Headwear made of straw or rushes has been worn in Britain since at least the 1200s. The straw hat known as a ‘boater’ appeared in the mid-19th century, reputedly originating in Luton, Bedfordshire, a town famous for hat-making by the 1600s and situated at the heart of the south-east Midlands straw-plaiting industry. The boater hat was distinguished by its manufacture and form: specifically, plaited straw was coiled into a mass then moulded into the familiar ‘boater’ shape comprising a straight, moderately wide brim, topped with a round, flattened crown circled with a ribbon band.

The stiff-brimmed straw boater (or ‘skimmer’) resembles and probably derived from an early sailors’ hat. During the 1850s it began to be worn by men and children for holiday and weekend wear, along with other new, casual styles of hat. Initially boaters were favoured for sports and leisure pursuits, including boating and tennis, but in the 1880s they became acceptable for informal town wear with a lounge suit. Boaters enjoyed their heyday during the 1890s and early 1900s, when they were also adopted by women as a shady summer style and for sports such as cycling. For men, boaters continued, but after World War One they were eclipsed by more modern straw hats such as the Panama.

Fashionable for decades, the cool, light yet sturdy straw boater appealed to all social classes and, although outmoded by the 1920s, it has endured as a nostalgic item. Having entered summer school uniform during the 1880s, it is still compulsory in certain public schools. The boater also became a jaunty accoutrement for vaudeville and cabaret performers and is associated today with barbershop quartets. Butchers once used it as a trade sign and some family butchers nowadays still wear a boater and blue striped apron. The boater is often revived for social events such as Henley Regatta, reinforcing its gentlemanly, traditional image, although throughout history it has meant different things to different people.