Bucket Hat

Soft cotton casual hat

A bucket hat also known as the fishing 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.

The Bucket Hat was first appeared in the early 1900s as a purely functional item worn by Irish farmers and fishermen to protect them from the rain.

A few decades later, a standard-issue style made from olive drab cotton fabric was used in the 1940s and during the entire Vietnam War.

A similar hat is used officially by the US Navy for enlisted service dress uniforms, commonly referred to as a Dixie Cup hat, as in the manufacturer brand.

Bucket hats are favoured 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 Stone Roses drummer ‘Reni’ (Alan Wren) who was easily identified by his bucket hat.

In Australia, this hat is known 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 Defence Forces used to wear one.

The first bucket hat wearing rapper is thought to be Big Bank Hank of Sugar Hill Gang in 1979 performing Rapper’s Delight on the TV show Soap Factory.

Famous Bucket Hat wearers

• Liam Gallagher
• Big Bank Hank of the Sugarhill Gang
• LL Cool J
• Jay Z
• Rhianna
• Gilligan