How hat fashion has evolved throughout history - Alison L. Goodrum
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Date: 2026-03-07
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Comments and reviews: 20
drestonjclaw2839
For the viewer’s actual answer to the videos stated title question: we didn’t stop wearing all hats altogether. Just as in the simplification of modern architecture, we turned to the ball-cap as the overall generic hat of choice due to its mass producibility and easily customizable nature. It is the hat equivalent to a t-shirt and/or a hoodie. It is a small hat with no back brim, so it is very easily worn while driving automobiles, and it is not easily blown off by the wind due to its tight fitting design. The brim it does have very easily shades the eyes from the sun. Overall, due to the factors of modern life it has come out as the standard headwear of choice for western nations, especially the US. It is also much more fashionably simple rather than trying to wear a trilby, fedora, Stetson, bowler, boater, sombrero, or top-hat which all come with much more baggage aesthetically and even socially. Different styles of hats will make their comebacks every so often, but due to its nature the ball-cap will probably and unfortunately remain hegemonic in its popularity among modern people in western countries. Hopefully our societal destitution of diverse forms of popular headwear will change and everyone shall realize that extravagant fashion can be tasteful and affordable. Hopefully someday we will once again know beauty in and amidst plurality.
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For the viewer’s actual answer to the videos stated title question: we didn’t stop wearing all hats altogether. Just as in the simplification of modern architecture, we turned to the ball-cap as the overall generic hat of choice due to its mass producibility and easily customizable nature. It is the hat equivalent to a t-shirt and/or a hoodie. It is a small hat with no back brim, so it is very easily worn while driving automobiles, and it is not easily blown off by the wind due to its tight fitting design. The brim it does have very easily shades the eyes from the sun. Overall, due to the factors of modern life it has come out as the standard headwear of choice for western nations, especially the US. It is also much more fashionably simple rather than trying to wear a trilby, fedora, Stetson, bowler, boater, sombrero, or top-hat which all come with much more baggage aesthetically and even socially. Different styles of hats will make their comebacks every so often, but due to its nature the ball-cap will probably and unfortunately remain hegemonic in its popularity among modern people in western countries. Hopefully our societal destitution of diverse forms of popular headwear will change and everyone shall realize that extravagant fashion can be tasteful and affordable. Hopefully someday we will once again know beauty in and amidst plurality.
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sorengraymusic
My theory of why hats fell out of fashion is the advent of mass produced plastic sunglasses after WW2. Hats were also use by the working class to keep the sun and weather off. Sun glasses solved the sun part. And with cheap mass production they became more easily accessible/affordable, and especially gained popularity in the late 50s and early sixties especially with movie stars and JFK and his fashionable wife Jackie Kennedy who is well know for her sunglass look. So hats shrunk into a smaller utilitarian role for sports guys and sports fans, expanding into logos, etc. But it’s sunglasses that took over the role of fashionable wear for the head.
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My theory of why hats fell out of fashion is the advent of mass produced plastic sunglasses after WW2. Hats were also use by the working class to keep the sun and weather off. Sun glasses solved the sun part. And with cheap mass production they became more easily accessible/affordable, and especially gained popularity in the late 50s and early sixties especially with movie stars and JFK and his fashionable wife Jackie Kennedy who is well know for her sunglass look. So hats shrunk into a smaller utilitarian role for sports guys and sports fans, expanding into logos, etc. But it’s sunglasses that took over the role of fashionable wear for the head.
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TeaAndFloppyDisks
Hmm, so many people eager to find out why people stopped wearing hats. Well, they didn't stop entirely, but some hat uses fell out of. use. Both my grandpa and great-uncle wore hats all the time when going out because that was the social norm for men during most of their lifetime. It was expected of men to do so. Now the social rules around this are gone (at least in the small corner of Europe where I live. That's just one idea off the top of my head. XD Bad pun intended.
But people still wear hats today of all kinds for warmth, protection from the sun or simply as an expression of their personal style. :)
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Hmm, so many people eager to find out why people stopped wearing hats. Well, they didn't stop entirely, but some hat uses fell out of. use. Both my grandpa and great-uncle wore hats all the time when going out because that was the social norm for men during most of their lifetime. It was expected of men to do so. Now the social rules around this are gone (at least in the small corner of Europe where I live. That's just one idea off the top of my head. XD Bad pun intended.
But people still wear hats today of all kinds for warmth, protection from the sun or simply as an expression of their personal style. :)
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HumaneiEthos1
The craziest psychological shift here isn't that hats fell out of fashion, it's who we wear them for now. Historically, your headwear was a literal requirement to show your exact place in the social hierarchy. Today, the modern baseball cap has essentially turned us into walking billboards for corporate logos. We didn't really stop signaling our statuswe just traded the heavy burden of aristocratic rank for the illusion of belonging to a brand. Human nature is exactly the same; we just serve commercial masters now instead of royal ones.
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The craziest psychological shift here isn't that hats fell out of fashion, it's who we wear them for now. Historically, your headwear was a literal requirement to show your exact place in the social hierarchy. Today, the modern baseball cap has essentially turned us into walking billboards for corporate logos. We didn't really stop signaling our statuswe just traded the heavy burden of aristocratic rank for the illusion of belonging to a brand. Human nature is exactly the same; we just serve commercial masters now instead of royal ones.
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ted_ed
Since the video didn’t explain it I’ll give one answer. Cars. As they become more and more prevalent with heating and lower roof lines becoming smaller from the early to mid 20th. The need to need to wear a hat to protect against the elements became less important and possibly cumbersome with larger hat designs such as the top hot and fedora. Baseball caps are also a popular design because they can easily be worn in a car. It crazy how one invention can life in ways you’d never think.
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Since the video didn’t explain it I’ll give one answer. Cars. As they become more and more prevalent with heating and lower roof lines becoming smaller from the early to mid 20th. The need to need to wear a hat to protect against the elements became less important and possibly cumbersome with larger hat designs such as the top hot and fedora. Baseball caps are also a popular design because they can easily be worn in a car. It crazy how one invention can life in ways you’d never think.
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cemdursun
3: 00 I'm pretty disappointed that you didn't mention why the sultans wore those hats
Those are actually their death robes (Kefen) which muslims are wrapped in when they die. The sultans wore them on their head like a turban as a reminder that they are mere mortals and that their reign will end.
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3: 00 I'm pretty disappointed that you didn't mention why the sultans wore those hats
Those are actually their death robes (Kefen) which muslims are wrapped in when they die. The sultans wore them on their head like a turban as a reminder that they are mere mortals and that their reign will end.
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ted_ed
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I love how this explains the world! I believe everyone deserves a voice to share their own story, so I'm building free speaking tools for students everywhere. Find Speak Any Language here if you want to join our mission for global education.
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alderiks
I CANT HEAR YOU! Stop mixing in this awfully disturbing music over the narrator! Many people, like myself, are very sensitive to hearing 2 things at the same time. So for them this video is useless, and turned off after a minute.
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I CANT HEAR YOU! Stop mixing in this awfully disturbing music over the narrator! Many people, like myself, are very sensitive to hearing 2 things at the same time. So for them this video is useless, and turned off after a minute.
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abelrrant
Apparently people wore hats during the industrial revolution because of the amount of soot and ash that was accumulated in the air. Wonder if people who associated hats with mecury posion stop wearing hats as a whole.
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Apparently people wore hats during the industrial revolution because of the amount of soot and ash that was accumulated in the air. Wonder if people who associated hats with mecury posion stop wearing hats as a whole.
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adamhull6760
To answer the question (which apparently the video didn't): cars. When people use cars to get around outdoors, they don't need hats. Hats serve no purpose, and they're a hassle when entering and exiting a car.
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To answer the question (which apparently the video didn't): cars. When people use cars to get around outdoors, they don't need hats. Hats serve no purpose, and they're a hassle when entering and exiting a car.
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uncletrick1
This doesn’t really explain why people stopped wearing hats. It just says they fell out of fashion. WHY did they fall out of fashion This is just highlighting some hats throughout history.
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This doesn’t really explain why people stopped wearing hats. It just says they fell out of fashion. WHY did they fall out of fashion This is just highlighting some hats throughout history.
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MiniBahamut
According to a legend, Vlad Tepes would have nailed the turban of two emissaries from an ottoman sultan on their heads because they refused to take them off in presence of the voivode
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According to a legend, Vlad Tepes would have nailed the turban of two emissaries from an ottoman sultan on their heads because they refused to take them off in presence of the voivode
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purplemismagius28
I proposed the idea that the Venus is depicted as wearing a cap made of pierced mollusc or sea shell beads traded from coastal clans; my archeo prof said the idea was plausible
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I proposed the idea that the Venus is depicted as wearing a cap made of pierced mollusc or sea shell beads traded from coastal clans; my archeo prof said the idea was plausible
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guywithoutaname
Is the person on the thumbnail Suleiman the Magnificent I paused it like I just clicked on it and like I'm 5 seconds in. So you know, he's wearing a tiny hat. Also under an hour
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Is the person on the thumbnail Suleiman the Magnificent I paused it like I just clicked on it and like I'm 5 seconds in. So you know, he's wearing a tiny hat. Also under an hour
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TomPVideo
Why did people stop wearing hats
If anyone is wanting an answer to this question posed in the video title, The Hat Historian put out a video a few days ago that provides it.
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Why did people stop wearing hats
If anyone is wanting an answer to this question posed in the video title, The Hat Historian put out a video a few days ago that provides it.
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SamBotov
I don't know about sultans, but generally speaking, a turban is a good choice when fighting a man with a saber. Especially if it has a twisted horsehair rope inside.
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I don't know about sultans, but generally speaking, a turban is a good choice when fighting a man with a saber. Especially if it has a twisted horsehair rope inside.
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larquefausse3623
So with the shoe-hat what did women do with the other shoe-hat Or did they just wear the one shoe-hat on their foot until it was hat time
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So with the shoe-hat what did women do with the other shoe-hat Or did they just wear the one shoe-hat on their foot until it was hat time
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ted_ed
Funny to have an entire video about hats but not talk about their use, why everybody wore them, and how functional they were - much more than today!
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Funny to have an entire video about hats but not talk about their use, why everybody wore them, and how functional they were - much more than today!
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maths_nerd
Never thought TedEd would require a clickbait title to a video. The title could have been Different hats through history or something like that.
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Never thought TedEd would require a clickbait title to a video. The title could have been Different hats through history or something like that.
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ted_ed
It the video does not tell WHY hats fell out of fashion. It just tells the history of hats or rather their evolution into baseball cap or sth.
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It the video does not tell WHY hats fell out of fashion. It just tells the history of hats or rather their evolution into baseball cap or sth.
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