The formal top hat is the most iconic hat for Victorian-era gentlemen. Top hat height and shape changed over the years, from the tall and narrow stove pipe Lincoln top hat to the short and curvy late Victorian straw top hat. The round-top bowler or derby hat was another common hat for gentlemen.
Country folk, farmers, and ranchers preferred the wide brim planter or plantation hat, as worn in Gone with the Wind. A similar hat style, the gambler, was a favorite of western outlaws. The straw boater or sailor hat was a summertime classic.
Later in the Victorian era, the center dent homburg and fedora emerged as a stylish young person city hat. All of these hats came in black, brown, grey or taupe felt in cool weather and woven straw in summer.
A set of cool vintage photos that shows what hat styles for men looked like from between the 1840s and 1860s.
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