English nobleman Edward Coke went to a
London-based hat-making company, requesting a hat that was
better suited for the gamekeepers who worked on his family
estate, because top hats were often knocked off by tree branches
when they were on horseback. In response, the company's Thomas
and William Bowler came up with the sturdy and stout piece of
headgear that we know as the Bowler hat.
Incidentally, the
fedora hat originated in 1891 after the stage play Fedora.
Princess Fedora, the cross dressing heroine of the play, wore
a center creased and soft, wide brimmed hat and this is how
the fedora hat came to be. Also, the trilby hat name also
comes from a play, an adaptation of George du Maurier's 1894
novel Trilby, performed in London, a hat of this style was
worn and so the trilby hat was born.