Trilby

A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain^[1] and was frequently seen at the horse races.

The traditional London hat company Lock and Co. describes the trilby as having a "shorter brim which is angled down at the front and slightly turned up at the back" compared to the fedora's "wider brim which is more level". The trilby also has a slightly shorter crown than a typical fedora design.^[2]

History

The hat's name derives from the stage adaptation of George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby. A hat of this style was worn in the first London production of the play, and promptly came to be called "a Trilby hat".^[3] Its shape somewhat resembles the Tyrolean hat.^{[citation needed]}

Traditionally it was made from rabbit hair felt, but now is usually made from other materials, such as tweed, straw, heavyweight cotton, wool and wool/nylon blends. The hat reached its zenith of common popularity in the 1960s; the lower head clearance in American automobiles made it impractical to wear a hat with a tall crown while driving. It faded from popularity in the 1970s when men's headwear went out of fashion and men's fashion focused on highly maintained hairstyles instead.

The hat saw a resurgence in popularity in the early 1980s, when it was marketed to both men and women in an attempt to capitalise on a retro fashion trend.^[4]

In popular culture

Frank Sinatra was identified with trilby hats, and there is a signature design trilby bearing his name. The reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson often wears a trilby during his performances. Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau wore a Herbert Johnson trilby in Blake Edwards's A Shot in the Dark (1964), the second of his Pink Panther series; the felt trilby gave way to a tweed one in later films. The cartoon character Inspector Gadget wears a trilby hat.^[5]

In the Series 1 episode "The Think Tank" of the program Are You Being Served?, the Grace Brothers store policy is revealed to include a hierarchical order for hats male personnel wear: bowlers for departmental heads and above, homburgs for senior floor staff and trilbys or caps for junior floor staff.

See also

• Cap
• Fedora
• Gat (hat)
• Homburg (hat)
• List of headgear
• Pork pie hat
• Shako, a tall, cylindrical military cap

References

External links

Western
culture

Formal	Cartwheel Cloche Cocktail Doll Draped turban Eugénie Fascinator Half Halo Juliet Mushroom Lampshade Picture Peach Pillbox Tam Top Opera
Semi-formal	Homburg Anthony Eden Boater Bowler Buntal
Informal	Cabbage-tree Chupalla Fedora Trilby Flat Coppola Newsboy Panama Pork pie Smoking Wideawake
Uniforms	Aviator Bearskin Bell-boy hat Bicorne Black Boonie Budenovka Busby Campaign Cap comforter Cappello Alpino Casquette d'Afrique Caubeen Cavalry Stetson Czapka Doctoral Feather bonnet Forage Karvalakki Fur wedge Hardee Jeep Kepi Mazepynka Nurse's Maintenance/Chapeau Military beret/Uniform beret Black Blue Green Maroon Red Tan Patrol Peaked Mariner's Sailor Printer's Rogatywka Shako Side Titovka Triglavka Ski Slouch Sou'wester Student Faluche Square academic Tricorne Utility cover
Religious	Christian Western Biretta Canterbury Camauro Capirote Cappello romano Capuchon Christening cap Galero Head covering for Christian women Easter bonnet Mantilla Wimple Mitre Papal tiara Pilgrim's Salvation Army bonnet Shovel Zucchetto Eastern Klobuk Epanokalimavkion Kalimavkion Koukoulion Skufia Jewish Jewish Kashket Kippah Kolpik Spodik Shtreimel
Casual	Animal Ascot Barretina Beanie Beret Bobble Breton Bucket Chilote Cowboy Boss of the Plains Fruit Knit Monmouth Party Shower Tin foil Umbrella Whoopee Sports Cricket Baggy green Balaclava Facekini Baseball Trucker Bicycle clip Casquette Deerstalker Horse racing Mounteere Rally Sports visor Green eyeshade Stormy Kromer Swimming Water polo
Historical	Attifet Apex Beaver Bergère Boudoir Boyar Bycocket Capotain Cavalier Coal scuttle bonnet Coif Dolly Varden Dunce Fontange French hood Phrygian Hennin Kausia Kokoshnik Miner's Mob Modius Pamela Petasos Pileus Poke bonnet Pudding Toque Witch Gediminas' Cap

FolkWrapped
headwearHat partsAccessories