Return to the 50s with fedora hats as seen on Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island

There's nothing old hat about these old school fedoras.

Fedora hats are due a cinematic comeback. Over the years, they’ve often been in the movie mix. Way back in the days of black and white (before anyone had even dreamed of HD), they were THE thing with gangsters, private investigators and tough guys, almost like a badge of honour for Hollywood heavies. Humphrey Bogart rocked one in Casablanca and Gene Kelly rarely took his off, yet since the heyday of the 40s and early 50s, they’ve become reduced from a key style staple to a quirky character clue.

Freddy Krueger wore one (with a slasher knife glove? What was he thinking?) as he terrorised dreamers in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies and Jake and Elwood Blues paired theirs with Wayfarer shades and classic suits in The Blues Brothers, but by far the most famous fedora fan is Indiana Jones. With his bullwhip and leather jacket, it made up the holy trinity essential to nailing Indy’s explorer look, and while this is always being copied and admired like Freddy and the Blues brothers’ styles, it’s a bit more fancy dress than everyday cool.

So how to give the fedora a more cool currency in modern fashions? Get a screen star known for being well-dressed and stylish to wear one. Enter Leonardo DiCaprio – job done. Yes, Leo is working the fedora look in Shutter Island, his latest collaboration with iconic director, Martin Scorsese. Working with Marty has taken Leo back to the mid-1800s with Gangs of New York, to the crime-filled streets of Boston for The Departed and to Hollywood’s glittering golden age in The Aviator and now they’re heading to 1954 for this adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s 2003 bestseller.

Leo plays U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, a modest man investigating a disappearance at a hospital for the criminally insane and the fedora is part of his classic crime-investigating look. It syncs up brilliantly with his overcoat and together they make a winning vintage combo that is spot-on 50s old school style but also workable today.

Take a look around and you’ll see that the trend for trench coats and trilby hats (very similar to fedoras but with a shorter brim which is upturned at the back) is everywhere and fedoras are riding the coat-tails of this craze. Could it be the sad passing of fedora lover Michael Jackson that has sent their popularity skyward or is it more fashion-forward celebs like Johnny Depp, David Beckham and Justin Timberlake in their trilbies that has helped? Might it be due to the return of period dressing as inspired by the likes of Mad Men or is it the easy way that they complement any outfit?

And they sure do. Fedoras are great for any season. Save your ears from the chill of winter with a heavy wool felt (like Leo’s) or keep it breezy and lighter in a straw weave. Pick from a multitude of styles, so if you’re longing for an adventure there are safari and cowboy ones or play it more gentlemanly with a panama or gangster-esque version. Choose from a number of colours or patterns (such as pin-striped and plaid) and all with the added help that most are crushable and packable, meaning they’re easy to take care of and transport.

Remember how Brad Pitt elevated the humble flat cap to fashion must-have with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? Could Leo could do the same for fedoras? We suspect as much…