Kangol Hats

The Original Knitted Wool Hat

For the guy who wants something a little different in a hat, perhaps it is time to try one of the unique Kangol hats from a company that was established in 1918 as an importer of French berets. After 20 years in the importing business Jacques Spreiregen came up with the name Kangol for his company to make it more noticeable from the other hat companies in Britain at the time. The legend behind the name Kangol hat is that the K stood for knitting, the ANG for angora and the OL for the wool that his classic hats were made from.

The Kangol Hat

The first official mens hats made and sold as Kangol hats was the woolen beret worn by the British Army during the Second World War, of the thousands of soldiers who wore them the most notable was General Bernard Montgomery. The next reincarnation of the beret was created with a peak and called the Carrick after the place where it was designed and manufactured.

Moving on into the sixties Kangol hats obtained the rights to all hats that had anything to do with fledgling music superstars the Beatles as their designer Eileen Greig created a complete range of berets and caps dedicated to the Beatles and the brand took off with the youth of both Britain and the world. Kangol moved ventured into the world of ladies hats in the seventies and in 1980 created the hats for the British Airways cabin crew.

Modern Times

During the seventies and eighties Kangol made the leap into the American market and began to look for an official logo to put on its labels, for a while they experimented with several different animals. It came to their notice that in America customers routinely came into stores looking for those "kangaroo" hats and rather than fighting the obvious the Kangol Hats logo became the kangaroo.

Many famous people have been known in recent history to wear a Kangol hat including the late Princess Diana. As the stars of hip hop began to emerge in the eighties on star in particular liked to wear a Kangol bucket hat, LL Cool J was seen wearing one in many of his videos. Before long this hat would grace the heads of many of the top hip hop artists including Slick Rick and Grand master Flash.

Today Kangol hats are ranked among the best hats made and come in a vast variety of styles and colours. There are hats for spring and summer wear as well as those for the fall and winter. Seasonal or not a good hat should protect your head from the elements and keep you looking good. Any Kangol hat that you buy is made from the highest quality materials available and is guaranteed to satisfy you.

When you buy a Kangol hat you are buying much more than a fashion statement, you are buying into a legacy that dates back almost 100 years and is dedicated to creating hats that are sure to please in both style and quality.