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 move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO