A pork pie hat is among many of the many styles of hat that were popular in the mid-19th century, which all essentially bear some superficial similarity to the pork pie hat worn by early settlers to this country. This style is a simple and inexpensive hat, often made with felt or some other lightweight fabric. The hat may have a peak, but it is typically not flapping to keep the hat from blowing away in a strong wind.
Historically the style of the pork pie hat has been tied to an old English tradition of hanging the hat on a pig’s back to keep it from falling off while it was being hunted. The hat was often taken off while the animal was being transported to its death spot and then hung upon the end of the pig’s back. The hat would remain in this position for days and nights, while the entire team slept soundly near the animal. Because of this time consuming andotonous task, the practice of maintaining the hat was nigh impossible.
In the late nineteenth century, a French hat manufacturer took the design of the previous English style and transformed it into what we know today as the modern day pork pie hat. Rather than being required to fastidiously hold the hat over the head while it dried, the hat was designed so that the hat could simply be slipped on over the course of a single day. This revolutionary hat became hugely popular with farmers and workers, and it remained popular through much of the twentieth century. It declined slightly in popularity in the 1950s but has regained a certain level of popularity during the past decade. The hat is still as much in use today as it has ever been.