A history of Kentucky Derby hats: The over-the-top staple at the Churchill Downs

Huge hats at the Kentucky Derby are a must for women, and now, even some men are wearing the staple piece. The hats are typically adorned with flowers and bows.

One of the longest-standing traditions at the Kentucky Derby is for women – and now men – to wear brightly colored derby hats throughout the horse races.

The derby was founded in 1875 at the Churchill Downs horse racing stadium and has become a fixture in American culture and media. 

The fashion trends and traditions resemble late 19th-century high-class British clothing.

FUN AND EXTRAVAGANT KENTUCKY DERBY HATS THROUGH THE YEARS

Read more to discover who started the tradition and how attendees decorate their hats.

The Kentucky Derby has many Southern-based traditions that date back to its founding in the 19th century, shortly after the end of the Civil War. 

One tradition that its founder, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., promoted was that the attendees should dress in high-class European-style clothing during the annual race. Women especially were encouraged to wear high-fashion clothes with fancy accessories such as hats, bags and shoes. 

Over the years, the Kentucky Derby became known for its attendees wearing flamboyant spring-themed hats. 

Starting in the 1960s, television cameras were introduced to the race, giving the attendees a reason to show and wear more extravagant hats at the Derby. 

MEET THE AMERICAN WHO CREATED THE KENTUCKY DERBY, MERIWETHER LEWIS CLARK JR., BORN OF PIONEERS

Typically, the hats worn by women are large with bright colors paired with a spring dress.

The hat-wearing tradition over the years has slowly expanded across genders to men. It is now considered a customary costume that attendees wear in order to give their favorite horse good luck. Attendees will wear elegant and large hats in the Churchill Downs section of the Kentucky Derby, with much of the headwear decorated with feathers, bows, ribbons and flowers. 

The extravagant headwear is based on the European-style bowler hat worn by men and women in England. 

However, in the United States, the traditional style of hat worn at the race is known as a Derby hat, which tends to be brightly colored, overly large and easy to wear on a sunny day in spring.  

Another term Derby attendees use to describe the hats worn at one of the biggest horse races in the country is a "Southern Belle" Kentucky Derby hat. 

Often, these hats match the head size of the person who wears them and are wide-brimmed with decorative spring-inspired fashion themes. 

The tradition of wearing Derby hats is known by various labels and names.

A bowler hat and Derby hats are two classic British-style fashion items that have been worn for formal and casual events for centuries in the United States and Great Britain.

However, Derby hats typically have a round crown and an uneven brim that stands toward the ground when worn. However, a bowler hat usually has a round crown and its brim is made in an upward curve.

Derby hats typically tend to have a variety of colors decorated with flamboyant items, whereas bowler hats generally are made with one monotone color and simple style.

Depending on how extravagant you hope to get with the Kentucky Derby staple, it requires few supplies and little effort to make a hat worth wearing.

You'll need a plain hat to start, of course, and all the bells and whistles you desire as separate pieces. Craft stores like Michael's, Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Fabrics offer the necessary supplies to make a hat yourself.

You'll likely need a glue gun or pins, too, to ensure stability. You can also order products off of Amazon and from local sellers on Etsy.

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Select the theme and color scheme of your hat ahead of time. Play around with the materials you've purchased before gluing them down and making them a permanent addition.

While Kentucky Derby hats stemmed from European tradition, you don't need to spend a lot to get the most bang for your buck.

Phillip Nieto contributed reporting.

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