Fedoras Are For Jerks: A History Of Awful Dudes In Awful Hats

Humans have always been very good at judging whether a dude is bad. In the European Middle Ages, you could probably tell because he’d always get way too hammered at whatever sadistic cage-fighting event was happening in the town square. In the Victorian era, it was that one guy at the dinner party who was always jokingly diagnosing you with “female hysteria” every time you expressed an opinion. Today, we have hats. In the 21st century, a man’s hat has become shorthand not just for whether or not the wearer is garbage but for the precise kind of garbage he is. There’s even an early-ish (well, 2011) meme for this: Scumbag Steve in his trademark “A-tooth” fitted cap, denoting him as the sort of guy who comes to your party with five uninvited friends, pukes all over your couch, and bolts. But the idea of the scumbag hat has existed well before memes. Way back in the mid-2000s, there was the fedora, worn by the dude whom you would talk to for a few pleasant minutes until he flew into a rage after you mentioned you had a boyfriend. Before that, there was the trucker hat, worn by the dude whom you’d talk to for a few pleasant minutes until he flew into a rage after you mentioned you find Ashton Kutcher insufferable. Read more at Vox.