Tricorne Facts for Kids

"Tricorn" redirects here. For the former building in Portsmouth, see Tricorn Centre. For the fractal, see tricorn (mathematics).

"Three-cornered hat" redirects here. For the ballet by Manuel de Falla, see The Three-Cornered Hat.

Quick facts for kids
Tricorne
Italian tricorne hat, mid-18th century
Type	Hat
Material	Animal fiber
Introduced	17th century

The tricorne or tricorn is a special kind of hat. It was very popular in the 1700s. People stopped wearing it much by the year 1800. Interestingly, it wasn't even called a "tricorne" until the mid-1800s! Back in the 1700s, people just called these hats "cocked hats."

When the tricorne was most popular, it came in many different styles and sizes. Rich people wore them, but so did regular citizens. Soldiers and sailors also wore them as part of their uniforms.

These hats were usually made from animal fur. More expensive ones used beaver fur, while cheaper ones were made from wool. The most unique thing about a tricorne was its shape. Three sides of the hat's brim were turned up. They were pinned, tied, or buttoned to form a triangle around the top part of the hat, called the crown.

This design had two main uses. First, it let stylish gentlemen show off their fancy wigs. Wigs were a big sign of social status back then! Second, a cocked hat with its folded brim was smaller than other hats. This made it easy to tuck under an arm when going inside a building. It was polite for gentlemen to take off their hats indoors. Some tricornes had laces. If you loosened the laces, you could drop the sides down. This gave better protection from the sun, rain, or bad weather.

Tricornes had a wide brim that was pinned up on three sides. This created the triangle shape. People usually wore the hat with one point facing forward. However, soldiers often wore it with the point facing left. This was so their rifle or musket, which they carried on their right shoulder, wouldn't hit the hat. The crown of a tricorne was low. This was different from the tall steeple hats worn by the Puritans or the top hats of the 1800s.

Tricornes could be very simple and cheap, or fancy and expensive. Some had gold or silver lace trim and even feathers. Military and navy hats often had a cockade or a national symbol on the front. Today, this hat is still used in some countries for special ceremonial dress.

History of the Tricorne Hat
Modern Uses and Legacy
Gallery
See also

History of the Tricorne Hat

French Musketeers of the Guard wearing tricorne hats in 1688.

The tricorne hat came from the broad-brimmed round hat. Spanish soldiers in Flanders wore these hats in the 1600s. They started folding up the brims to make a triangle shape. Spanish soldiers liked this shape. It meant their muskets wouldn't hit their hat brim when they held them on their shoulders.

A war started between France and Spain in 1667. During this war, the tricorne style spread to the French armies. French soldiers brought the style back to France. Soon, everyone in France, including the royal court of King Louis XIV, started wearing it. King Louis XIV made the tricorne popular all over Europe. People wore it for everyday fashion and as part of military uniforms.

By the end of the 1600s, the tricorne was a very popular hat. It stayed one of the main hat styles in Europe throughout the 1700s. In the United States, only the first five Presidents wore this hat. These were from George Washington to James Monroe. James Monroe was even called "The Last Cocked Hat" because he was the last president to wear this style.

The tricorne quickly became less popular at the end of the 1700s. It changed into the bicorne hat. The bicorne was worn by military officers in Europe from the 1790s until World War I. It didn't completely disappear until World War II. For regular soldiers, the tricorne was replaced by the shako hat around 1800. The shako became the main military hat from then on. Also around 1800, the top hat became the fashionable hat for men in everyday life. In 1917, the Women's Royal Naval Service created a smaller, modern tricorne for their female officers.

Modern Uses and Legacy

A Horse Guard of the Guardia Civil wearing a special tricorne during a ceremony in Madrid, Spain.
Royal court of the Netherlands.
Chelsea Pensioners wearing their tricorne hats.
The town crier of Seaton in Devon, 2013.
The Lord Mayor of Plymouth, 2009.
A graffiti drawing of a stick figure wearing a simple tricorne, 2021.

Tricornes are still used today in some special ways. They are part of the traditional uniform for the Chelsea Pensioners in the UK. They are also worn by the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps of the United States Army. The unique hat of the Spanish Guardia Civil, called a tricornio, comes from the tricorne.

In the UK, many Lord Mayors wear a black feathered tricorne hat for ceremonies. At the yearly Lord Mayor's Show in November, the new Lord Mayor of the City of London often waves his tricorne to the crowds. In the British Parliament, the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of Commons used to carry plain black tricornes. They rarely wore them, though. New members of the House of Lords used to have to take off and put on a tricorne hat three times during a ceremony. This part of the ritual was removed in 1998.

In the United States, the tricorne is strongly linked to the American Revolution. It reminds people of American Patriots from that time, especially the Minutemen. People who re-enact historical events often wear tricornes. You can also see them in sports! Fans of teams with Revolutionary names, like the New England Patriots (an American football team) or the New England Revolution (a Major League Soccer team), sometimes wear them. The Tea Party movement also uses the tricorne as a symbol to connect itself to the American Revolution.

In Spain, the Guardia Civil is the oldest police force covering the whole country. Their traditional hat is the tricornio, which was originally a tricorne. Now, they mostly wear it for parades or special events. The Royal Corps of Halberdiers in the Spanish Royal Guard wear blue and white uniforms with a silver ribbon tricorne for formal occasions.

In France, synagogue officiants (who are usually not rabbis) wear the tricorne for formal events. In the French navy and air force, women still wear tricornes as part of their uniform.

The tricorne is also a key part of the academic dress at the University of Minho in Portugal. Its history there goes back to the 1700s. This academic dress, called "Tricórnio" in Portuguese, was redesigned and made official in 1989.

In Canada, the tricorne is part of the ceremonial wear for Speakers in the federal Parliament and some provincial governments. It is also part of the formal dress for judges of the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 1981, a hat maker named John Boyd made a famous pink tricorne hat for Diana, Princess of Wales. This style became known as the "Lady Di" design and was copied all over the world.