J Brim Shape

J Brim Shape

Wide round front with slightly raised side crease.

The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United States.  It is recognized around the world as part of Old West apparel.  The cowboy hat as known today has many antecedents to its design. The various designs of wide-brimmed hat worn by farmers and stockmen in the eastern United States, as well as the designs used by the United States Cavalry.  Hats are customized by creasing the crown and rolling the brim. Often a more decorative hat band is added.  Today’s cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and design since the first one was created in 1865 by J.B. Stetson.  The shape of the hat’s crown and brim were often modified by the wearer for fashion and to protect against weather by being softened in hot steam, shaped, and allowed to dry and cool.  Because of the ease of personalization, it was often possible to tell where a cowboy hat was from, right down to which ranch, simply by looking at the crease in the crown.