The word fedora comes from a French theatre play dated 1889 in which the famous Sarah Bernhardt played the main heroine Fédora Romanov.

The actress wore a center-creased, soft brimmed hat and pinched at the front. The hat became fashionable for women and was eventually adopted as a defining symbol of the women’s rights movement. Edward, Prince of Wales started wearing Fedoras in 1924, and shifted the popularity of this style over to men’s fashion. Between the 20s and 50s fedoras became widely associated with gangsters and Prohibition, as well as a defining characteristic of the film noir (just think about Humphrey Bogart). Nowadays Fedoras are equally worn by women and men and are making a comeback in current fashion trends. Fedora hats are not to be confused with small brimmed hats called trilbies. But this is another story …