THEY SAID IT COULDN’T BE DONE...BUT WE FOUND SOME HAT STATS

Here are some statistics on the hat manufacturing industry in the United States:

251: Number of hat manufacturers
8,884: Number of employees
$192.5 million: Payroll
$306.9 million: Total cost of materials
— SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

HISTORY OF HATS

• Historical evidence has shown that some form of head covering was used by primitive man for protection against the elements.
• Throughout early Egyptian, Roman and Greek times, the hat was worn as a mark of rank.
• Felt, the most common material used in hat making, was originally discovered by the nomadic ribes of Asia who were known to have used felted sheep's wool for making tents and clothing.
• Men's hats became an important fashion item in the late 14th century; women's in the 18th century.
• The three-cornered hat was introduced in the 18th century.
• The top hat was introduced in the mid-19th century.
• The bowler was introduced in the mid-19th century.
• Panama hats became popular in the mid-1800s.
• Hats continued to be popular until the 1960s, when they underwent a steady decline.

Millinery today has seen somewhat of a revival and the return of hat wearing is gradually becoming more common.

From thehatsite.com