Homburg hat facts for kids
A homburg is a special type of hat made from fur felt. It's known for its unique look: a single dent running down the middle of the top, a wide silk ribbon around the base, and a flat brim that curls up slightly at the edge. The brim also has a ribbon trim. Homburg hats are usually black or grey.
This hat gets its name from Bad Homburg in Hesse, Germany, where it first appeared as a hat for hunting. It became very popular in the late 1800s. The Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII, helped make it famous. He saw it as a less formal choice compared to the very tall top hat, similar to the bowler hat and boater hat. The first homburgs were a bit bigger than the ones you might see today. Even though it's a "semi-formal" hat, meaning it's dressy but not as dressy as a top hat, people also wore it with everyday clothes.
Like many other hats, the homburg stopped being an everyday item for men in Western countries around the 1960s.
| Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
What Makes a Homburg Hat Special?
The homburg is a type of semi-formal hat. This means it's dressy enough for special occasions but not as formal as a top hat. Its main features are:
- A single crease or "gutter" down the center of the crown (the top part of the hat).
- A wide ribbon made of silk around the base of the crown.
- A flat brim with a slight "pencil curl" at the edge.
- A ribbon trim along the edge of the brim.
These details give the homburg its classic, distinguished look.
How the Homburg Became Popular
The homburg hat gained fame in the 1890s thanks to the future King Edward VII. He visited Bad Homburg in Hesse, Germany, and brought back a hat of this style. He liked it when others copied his fashion choices, and sometimes he even insisted on it!
Later, in the 1930s, a British politician named Anthony Eden made the black homburg so fashionable that people in London started calling it "the Anthony Eden hat."
In 1953, when Dwight D. Eisenhower became president of the United States, he chose to wear a black homburg instead of the traditional top hat for his inauguration. He also wore a homburg for his second inauguration. This showed that the homburg was a hat for important leaders.
The Homburg Today
Just like other formal hats for men in Western countries, the homburg is not as common today as it once was. However, it still appears in popular culture.
The actor Al Pacino helped bring some attention back to the homburg when he wore a grey one in the famous film The Godfather. Because of this, the hat is sometimes even called a "Godfather" hat.
Some Orthodox Jewish rabbis still wear black homburgs with their traditional clothing, though this practice is also becoming less common. The homburg was always seen as more traditional and distinguished than the fedora hat.
See also
- Anthony Eden hat
- Bowler hat
- Fedora
- List of headgear
