This hat was my grandmother's hat. It is dated probably around 1950s, 1960s and I love it. As I wear it I get a lot of people asking whether the hat is by Kangol. I need to give you context here, I had no idea that Americans associate Kangol hats to hip hop or rapper culture. So I sure said I doubted it my Italian grandmother ever knew what rap was in the 1950s. I came back home and check the label of the hat to find out a little bit more about the history of this hat. It was indeed a Kangol hat, made in England and sold at this Italian boutique. I could not believe it. So I did some research and found out that Kangol was a company founded in 1938 in England. They used to produce hats for soldiers and Kangol stands for knitting, angora, and wool. Nothing to do with a kangaroo!!! The brand was later associated to wealthy fashionistas. It is not until 1980s that hip hop artists started wearing these hats changing the history of Kangol forever. The company was then sold to an American organization, then sold again to multi-companies. I am not sure what is the status of Kangol now. I don't see many people talking about it, but it is such a pity because this hat is awesome and definitely should not be confined to just cool and hip rappers. I actually found it to be so classy, like a Grace Kelly iconic item.
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Talking about England, when I lived in London last year I did not have much money but I sure loved the British style. I bought few items that are still so fashionable and of great quality. This shirt is one of them. J.Crew sells it very similar but without the gold accents. I can't remember the brand, all I can remember was that I wanted to buy everything in that store.
Lovely hat!
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