Conical straw hat
(Redirected from Coolie hat)
Categories: Fashion stubs | Hats
Image:Conical hat.jpg
A typical conical hat
The conical hat or coolie hat is a simple style of straw hat originating in East and Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, China, Korea, and Japan. It has a conical shape and is kept on the head by a cloth chin strap. Conical hats are used primarily as protection from the sun and rain.
Because of its distinctive shape the hat often strikes Westerners as silly or whimsical, and has seen much use in racist artwork throughtout the years. In recent years, the coolie hat made an appearance in a tshirt series by Abercrombie & Fitch, which came under fire for alledgedly racist caricaturized depictions of Asian-Americans.
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