Much like the beret for the French, the sombrero has long been an iconic image associated with Mexico. Sombreros have a high pointed crown and a very wide brim, which is usually upturned at the edges and are made of straw or felt. The name of the hat is derived from the Spanish word sombrero, meaning “shade” or “shadow” and the hats first appeared in Mexico during the 15th century. Traditionally, the wide brimmed hats were worn by both rich land owning Mexican ranchers and by poorer peasants who worked the land. In both cases, the wide brim helped to protect the wearer from the harsh sun typical in many parts of Mexico. Traditionally, Mexican gentleman wore sombreros made from tan, white or gray felt that were intricately embroidered and decorated, while peasants and farm workers wore far simpler, straw versions. Today the sombrero is rarely seen in urban Mexican settings. Sombreros are in fact part of a folkloric outfit worn in certain festivities across Mexico and is frequently worn during Mexican celebration.
While most think of sombreros as cheesy décor on the walls of Mexican restaurants, the shape of a chip and dip platter or and as a favorite accessory of frat boys who use Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to drink copious amounts of tequila and Mexican beer.
Was the sombrero inspiration for the original Cowboy Hat?
Not possible, some salesmen recently wrote the above. There is no evidence that Stetson took any of his design from the cone crowned sombrero with the bowl shaped brim like the example below.
Use your own common sense. What would be the use of head gear shaped like an upturned bowl in a Northern rain storm. The broad brim would act like a kite in any kind of prairie wind. It was a beautiful sun hat.
Anyone can easily tell them apart. As utility gave way to wider brims near the end of the 19th century, cowboy hats took on more of the characteristics of the sombrero. Perhaps that is the gift from Mexico, the style and grace of two hundred years of refinement that morphed into the modern Cowboy hat.
