Made from a black wool hat body. (We do our best to represent the colors of the hats accurately, but lighting and monitor differences may vary.)
This two cornered hat is made from top quality wool felt. It's a real hat, not a cheap costume cloth one! The edges have been trimmed even.
These hats are unlined.
The brim measures about 4.25" to 4.5" and the crown is about 4" high.
These hats are also available with trim. Check out our Hats and Headwear Section for more options.
The brim is held up or "cocked" with small soutache "x" laces. This hat was made to be worn fore and aft (front to back) with flat sides. Over time you could probably stretch it to wear either way, but in the beginning the hat will be oval with a definite front and back.
The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered/horned or bihorn) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American military and naval officers. Worn in America in the War of 1812. It is now most readily associated with Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821) but in practice most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, and it survived as a widely worn full-dress headdress until at least 1914.
Bicornes ranged from the very simple to the extravagant, occasionally incorporating gold or silver lace trimming and feathers. In addition, military and naval store versions usually bore a cockade or other national emblem at the front or right side, depending on how the hat was worn.
The wool felt body will be blocked and sized when finished.
NOTE - Made to Order - Please allow a couple of days for us to make this hat especially for you!
HAT SIZING
NOTICE: Please measure around your forehead and send us that measurement so we can block the hat especially for you. Below is a guideline for ordering the size felt blank we will use in making your hat.
S - fits up to 21 1/2" head
M - fits up to 22 1/2" head
L - fits up to 23" head
XL - fits up to 23 1/2" head
2X - fits up to 24" head
3X - fits up to 24 5/8" head
We ship via USPS - Priority Mail - Insured for safety so that you will receive your package in 2-3 days and you can track it on-line.
ATTENTION: We highly recommend a Hat Jack for any of your wool felt hats to keep them from shrinking as well as maintaining their proper shape. When the sides of a hat are "cocked" up, it has a tendency to become misshaped when in storage due to moisture in the atmosphere as well as perspiration.
They can be found here: www.etsy.com/listing/777727203
HISTORY: Descended from the tricorne, the black-coloured bicorne originally had the front and the rear halves turned up; there was usually a cockade in the national colors at the front. Later, the hat was worn with its two ends pointed front and back with the cockade at the right side. This kind of bicorne eventually became known in the English language as the cocked hat, although to this day it is still known in the French language as the bicorne.
Worn in the side-to-side "athwart" style during the 1790s, the bicorne was normally seen fore-and-aft in most armies and navies from about 1800 on. The French gendarme continued to wear their bicornes in the classic side-to-side fashion until about 1904 as do the Italian Carabinieri in their modern full dress.
The bicorne was widely worn until World War I as part of the full dress of officers of most of the world's navies. It survived to a more limited extent between the wars for wear by senior officers in the British, French, US, Japanese and other navies until World War II but has now almost disappeared in this context.
Blue Trimmed Bicorne:
www.etsy.com/listing/528646057
Laced Tricorn:
www.etsy.com/listing/276742716
Cavalier hat/Circle Brooch/Ostrich Feather:
www.etsy.com/listing/288525643
More feathers are also available....
Ostrich, peacock and pheasant in the Supplies section:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PalaceGallery?section_id=16757899&
Look for more hats in our Hats & Headwear section:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PalaceGallery?section_id=17935962&
Visit our Etsy shop:
http://www.palacegallery.etsy.com
Product code: Plain Bicorne- American Cocked Hat - War of store 1812 - Napoleon - Fore and Aft