The Classic Fedora is a hat that was made very popular by the mob in the nineteen-forties in New York. The Fedora was traditionally a felt hat with a ribbon band around the top and was worn to match the gentleman’s suit. In the early nineteenth century, all gentlemen wore a hat and when there was not a need to wear a hat, it became an accessory. Gentleman began to wear the Fedora to match their suits.

The fedora was worn by Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, Bing Crosby and many other leading men on the silver screen in the 1940s. Humphrey Bogart’s character in Casablanca is the quintessential example of a fedora-clad movie star.  The fedora is a signature trademark of modern movie characters Indiana Jones and Freddie Kreuger, as well as actors Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp and singer Clay Aiken.

Today the fedora is returning as a classy finishing touch for the fashionable man.  Solids in traditional colors continue to be popular, but plaids and pinstripes can also be found today.

The following are only a few of the many pictures of Clay wearing a fedora.  He certainly seemed to enjoy wearing it.

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Which picture is your favorite?