How Eisenhower’s Hat Choice Changed A Detroit Business Forever

People have been wearing hats as long as humans have been around, and the style has changed over the years. These days, baseball caps and beanies are your mainstays. A century ago, men and women had a very rigid set of socially acceptable styles.

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Many men wore bowler hats, fedoras, or a top hat, while women wore hats such as cloches and turbans. People can be strongly influenced by seeing someone wearing a particular hat style. The Tam O'Shanter style was popularized by actress Clara Bow in the 20s, while later the Indiana Jones franchise would cause large increases in fedora sales with each movie release.

Curiously, one president's choice to deviate slightly from the status quo at one of the most-watched moments of his career led to a Detroit hat shop being on the direct receiving end of a "hat rush" unlike anything seen before.

Henry the Hatter's Big Break Thanks To Eisenhower

While not as common as they were 100 years ago, the historic Henry the Hatter hat shop located in Detroit has been around since 1893 and has endured ever since, despite location changes, trend changes, and more. It has been recognized by the Michigan Historical Society for its longevity.

But this business holds an interesting place in history thanks to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who, according to Henry the Hatter's website, purchased a simple homburg hat from the store and wore that during his inauguration rather than the signature silk top hat presidents had worn for decades.

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This simple hat set the President's agenda right away. Cutting government spending was a major part of his administration, and wearing a "basic" hat was meant to show he would use the country's money wisely through "Modern Republicanism".

His inauguration day plan worked, and as a result, business boomed at Henry the Hatter as everyone flocked to get themselves a homburg like the famous World War 2 hero. It led to a period of financial prosperity for the hat retailer, who was making custom homburgs as fast as they could.

It isn't often that a small business like this gets a vote of confidence on such a national level, but Henry the Hatter took it in stride and continues to serve the people of Detroit for all their hat-care needs.