It's the hat that gave our store its name — the soft-brimmed, creased-crown silhouette that means confidence the moment it goes on. The fedora has topped gangsters and presidents, film-noir detectives and pop stars. But here's the twist most people never hear: it started out as a women's hat, and it was named after a character in a French play.
A hat born on the stage
In 1882, the French playwright Victorien Sardou wrote a drama called Fédora, about a Russian princess named Fédora Romazova. The role was created by the most famous actress of the age, Sarah Bernhardt, who took the stage in a soft felt hat with a center crease and a flexible brim. Audiences were captivated — and the hat became a sensation, taking the name of the character who wore it. (Sardou built the name from the Greek theodoros, “gift of God.”)
At first the fedora was a women's fashion across France, Germany, and England, and it was even taken up by women's-rights activists as a symbol of the movement. Only later did men adopt it — drawn to a softer, more comfortable alternative to the stiff bowler and derby hats that dominated the era.
From women's fashion to men's staple
The fedora's leap into men's wardrobes came around 1924, when Edward, Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) began wearing one. As the era's leading style icon, the prince made the fedora aspirational overnight, and it rapidly replaced the bowler, the flat cap, and the top hat as the default hat for men.
What made it so wearable was its construction. A true fedora is soft felt — premium versions use fur felt (rabbit or beaver) for a finer finish and better weather resistance, while wool felt offers the same classic look at an easier price. The crown is pinched and creased (the teardrop, center-dent, and diamond are the common shapes), and the “snap brim” can be worn down for a sharp, shadowed look or turned up for something more casual. That flexibility is exactly what separates the fedora from its stiffer cousins, the homburg and the shorter-brimmed trilby.
The golden age: the fedoras that became legends
From the 1920s through the 1950s, the fedora was menswear — and Hollywood turned it into shorthand for cool.
Humphrey Bogart
No one wore a snap-brim like Bogart. As Rick Blaine in Casablanca — and across the film-noir era — his tilted felt fedora and trench coat became the uniform of the world-weary tough guy. It's still the first image most people picture when they hear the word “fedora.” Read more about Bogart's fedora →
Al Capone
On the other side of the law, the fedora became the signature of the Prohibition-era gangster — and no one dressed the part better than Al Capone. The wide-brim felt fedora, worn low, is still Hollywood's go-to when it wants to say “mobster.” Read more about Capone's hat →
Frank Sinatra
By the 1950s the fedora had a soundtrack. Sinatra — and the rest of the Rat Pack — wore theirs pushed back at a rakish angle, turning the hat into a symbol of after-hours swagger. Ol' Blue Eyes made the tilted brim look like the most natural thing in the world. Read more about Sinatra's fedora →
The fall — and the comeback
Then, almost as quickly as it rose, the hat disappeared. Men stopped wearing fedoras through the 1950s and '60s — a casualty of car culture (no headroom), changing hairstyles, and a more relaxed postwar attitude. You'll often hear that President Kennedy “killed the hat” by going bare-headed, but that's a myth: the decline had already been underway for two decades, and JFK actually wore a top hat to his 1961 swearing-in, removing it only for his address.
Indiana Jones brought it roaring back
The fedora's rescue came from a single character. When Harrison Ford strode onto screens as Indiana Jones in 1981 — battered brown fur-felt fedora firmly in place through every chase and cave-in — he made the hat aspirational again for a whole new generation. (The Blues Brothers had given the snap-brim its own cult moment a year earlier.) Read more about the Indy fedora →
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Michael Jackson
Jackson took the fedora somewhere new entirely — a piece of stagecraft. The black fedora of “Smooth Criminal,” snapped low and flung mid-routine, became one of the most recognizable images in pop, tying his choreography to the golden-age Hollywood he adored. Read more about MJ's fedora →
Don Draper and the modern revival
Mad Men and Jon Hamm's Don Draper reintroduced a whole audience to the sharp, tailored fedora of the early 1960s, and a new wave of musicians — Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, and others — carried it back onto the stage. Read more about the Don Draper look →
Want the full roll call? Browse our Celebrity Hat Index for the icons behind every hat style.
How to choose (and wear) a fedora
- Pick your brim. A classic 2–2.5” brim (like the Country Gentleman Frederick) suits almost everyone; a stingy short brim reads modern and casual, while a wide brim makes more of a statement (and blocks more sun).
- Felt for cool weather, straw for hot. Wool or fur felt carries you through fall and winter; a woven straw fedora keeps the same shape breathable in summer.
- Consider a crushable. If you travel, a packable style like the Bailey Tino springs back into shape after it's rolled in a bag.
- It's not just for men. The fedora began as a women's hat, and still looks great as one — see the Scala Dillane women's fedora.
- Get the fit right. A fedora should sit level, about a finger-width above your eyebrows. Our hat sizing guide walks you through measuring.
Fedora FAQs
Why is it called a fedora?
It's named after Fédora, an 1882 play by Victorien Sardou. Sarah Bernhardt played the title character, Princess Fédora, wearing a soft center-creased felt hat — and the style took the character's name.
What's the difference between a fedora and a trilby?
Both have a pinched, creased crown, but a trilby has a shorter brim that's usually snapped sharply down at the back, while a fedora has a wider, more flexible “snap” brim you can wear up or down. The fedora is the more formal, versatile of the two.
What is a fedora made of?
Traditionally soft felt — fur felt (rabbit or beaver) on premium hats, or wool felt at a more accessible price. Summer fedoras are woven from straw or toquilla for breathability.
Can men and women both wear fedoras?
Absolutely. The fedora was originally a women's hat before men adopted it in the 1920s, and today it's a staple for everyone — we carry men's, women's, and unisex styles.
- Bigalli Milano Wool Felt Fedora — classic everyday felt
- Country Gentleman Frederick — Made-in-USA center-dent classic
- Country Gentleman Floyd Stingy Brim — modern short-brim
- Bailey Piston Wide-Brim Fedora — statement wide brim
- Bailey Salem Summer Braid Fedora — breathable straw for summer
- Bailey Tino Crushable Fedora — packable for travel
- Scala Dillane Women's Fedora — a women's take on the classic
- Bellissimo Fox Fur-Felt Fedora — the premium heirloom
Or browse the full fedora collection.
From a Paris stage in 1882 to a pop star's stage a century later, the fedora has never really gone away — it just keeps finding new heads to crown. Not bad for a hat that started out borrowed from a play.
Photo credits. Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942 trailer, public domain); Al Capone, 1929 (public domain); Frank Sinatra, 1957 (Capitol Records publicity photo, public domain); Harrison Ford (© Mireille Ampilhac, CC BY-SA 2.0); Michael Jackson (© Daniele Dalledonne, CC BY-SA 2.0); Jon Hamm (© “Luck the Lady,” CC BY-SA 2.0). All via Wikimedia Commons except the Sinatra image, hosted on our own CDN.
