Aussie Hat - The Aussie Hat from Tradition to Fashion Icon

The traditional Aussie hat that most of the world is familiar with is the original slouch hat, which was based on the felt hats worn by many 18th century army unit. These Aussie hats have at times been worn by military personnel from many other countries including the US, Great Britain, India, France, Germany and several others. However the style worn today was first worn by the Australian Army in 1885 and is still a part of their standard uniform today.

Although the slouch or bush hat is still considered an Aussie hat many countries continue to include it as a part of their military uniform. In India it is part of their police forces uniform with the officer's identification number attached to the side that snaps up into place on the left. The original reason that the left side was designed to snap up into place was to allow the soldier's rifle to be slung over his shoulder without knocking his hat off.

Even though the slouch is considered a true Aussie hat it did not originate in Australia, instead it was introduced to the country in the 1800s and was a copy of the Tyrolean or Corsican hat also known as the Korsehut. These hats were also made popular by Hollywood with television shows like Daktari and Tarzan as the white hunters sought out trophy animals and battled the "hostile" local tribes.

Of all the Aussie hats to become a huge hit with the general public the Aussie outback hat is probably the one hat that is at the top of the list. This flat brimmed hat with a leather band around the brim was first made popular by the outlandish, swaggering character Mick Dundee in the Hollywood movie "Crocodile Dundee" in the 80s. It did not take long before thousands of replicas of this Aussie hat were seen all over the world as people sought to imitate what they thought to be true Aussie fashion style.

While there are some Australians that do indeed where the outback style hat, they are much like the American cowboy, the hard working men who spend a great deal of their time out in the deserts tending to the cattle in the heat of the sun. The wide brim is designed to shade the wearer from the sun's rays keeping them for getting sun burned and risking skin cancer. These hats are also perfect for when the rains come during the monsoon season as the keep your head, face and neck dry.

If you are headed into the jungle or deep forests you might want to consider an Aussie cork hat. These hats were traditionally worn by the swagmen and jackaroos as they travelled the blow-fly infested regions of the outback. Similar in shape and style to the slouch hat, these hats have corks like those used to as bottle stoppers tied on strings all around the brim of the hat to swat at the flies as the wearer moved his head.

When you have decided which style of Aussie hat you want to wear you should buy an Aussie hat box to store it in. These study boxes are the perfect size for any style of Aussie hats and have a flip top for easy access to your hat. They also have a convenient carrying handle on the side as well as boxes to write in the size and style of the hat inside the hat box.