Sean Connery wearing a tweed Irish walking hat

A bucket hat, fishing hat or beanie hat, is a soft cotton hat with a wide and downwards sloping brim which is worn by both men and women. The brim offers shade from the sun for the eyes and face. The hat is usually made from heavy-duty cotton fabric such as denim or canvas. Two metal eyelets are commonly placed on each side of the hat so that it is cool to wear on hot days.

  Origins

The Bucket Hat is Irish in origin, being traditionally worn by fishermen and farmers as protection from the rain.^[1] It was quickly adopted by the English upper classes for country pursuits like walking, wildfowling and fishing as, when folded, it could fit inside a coat pocket. Today, it is part of the traditional Irish folk costume, together with the flat cap, grandfather shirt, and Aran sweater. A hat of this type was worn by Sean Connery's character Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.^[2]

In the 1960s and 70s tweed cloth "Irish walking hats" were popular accessories for men as an alternative to the stingy-brim fedora and pork pie hat, the short brim being more in keeping with the then current fashion of slim fitting houndstooth and mohair suits with narrow lapels.^[3]

  Examples

 This modern bucket hat has two eyelets on each side for ventilation and the brim is angled sharply downwards.

A similar hat is used officially by the U.S. Navy for enlisted service dress uniforms, commonly referred to as a Dixie Cup hat, as in the manufacturer brand. Bucket hats are favored by glider pilots, who require shade in their cockpits but cannot wear wide-brimmed hats because they must be able to see in all directions.

In the UK this style of hat is occasionally known as a "Reni Hat" after The Stone Roses drummer "Reni" (Alan Wren) who was easily identified by his bucket hat.

In Australia, this hat is referred to as a giggle hat. In Tanzania, it is very popular among elders, especially among the Iraqw people.

In South Africa, it is known as ispoti and is very popular with urban black youth, representing being streetwise without copying foreign hip-hop trends.

In Israel, it is known as a "Rafael hat"; as Rafael Eitan, an Israeli general, politician, and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces used to wear one. A similar type of hat called a Tembel hat is dubbed the national hat of Israel as it was worn by Israeli Halutzim^{[disambiguation needed]} to protect from sun burn.

In Sweden, it is known as Beppehatt or Beppemössa; since Beppe Wolgers, a Swedish author and artist, used to wear it and made it popular in the 1970s.

  References

1. ^ Yankee Magazine, Volume 44, Issues 1-6
2. ^ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3. ^ Kiplinger's personal finance

Look up bucket hat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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