Barmah Hats - Barmah Hats are Truly Great Australian Hats

While many countries are associated with a particular style of hat such as the Stetson or cowboy hat from the US, the ones manufactured by Barmah Hats in Australia are a true representation of the hats that everyone associates with the great Australian Outback. The Australian slouch hat is probably the most well known hat to come out of Australia thanks in part to the fact that their military has been wearing them for over 100 years and thanks to Mick Dundee in the Hollywood movie Crocodile Dundee.

This film about a larger than life crocodile hunter from Australia going to the United States brought the Australian "slouch" made by the Barmah Hat Company to the attention of the world. Suddenly everyone wanted to emulate the look and the fashion industry took off with this simple design.

These simple Australian hats were created out of necessity much like their American counterpart. The design was crafted as a way to keep the sun off of the face, neck and head of the wearer in the extremely hot summer weather and to keep the rain at bay during what Australians called the "Big Wet' or the rainy season.

Genuine Barmah hats are made in Australia and use leather that is processed and tanned in their own factory in Melbourne. Many o f their hats are made from leather chosen for its consistency of color and superb quality.

Depending on the Barmah hat you buy you can order one with hat bands made from real crocodile leather and have teeth for ornamentation to ones with a genuine emu leather band. All of the leathers are taken from animals raised in farms where the animals are raised for this specific purpose.

The Barmah hat company is also the maker of the one and only original "Squashy" hat in a bag. This all leather slouch styled hat is designed to fold up and fit in a convenient storage bag when you are not wearing it. When you are ready to wear your Squashy just pull it out of the bag and it will spring back into its original shape and be ready to wear.

The slouch is only of the hats to come from Australia that have become universally recognized. Bush hats came with the Australian Army troops who were sent to fight in the Far East and parts of Africa. Based loosely on the slouch the main feature of these hats was the snap on the left side so that the wearer could lift the left side of the brim up and snap it in place. The hat is worn with the brim snapped up to display a General Service Badge for ceremonial purposes and down when on regular duty.

In many areas of the world these are also known as safari hats and they became very popular with US troops during the Viet Nam conflict as local tailors created them out of green fatigue materials or from the leopard skin pattern of left over parachutes. On the front they would embroider the words Viet Nam. In t 1972 the US Army and the US Air Force issued this type of hat to its female drill sergeants as standard headgear.