The first decade of the twentieth century was known as the Edwardian Age, named after King Edward VII of Great Britain. Fashion was a distinctive and important element of the era. Women wore corsets and long skirts. Men wore suits. Edwardian fashion was known for its excess, elegance, and, above all, strict social rules.
Men were expected to wear hats regardless of the season. In any photograph from the early 1900s, you’d be hard-pressed to find a hatless head. Upper-class men typically wore a three-piece suit—jacket, trousers, and vest—topped off with a tie and a derby or bowler hat. Those who could afford it wore different suits and accessories for morning, afternoon, and evening. With each new season came a change in fashion. Spring brought out a more casual look with linen suits. But hats were still required.
Strict fashion rules applied to headwear. Men were expected to remove their hats when they went indoors, while women kept theirs on anytime they were in public—indoors or out. In winter, men wore formal, heavy hats like the derby or bowler. These were replaced in spring by straw hats, like the boater or Panama. That seasonal shift in hats was so strict that anyone who broke the norm could make headlines.
On this date in 1907, one bold North Dakota man decided he’d had enough of winter. He stepped out in public wearing his Panama hat. The Fargo Forum took note, reporting that “one man defied the climatic conditions and donned a summer bonnet.” It was the first Panama hat spotted in Fargo that season. Though the calendar said late spring, the weather still felt more like early spring—or even late fall. But the man “seems to thoroughly enjoy wearing it,” the paper said, despite the lingering chill. The article ended on a hopeful note, predicting that warmer weather would soon arrive and with it, many more Panama hats on the streets of Fargo.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Fargo Forum. “The Straw Hat Here.” Fargo ND. 5/20/1907. Page 2.
- FamilySearch. “1900s Fashion.” https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/1900s-fashion-edwardian-era Accessed 4/23/2025.
- American Hatmakers. “The Decline of the Hat in American Culture.” https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/1900s-fashion-edwardian-era Accessed 4/23/2025.
- Ultrafino. “The Complete Panama Hat History.” https://ultrafino.com/blogs/articles/the-complete-panama-hat-history Accessed 4/23/2025.
