Old western hats are my passion. I love to recreate hats that were worn in the 1800’s. I use tools that were used then also.

The boss of the plains hat was light in color like Bone, Sand or Silver Belly. The cowboy like  those colors because it was cooler on the head. They never had any record of heat stroke among the cowboys in those days. The Boss of the plains hat protected them from the suns rays. When […]

The Boss of the plains hat is the cowboys hat. It is the first and only cowboy hat. The cowboy that wore the hat didn’t shape the crown on purpose. He would grab it by the crown and that would at times put dents in the top of the boss of the plains hat.

The Boss of the Plains-inspired design that became the modern cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and design since the first one created in 1865, demonstrating the degree to which form succeeded in following function.

The straight-sided, round cornered, flat brimmed original Boss of the Plains design dominated for about twenty years. Most 19th-century photographs that show the hat don’t show an intentional crease at all. Most hats were kept open crown. However, through use, abuse, and customization by individual wearers, hats were modified from their original appearance. In particular, […]