What’s the Point of a Fisherman Beanie

Ok. Let me get my terrible jokes out of the way first.

The point is at the top.

Indulge me one more, and I will answer your question properly.

The point of a fisherman beanie is to put a beanie on the fisherman.

Why we actually wear fisherman beanies

The real question you have about fisherman beanies is usually “why are they folded above the ears.” There are a couple of good answers to that, of which the most relevant is probably that we like the style.

Historically, and tied to the name fisherman beanie is the idea that you’d be able to regulate temperature easily when working the seas and docks. On the docks you roll it up to cool down a bit, and also hear better as you work with your buddies. On the seas, you pull it back down to face the elements. It was born of practicality, only to become a style icon.

You hear better with your fisherman beanie rolled up

It sounds a bit corny, but it’s a real factor. If the temperature allows for you to wear your beanie rolled above the ears, you do hear way better. So for a hike with friends in a cool breeze, it might be more comfortable.

Also, the beanie still does its job just fine, even though your ears are out. Though the myth that you loose almost 50% of your body heat through the head is not true, capping of the top of your head does have a major effect. Mainly because your head is usually one of the few places of your body that goes uncovered otherwise. (I mean it’s not as common to walk barefoot as bareheaded.)

Fisherman beanies have become an icon — and that affects us

When all comes to all, we select our apparel based on emotion. If it feels right, we use it. The best apparel does its job (practicality) while also making you feel good about yourself (esthetics). And I would venture to say that a lot of us would accept minor drop in practicality if it makes us feel like us esthetically.

Many attribute the rise of the fisherman beanie as an icon to the rise of Hollywood. Style icons invaded our homes in an entirely new fashion, as film and cinema entered its glory days. And when actors wore their beanies folded above the ears, the rest of us followed suit eventually.

But while fashion spreads though media, it always has to come from some root. And I believe the true point of the fisherman beanie was utility, born of shifting weather and sea spray. And therefore, it carries its heritage with pride, though most of us use it on land these days.