Today's Word Search: Gandhi cap to Lincoln's stovepipe... which hat is most memorable?

You will need to put on a thinking cap to play today’s Word Search, because the theme is everything to do with hats.

Click start to play.

Hats have been worn for decades, for reasons both functional and fashion related. In fact, if you were asked to think about a few historical figures, you probably could not imagine them without their hats.

Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor, was often seen and painted sporting a black-felted bicorne – a hat that basically resembles a taco in shape, with a deep gutter and two pointed corners.

Indian Independence leader Mahatma Gandhi’s style of hat is called the Gandhi cap – a white sidecap with a wide band, made out of khadi, a handwoven material created from natural fibre. Gandhi popularised it when he wore it in 1920, and it became a symbolic tradition for political activists post-Independence. In fact, threatened by the cultural pride it denoted, the British government tried to ban its use in 1921!

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US president, was a towering six foot four inches in height, and with his stovepipe hat, appeared even taller. Apparently, Lincoln used to keep papers and speeches tucked away in his hat, which he would fish out whenever needed.

In Britain, the bowler hat was often accompanied by an umbrella, because it was a combination that men found necessary to get through rainy days. The comedian Charlie Chaplin put the hat in the spotlight, and it became an icon of early cinema. In fact, according to UK-based nonprofit organisation English Heritage, the hat and cane he used for his famous Little Tramp character, sold in 2012 for $62,400 (Dh229,207) at an auction in Los Angeles, US.

And if you’ve read Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries, you know he never actually wore a deerstalker hat in any of the works by Arthur Conan Doyle. Yet, this hunting hat often conjures an image of the fictional detective, thanks to Doyle’s illustrator, who added the hat for one of Holmes’ out-of-town mysteries.

Women’s hats, too, have a long and fashionable history – from plumed hats in the 18th century (think Marie Antoinette), to bonnets in the 19th century, to turbans and cloches in the 1920s. Fashion icon Coco Chanel, who actually started her career as a milliner, made boater hats her signature style, while US First Lady Jackie Kennedy popularised the pillbox hat in the 1960s and 1970s.

After that, hats took a bit of a hiatus until UK’s Princess Diana brought them back with statement pieces like her 1983 baby blue hat with a birdcage veil and her 1984 red beret. In fact, the beret has been worn since the Bronze Age and went through several different uses, such as military wear seen in the iconic picture of Argentine guerrila leader Che Guevara and later, into a chic modern style for women, popularised in France among the artist community.

Which is your favourite hat and why? Play today’s Word Search and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.