en.wikipedia.org
The term
fedora was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking
homburg.
[2]The word
fedora comes from the title of an 1882 play by dramatist
Victorien Sardou,
Fédora, which was written for
Sarah Bernhardt.
[10] The play was first performed in the United States in 1889. Bernhardt played Princess Fédora Romanov, the heroine of the play. During the play, Bernhardt – a noted
cross-dresser – wore a center-creased, soft brimmed hat. The hat was fashionable for women, and the women's rights movement adopted it as a symbol.
[11][12] After
Edward, Prince of Wales(later the Duke of Windsor) started to wear them in 1924, it became popular among men for its stylishness and its ability to protect the wearer's head from the wind and weather.
[11][12] Since the early part of the 20th century, many
Haredi and other
Orthodox Jews have made black fedoras normal to their daily wear.
Fedoras were much associated with
gangsters during
Prohibition era in the United States, a connection coinciding with the height of the hat's popularity between the 1920s and the early 1950s
