Late 19th and early 20th century fashion etiquette held that September 15th (sometimes September 1st) marked the end of the straw hat fashion season and the shift to soft felt hats for the Fall and Winter.
This social convention was widely embraced by menswear retailers each September and May (when straw hats came back in season), though individual adherence to the convention varied. President Calvin Coolidge’s willful fashion faux pas and disregard of Felt Hat Day made headlines in 1925; a first page headline run by The New York Times on September 20th declared “Discard Date for Straw Hats Ignored by President Coolidge”.
Some self-appointed fashion police took the matter very seriously; many unfashionable residents of New York City fell victim to the September 15, 1922 Straw Hat Riot as boys and young men participated in what the New York Tribune described as a “straw hat smashing orgy throughout the city” that resulted in physical conflicts that led to hospitalizations and prompted hat stores to extend their hours to accommodate men that were suddenly eager to invest in new felt hats. This was not the first or only time this had happened; Pittsburgh also reported a similar disturbance in 1909 and 1910, as did Bridgeton, New Jersey on September 17, 1912. On September 15, 1919, one Black man was shot and killed by police in a New York City hat-bashing turned race riot.
Felt Hat Day and Straw Hat Day both lost significance during the 1930s as Panama hats eclipsed straw boater hats in popularity and economic constraints following the crash of the stock market in 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression made seasonal fashion choices less accessible to many Americans.
Here at Hagley Library, we’re marking Felt Hat Day with this page from the John B. Stetson Hat Company’s 1911 Spring and Summer catalog. You can view this resource in full in our Digital Archive - just click here.
