Flat Cap

Popular country hat

A flat cap is a rounded men’s cap with a small stiff brim in front originating in Northern England. Cloths used to make the cap range from wool, tweed to cotton driving caps for summer wear, sometimes featuring air vents. Less common materials may include leather. Cord flat caps are also worn in various colours. The inside of the cap is usually lined with silk for comfort and warmth.

A 1571 Act of Parliament was enacted to stimulate domestic wool consumption and general trade. It decreed that on Sundays and holidays, all males over six years of age, except for the nobility and ‘persons of degree’, were to wear woollen caps or pay a fine of three farthings per day. By the time the law was repealed in 1597, the Flat Cap had become a recognised mark of a non-noble person.

Other names for the Flat Cap

• Bunnet
• Sixpence
• Scally Cap
• Ivy Cap
• Golf Cap
• Derby Cap
• Irish Cap
• Tweed Cap
• Salmon Hat
• Cheese-cutter
• Union Cap
• Dai Cap
• Jeff Cap
• Windsor Cap
• Touring Cap
• Driving Cap
• Newspaper Cap

Famous Flat Cap wearers

• Prince Charles
• Prince William
• Del-Boy Trotter
• Idris Elba
• Downton Abbey
• Golfers
• Andy Capp
• Fancy Dress Burglar