Fashion

Ode to the bucket hat

Tayler Willson says hats off to this humble headwear, a football-stadium fixture beloved by fans, musicians and the fashion conscious

PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Ower-Davis
Issue 07

Nothing quite encapsulates an entire century like the bucket hat. For a garment first designed in the early 1900s as purely functional headgear for Irish farmers and fishermen, its sheer resilience as a cultural mainstay in every decade since is nothing short of admirable.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that this cranium-hugging classic was first worn solely as a fashion prop. Adorning the heads of mods across Europe, it then began percolating through the hip- hop world in the 1980s. Before long, the bucket hat had been dressing entire subcultures for over 30 years, although it wasn’t until the rise of Acid House and Britpop that it really began to infiltrate everyday life and, in turn, football terrace wear as we know it.

Nothing quite encapsulates an entire century like the bucket hat. For a garment first designed in the early 1900s as purely functional headgear for Irish farmers and fishermen, its sheer resilience as a cultural mainstay in every decade since is nothing short of admirable.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that this cranium-hugging classic was first worn solely as a fashion prop. Adorning the heads of mods across Europe, it then began percolating through the hip- hop world in the 1980s. Before long, the bucket hat had been dressing entire subcultures for over 30 years, although it wasn’t until the rise of Acid House and Britpop that it really began to infiltrate everyday life and, in turn, football terrace wear as we know it.

Read the full story
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Enter almost any European stadium from the late 80s to the 1990s, and you’d have been hard-pushed to find someone not sporting a bucket hat. Influenced by serial wearers such as Liam Gallagher, plus an eternal penchant for cutting a dash, stadium crowds were filled with rows of eyes shadowed by its iconic downward-slanting brim. It had carved out its place in football terrace culture and, particularly in the UK, has remained there ever since.

While its design may vary nowadays, the beauty of every bucket hat is its flexibility and convenience in almost any casual occasion – and the ease with which it can fit in a pocket. Lazy in an enviable way, this humble accessory is not only one of the most defining garments of British football culture, it looks pretty snappy too.

Nothing quite encapsulates an entire century like the bucket hat. For a garment first designed in the early 1900s as purely functional headgear for Irish farmers and fishermen, its sheer resilience as a cultural mainstay in every decade since is nothing short of admirable.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that this cranium-hugging classic was first worn solely as a fashion prop. Adorning the heads of mods across Europe, it then began percolating through the hip- hop world in the 1980s. Before long, the bucket hat had been dressing entire subcultures for over 30 years, although it wasn’t until the rise of Acid House and Britpop that it really began to infiltrate everyday life and, in turn, football terrace wear as we know it.

Fashion

Ode to the bucket hat

Tayler Willson says hats off to this humble headwear, a football-stadium fixture beloved by fans, musicians and the fashion conscious

PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Ower-Davis

Text Link

Nothing quite encapsulates an entire century like the bucket hat. For a garment first designed in the early 1900s as purely functional headgear for Irish farmers and fishermen, its sheer resilience as a cultural mainstay in every decade since is nothing short of admirable.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that this cranium-hugging classic was first worn solely as a fashion prop. Adorning the heads of mods across Europe, it then began percolating through the hip- hop world in the 1980s. Before long, the bucket hat had been dressing entire subcultures for over 30 years, although it wasn’t until the rise of Acid House and Britpop that it really began to infiltrate everyday life and, in turn, football terrace wear as we know it.

Nothing quite encapsulates an entire century like the bucket hat. For a garment first designed in the early 1900s as purely functional headgear for Irish farmers and fishermen, its sheer resilience as a cultural mainstay in every decade since is nothing short of admirable.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that this cranium-hugging classic was first worn solely as a fashion prop. Adorning the heads of mods across Europe, it then began percolating through the hip- hop world in the 1980s. Before long, the bucket hat had been dressing entire subcultures for over 30 years, although it wasn’t until the rise of Acid House and Britpop that it really began to infiltrate everyday life and, in turn, football terrace wear as we know it.

Read the full story
Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!

Enter almost any European stadium from the late 80s to the 1990s, and you’d have been hard-pushed to find someone not sporting a bucket hat. Influenced by serial wearers such as Liam Gallagher, plus an eternal penchant for cutting a dash, stadium crowds were filled with rows of eyes shadowed by its iconic downward-slanting brim. It had carved out its place in football terrace culture and, particularly in the UK, has remained there ever since.

While its design may vary nowadays, the beauty of every bucket hat is its flexibility and convenience in almost any casual occasion – and the ease with which it can fit in a pocket. Lazy in an enviable way, this humble accessory is not only one of the most defining garments of British football culture, it looks pretty snappy too.

Nothing quite encapsulates an entire century like the bucket hat. For a garment first designed in the early 1900s as purely functional headgear for Irish farmers and fishermen, its sheer resilience as a cultural mainstay in every decade since is nothing short of admirable.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that this cranium-hugging classic was first worn solely as a fashion prop. Adorning the heads of mods across Europe, it then began percolating through the hip- hop world in the 1980s. Before long, the bucket hat had been dressing entire subcultures for over 30 years, although it wasn’t until the rise of Acid House and Britpop that it really began to infiltrate everyday life and, in turn, football terrace wear as we know it.

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