Homburg Hats - How They Were the Fancier Style

Homburg hats were the style that you would see on the heads of men who really took their clothing and appearance seriously. Once upon a time before JFK, all men wore hats, in fact, it would be a rarity or some kind of social disorder if you didn't see a man wearing his hat. Mens hats not only were something you just put on your head but they actually defined you. They defined your character, they defined your sense of style and they defined your social standing. During the earlier part of the twentieth century, there was one particular style of hat that stood above the others, the top of the food chain.

Mens Homburg Hats were always considered more classy and upscale than the fedora hat but just less upscale than a top hat. The iconic Homburg is distinguished by their center crease on top of the crown, its grosgrain band, and grosgrain trim on the brim making it a dressier looking hat than your fedora hat. If you watch the HBO hit series "Boardwalk Empire", you will see Steve Buschemi's character Nucky Thompson wearing nothing but his custom tailored suits, overcoats and you guessed it Homburg Hats. In fact he wears several colors to match his extensive suit and overcoat wardrobe collection. If Nucky wore a camel overcoat, his homburg style hat would either be camel in color or match his suit underneath. The Gangsters and FBI agents on the show just don't look as classy and well put together as Nucky Thompson does in his Homburg Hats. That is no accident that he wears them on the show because extensive wardrobe research was done for the character to see what the well dressed man wore on his head during the Prohibition days and in a world of men wearing hats on their heads, the homburg was one that told people you were both well heeled and had style to boot.