Sailor hat

“ The day girls at the school wore the regulation sailor hat with a plain band of navy-blue ribbon, but the boarders, to distinguish them from the others, had a navy band with a white stripe in it. They were extremely proud of these stripes, which they regarded as a badge of superiority, similar to the gold tassels which, many years ago, were worn by the sons of the nobility on their college caps at Oxford. The hats were of course very well known in the neighbourhood, and nobody who lived anywhere near the school could possibly mistake the Briarcroft "sailor". ”

“ A sailor hat for common use, a wide-brimmed picture hat for very best, and a jaunty little toque will be enough in the way of covering for the head, and she will be wise to have, if she can, several pairs of shoes. It is economy to have duplicates of one's shoes and boots, as these last much longer when frequently changed and relieved. ”

“ It is best to obtain the real sailor dress from a nautical outfitter, either in white drill or serge; viz., loose trousers, loose jacket tucked into them; a belt round the waist, the sleeves of the jacket fastening at the wrist; having a sailor's collar, very open at the neck, with a silk handkerchief tied in a sailor's knot beneath it; a man-of-war straw hat, or a sou-wester and peajacket. The drill suits have the jacket trimmed with blue down the front and on the cuffs and collar.
SCHOOLBOY. For a tall boy; green jacket, with triple row of buttons down the front; large frilled collar ”

“ The prettiest change of the year is in the sailor hats, which are now trimmed and made to look quite different from the plain and useful things they used to be. A white one that I saw the other day had six rows of narrow velvet ribbon at equal distances round the crown, and a rosette of the same at the right side. Another had a wide band of red velvet on it, with an upstanding spray of cherries at the side, and bows of red velvet mixed in with them. ”

“ A lady of reasonable tastes might conclude that this is enough, but there are innumerable opportunities for adding other silver and colored decorations, and naturally one needs a hat over one’s hair, so that milady of Urga piles on top, at the jaunty angle of a first-year sailor, one of the fur-sided, pagoda-shaped helmets favored by the men, thereby crowning herself in a manner befitting the rest of her costume. ”

“ If the reader wishes to know why seamen wear their hats on the back of their heads, let him put his hat on as usual and ascend a ladder. He will find himself unable to look up until he places it on the back of his head as a sailor does. Sailors wear their hats thus, because they could not otherwise ascend the rigging of a ship. ”

“ Sailor hats were perched on the erection of jet black hair, shining from the plentiful use of cocoa-nut oil, and their stockingless feet were encased in elaborately embroidered slippers. It is considered a beauty for the women to be inordinately fat, and their figures are shown off to advantage by the loose garment which they wear, and the bright masses of blue, orange, purple, and green, which are the colours they particularly affect. The men vie in brightness of colouring by their neckcloths, and by the garlands of flowers strung together, twisted round their hats, or worn as a necklace. ”

“ Streamers of sailor hat, 53, 53 — — Scotch cap, 53, 54 — on barristers’ gowns, 219 — — hats, 52, 52 — — head-dress of twelfth century, 53, 53 Strings, cap, 149 — on mitres, 54, 54 Stripe on trousers, vestige of a row of buttons, 81, 82 Stripes on sleeves of non-commissioned officers, 114 Stud, 118, 119 Suit, sailor, 162 Sumptuary laws, 349, 350, 351 — — a hindrance to trade, 351 — — usually a failure, 349 Sun-bonnet of barge women, 61 ”

“ The making of these hats for men has nearly always been accompanied by the trimming; and when, about 1880, women commenced to wear “sailors,” many of them were dispatched from the St. Albans factories with some trimming. About 1890 the makers of ladies’ shaped hats of simple form began to add some little adornment to them, and these were designated as “semi-trimmed.” It is, therefore, quite inside the history of the straw hat to include some account of men’s boaters, ladies’ sailors, and “semi-trimmed” or ready-to-wear hats. ”

“ Our enjoyment may be short-lived. We must not be surprised if this incredible hat returns in triumph with peace. It has survived the blasts of many centuries and infinite changes of fashion. It is, I suppose, the most ancient survival in the dress that men wear. There is in the Froissart collection at the British Museum an illumination (dating from the fifteenth century) showing the expedition of the French and English against the Barbary corsairs. And there seated in the boats are men clad in armour. They have put their helmets aside and are wearing top-hats! ”

“ They are, it is perfectly true, granted a sum of money by a paternal Government wherewith to purchase their kit, but brass buttons and best serge suits do not blend with life on board a herring drifter at sea in all weathers. Sea-boots, oilskins, jerseys, and any old thing in the way of trousers and headgear are far more fashionable. Indeed, one may occasionally happen upon a skipper wearing an ancient bowler hat when well out in the North Sea and away from the haunts of senior officers who might possibly take exception to his battered tile. ”

“ One fathom, two fathoms, three fathoms—another two fathoms were needed, work for the odd moments of a month. Some day—in an uncertain future and on a distant island, perhaps—the cabin boy of a schooner would step ashore and present me with a box containing this same hat, superbly new, decorated with a gay puggree and lined with satin bearing my initials in silk. Meanwhile, though I would have given much for a new hat, there was nothing to do but wait. Like other things of native make, a hat cannot be bought with money ”

“ There have been some remarkable costumes designed, which have proclaimed every scientific invention, and others which have illustrated topical scenes and current events, involving much special preparation and printing, and invariably presenting some difficulty when the great question of head-dress had to be answered becomingly. It is not easy to convey a Marconi system as a hat, nor can it be considered a simple task to invest a coiffure elegantly with the best principles of an air-ship, even though the ladies of long ago saw fit to crown themselves with the last cry in Armadas. ”

“ The men for the most part figured in jackets, caps, and trousers, eschewing the old well of a hat which covers the popular head at the other end of the island, the breeches, and the long, ill-made tail-coat. ”

“ As the youth thus lay, the deadly paleness of his countenance, the extreme fairness of his throat and part of his neck, which, as the sailors hastily untied his neckcloth and opened his jacket, were fully exposed to view, the beautifully formed brow strewed by thick masses of golden curls gave him so much the appearance of a delicate female, that the sailors looked humorously at each other, as if wondering what right he had to a sailor's jacket ”

“ Who ever wears a hat at the sea-side? One might as well go to bed in a hat, as wear one out of the purlieus of the town. At the sea-side, or in travelling, or sporting, or rambling over the hills, the ordinary hat is utterly out of the question. Not only is the hat unsightly, expensive, and incommodious;—not only does it offend those æsthetic notions which are so fashionable in our time, but it may be safely alleged that it is hostile to all mental effort. ”

“ Eschew caps, helmets and straw hats, and wear a soft felt hat, the softer the better; it will stand rain, will not get broken, will keep the sun out of the eyes and can be used for a multitude of purposes from acting as holder for a hot pan or kettle to stopping a hole in a stoven boat. Canvas clothes are a delusion; they make a lot of noise in the brush and are uncomfortable when wet. ”

“ It has one advantage, it can be done by less skilled or [87] careful operatives than the “sponging,” which needs careful attention.
The straw boater for men during its stiffening is often soaked in the “stiffening” bath for an appreciable time in order that the gelatine may thoroughly soak into all the fibres of the plait; but that also, when it emerges, is sponged over to remove excess.
The general plan of stiffening a single piece hat (ladies’ hat) with gelatine is for the operator to place the crown of the hat correctly on the wooden block. ”

“ The dress of the men has nothing different from that used below, but are chiefly remarked by a passion for large brass buttons, which they fix on a sailor’s jacket, when they are so fortunate as to obtain one, without regard to any arrangement. The women also wear the short robe already described; but their hair is most commonly braided into two tresses falling over each ear in front of the body, and instead of the tissue of bark, they employ a piece of leather in the shape of a pocket handkerchief tied round the loins. ”

“ The uniforms of both officers and enlisted men in the United States Navy follow rather closely in style, color and cut those worn in the British Navy, and some interesting traditions of the latter service may be seen even in our naval service. For instance, the black neckerchief worn alike by the British and American sailor was made black after Trafalgar as an emblem of mourning for the Great Nelson, and the three [Pg 16] white stripes around the edges of the collar were so placed to commemorate Nelson’s three great victories, Copenhagen, the Nile and Trafalgar. ”

“ At the same time they do not quite compare with good class leathers, which are still always used for the best hats. Where boaters are lined with flannel, cotton or satin, they are generally made in the form of a thin pad, and for certain markets are much esteemed. The other part of the interior of a boater is sometimes left without any other adornment, but generally the sides are decorated with a lining of white open work net, and the top is covered by a tip of silk, satin, sateen, or cotton, which generally has the centre printed with the retailer’s name and address. ”

“ The chief shapes to mark in this century in male head-dress is the increased height of the tall hats which rise to vie with the female fashions. We still see a round hat [96] with a rolled edge and long fall over one side, besides shorter folds in the crown, both scalloped or foliated at the edge, and this shape may be noted till about 1460. Some of these hats were made without a crown, as in Fig. 28 (see p. 94) ; the roll was decorated, as a rule, with jewelled studs. A top hat, something like our present shape, appears, but more belled at the top and also a padded, rolled brim. ”

“ A round vest of blue cloth, with buttons marked with an anchor, and wide trousers bound to his hips by a red woollen girdle, completed our man's apparel. Side-whiskers of brown, shaded with fawn colour, encased his square face, which expressed both good humour and decision of character. A superficial observer might have supposed the left cheek of the sailor to be considerably inflamed, but a more attentive examination would have disclosed the fact that an enormous quid of tobacco produced this one-sided tumefaction. ”

“ The best hat for me has been one with a moderately soft and wide brim that may be turned down like a roof, to shoot off the rain behind, or to shelter the eyes from the sun in front. The felt fly-band is a very serviceable affair, but, to avoid taking off the hat, the user of eyed hooks may have a band of felt stitched round the upper part of the left arm. ”

“ Commissioned officers are provided with special full dress, full dress, undress, blue service, white service and white mess uniforms.
The special full dress uniform (gala dress) consists of a cocked hat of the same shape as the one worn in the United States Navy but having more gold braid on it; a short double-breasted frock coat with a standing collar; epaulets; dark blue trousers with gold stripes down the outer leg seams; a sash belt of black cloth with interwoven horizontal gilt stripes and a knot and tassels of gold on the right hip; and black shoes. ”

“ Many of them who are well off have donned a fantastic costume—slouch hat, with waving ostrich feathers and gold lace, jacket edged with yellow, orange, and green bands, epaulettes with great gold tassels, white or gilt buttons, stripes on the trousers, top-boots with spurs, cockades in the hat and on the breast, and revolvers in the belt. ”

“ I had been desired to appear in full uniform—epaulettes, cocked hat, sword, and what is suggestively called "brass-bound" coat; swallow-tailed, with a high collar stiffened with lining and gold lace, set off by trousers with a like broad stripe of lace, not inaptly characterized by some humorist as "railroad" trousers. The theory of these last, I believe, is that so much decoration on hat and collar, if not balanced by an equivalent amount below, is top-heavy in visual effect, if not on personal stability. ”

“ Thus, even when a midshipman comes up, and takes off his hat, all the officers who are walking the deck, the Admiral included, if he happens to be of the number, touch their hats likewise.
So completely does this form grow into a habit, that in the darkest night, and when there may not be a single person near the hatchway, it is invariably attended to, with the same precision. Indeed, when an officer of the Navy happens to be on board a merchant ship, or a packet, he finds it difficult to avoid carrying his hand to his hat every time he comes on deck. ”