and rebranding them into something far more fluid and accessible to the masses. ![]()
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