Hats in History: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
They say that clothes make the man, and for the past several centuries, no man was considered fully dressed without a hat. Regardless of profession, race or social status, a hat was a must.
ÔÇ£Hats in HistoryÔÇØ is a new feature looking at the great personalities of the past century and the hats they wore.
This photo from 1964 shows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King. Dr. King is wearing a short-brimmed fedora similar to the Dobbs Dayton or Dynafelt Pinch sold at Hats Plus. The photo was taken by Herman Hiller.
To get things started, it seemed like a good idea to start with one the most influential Americans of the 20th century: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. King is most famous for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement and use of nonviolence to help eliminate segregation and promote the dream of equality for all American citizens, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or creed. He risked death daily to stand by his principles and was eventually assassinated for them at the age of 39. Before his death, Dr. King was one of the youngest recipients to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace, and he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He also was a hat man who kept up with the times. Dr. King can be seen in many pictures wearing several different style fedoras.
During the mid-ÔÇÖ50s and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dr. King was often photographed in a wide-brimmed light grey fedora with a black band. The hat had a center dent crown, and it looks similar to the Stetson Pinnacle and the Stetson Temple.
In the 1960s he was photographed in several stingy-brim fedoras. Although the colors varied, the hats had a wide dress band, center-dent crown and a fairly wide space between the pinch on either side of the hats. These are similar to our Dobbs Dayton and Dynafelt Pinch.
It is critical for every American to carry Dr. KingÔÇÖs legacy of peace and equality in their memory and actions. However if you want to wear the legacy of his fashion sense, the Pinnacle, Temple, Dayton or Pinch are a great place to start.
Tags: Dobbs Dayton, Dobbs fedora, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., dress hats, Dynafelt Pinch, fedora, fur felt hat, hats, hats in history, hats plus, hats plus ltd, men's hats, Stetson fedora, Stetson Pinnacle, Stetson Temple, stingy brim fedora
Great article!