I know it's been discussed before, and the historical information on the name Fedora can be found easily, but I still thought Colonel Adams' post was interesting in its own right. From reading the forum and seeing historical information, I had assumed the name Fedora has been used colloquially for soft felt men's hats in the USA for a long time, while his post contradicts that. What is the experience of others from the same generation? Is it a regional thing?
In the UK the name fedora is seen as an Americanism, it only started getting used pretty recently. My English "fedora" is still called a trilby there by my old milliner. On the European continent where the first language is not English the word is rarely used at all, and people often still don't know what it means. In Germany I've heard people say "bogarthut", or just "herrenhut" (gentlemen's hat) or "filzhut" (felt hat), and in a few countries I've heard people refer to the style as Borsalinos, regardless of the make.
In the UK the name fedora is seen as an Americanism, it only started getting used pretty recently. My English "fedora" is still called a trilby there by my old milliner. On the European continent where the first language is not English the word is rarely used at all, and people often still don't know what it means. In Germany I've heard people say "bogarthut", or just "herrenhut" (gentlemen's hat) or "filzhut" (felt hat), and in a few countries I've heard people refer to the style as Borsalinos, regardless of the make.
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