Kangol produces, amongst other things, very fine hats. Kangol hats for men, having topped the heads of such internationally famous people as The Beatles, Samuel L Jackson and Arnold Palmer, are truly a bastion of modern headwear fashion. Particularly fond of Kangol hats for men are hip-hop artists. Hip-hop legends such as Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC and LL Cool-J have all sported the hats regularly, and Eminem even wore one for his video ‘beautiful’. Even World War II Field Marshall General Montgomery of Alamein regularly wore a Kangol beret. Few types of hat have been quite so famous.
Kangol hats for men were first produced as the woolen berets worn by the British Army during World War II. Before this, Kangol was established twenty years earlier, in 1918, but only existed then as an importer of French berets. Jacques Spreiregen came up with the name Kangol as the company to sell his Kangol hats for men: allegedly the ‘K’ is an abbreviation of ‘knitting’, ‘ANG’ is short for ‘angora’ (a type of wool originally used in the production process) and ‘OL’ is the latter part of the word ‘wool’. The name ‘Kangol’ was used to make the company stand out.
The sixties was an important era for Kangol hats for men. A big moment for Kangol came when Eileen Greig designed a series of berets dedicated to The Beatles and Kangol hats for men were catapulted into being the height of fashion. The distinctive kangaroo logo was not added to the hats until the 1970s, but the public association of ‘Kangol’ hats with kangaroos actually preceded this logo, rather than being a result of it. Women are also catered for in terms of Kangol hats, with Princess Diana once having been spotted in one, and the British Airways cabin crew having worn them as standard.
Kangol hats for men continue to be produced. but their original headquarters in the small English town of Cleator has been closed since 2009. Kangol hats for men are now produced in Eastern Europe. The Kangol range of hats is huge, and they still produce head wear for all seasons, and in all styles. Currently very popular is the 504 Baseball Cap, and this year’s range of sun hats has recently gone on sale. Kangol hats are not just modern and stylish – they also have a lot of history behind them.