Monday

Bolivian Bowler Hats

I’m sure Thomas and William Bowler had no idea that the hat they created back in 1849 for English gentlemen on horseback would be a South American fashion statement amongst Andean indigenous women. Walk the streets of La Paz, Bolivia and one of the first things you’ll notice are the cholitas, the indigenous Aymara women with bowler hats perched on their heads. They sell just about anything from street corners; during the first hour of our La Paz walking tour we saw them selling soap, meat, stuffed animals, onions and dried llama fetuses. When we popped in to see a Harry Potter movie that night we bought some popcorn from one of the cholitas lined up in front of the theater. They each wore layers of petticoats over shiny skirts with a shawl covering their shoulders. Each of them had long black hair braided into waist-length pigtails with bowler hat balancing on top of their heads.

There does not seem to be a clear consensus on how the bowler hat got to South America and why these women adopted it. One story relates an accidental surplus of the hats, leading the manufacturer to market them to women. Another story says that they were made for British railway workers here in the early 20th century. Yet another story relates that there was no surplus of the hats, they just made them too small for the Europeans so they were given away to locals. One thing is certain; the hats do not fit properly. They are all too small and must be balanced on the head or if you’re cholita who cheats, a bobby pin can be used.


The Bowler brothers designed the hat 160 years ago so that gentleman horseback riders in the English countryside would have an alternative to the top hat which was often knocked off by low-hanging branches while riding. While the origins of the Bowler hat are steeped in functionality, its current usage in the Andes is not. It does not fit well, it doesn’t provide shelter from sun or rain and the felt is not particularly waterproof. Despite this, the Bowler hat is a Bolivian fashion statement.

9 comments:

  1. I always wondered where it came from! How interesting! Happy Holidays!
    Marta

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  2. I love the way they tip their hats over one eye in that racy fashion.

    Not specifically about Bolivian headgear, but my father worked in Ecuador for three months a long time ago.

    Thirty years later I spent a year in South America including a couple of months in Bolivia and some time in Ecuador.

    In Ecuador and I noticed that the trilby hats that all the men wore had changed in the intervening years compared to the ones I saw in the photos my father had taken. The brims were a different width and the style was different enough to be noticeable.

    I wonder whether there has been a change in the style of the bowler in Bolivia?

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  3. Great post, Jason; short and informative. Wonder why the bowlers are so fashionable among Andean women - seems incredible that they shouldn't serve some function other than looks. But then, I suppose that could be said for really high heels as well :)

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  4. Thanks, Marta.
    Happy Holidays to you as well.
    Jason

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  5. David,

    I'm certainly no expert, but I've heard that the styles do change a bit over the years: more rounded, taller, wider brims etc. The hats are not cheap so the styles can't change too rapidly.

    Jason

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  6. Sophie,

    The high heels are an interesting analogy! I wonder why it caught on as well. The amateur anthroplogist in me supposes that there must be some kind of underlying economic reason such an unfunctional hat caught on here.

    Jason

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  7. Hey, really great blog post… I've enjoyed reading through your blog because of the great style and energy.

    I actually work for the CheapOair travel blog. If you're interested, we would love to have you on as a guest blogger. Please send me an e-mail: gchristodoulou(at)cheapoair(dot)com, and I can give you more information. Looking forward to hearing from you.

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  8. Great post. I am not a hat person but I do love the way different cultures and races embrace and wear head gear.

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  9. Fashion statement for Cholitas but not for other Bolivian women!

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