Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Hipsters Embrace Hasidic Headwear

When Hasidim and hipsters have shared headlines in recent years, it’s most often been because of tensions dividing the two communities. So it’s nice, for a change, to see a story about something the two groups have in common — specifically, their love of a distinctive type of headwear.

The New York Times reports that Williamsburg’s hipster population is now embracing the Borsalino, the brand of black fedora long worn by Hasidic men as a way to identify themselves and each other.

The paper found an unlikely fan of the hat in Theophilus London, a hip-hop musician from Trinidad who has adopted the Borsalino as a regular part of his look. Adidas marketing manager Monika Jonevski adds another demographic twist or two, representing the hat’s growing popularity among female fashionistas.

The article doesn’t say how widespread the fad has become, but it notes that wearing this particular style of hat is not, contrary to popular belief, a centuries-old tradition among Hasidim. While black headgear has long been a part of Jewish dress, the Borsalino was adopted by the Haredim in the early ’60s, when the style was widely popular.

Now that their signature look has been co-opted, will Williamsburg’s Hasidim adopt another type of headgear from mainstream culture? If so, the Shmooze, helpful as always, has a suggestion.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.