"I'm going to need a new flat cap soon" said t'old man "this one's about had it's day"
T'old man has always worn a flat cap in the winter months although more for weather protection than tradition, unlike the men in the pit village where I grew up who wore one come hail or come shine outdoors and just as often inside.
Miners in the 1920's
The wearing of flat caps has gone on for centuries The style can be traced back to the 14th century when it was more likely to be called a 'bonnet and they were almost universally worn in the 19th century by working class men throughout Britain and Ireland, and versions in finer cloth were also considered to be suitable casual countryside wear for upper-class English men (hence the contemporary alternative name golf cap). Cloth caps were worn by fashionable young men in the 1920s.
The stereotype of the flat cap as purely 'working class' was never correct as hey were frequently worn in the country, but not in town, by middle and upper-class males for their practicality.
"A cloth cap is assumed in folk mythology to represent working class, but it also denotes upper class affecting casualness. So it is undoubtedly classless, and there lies its strength
The first person I ever saw wearing one was my dad in the 1950's.
I haven't got a pic of dad in his flat cap but this is the typical style I remember on a random man in the 1950's/60's
In British popular culture the flat cap has been particularly associated with older working class men, especially those in northern England, as personified by Fred Dibnah
and comic strip anti-hero Andy Capp.
The popularity of the flat hat also remains strong with fans of English country clothing, rural and agricultural workers, the country set or those who simply find them practical, though it tends to be associated with an older generation of wearers, some younger members of the Royal family have been seen to wear flat caps too
Throughout the eighties, nineties and this decade media stars have gravitated towards the humble flat cap making a fashion statement as these pics of Maddona and Bond star Daniel Craig show.
Children can wear flat caps effectively, and teddy bears too
Is that enough pics of flat caps now???
..Oh just one more
..From the mid 1970's
IT'S ME...I wore a flat cap then too 
It was the 'heroin chic' look before it's time, looks like i'd had a late night the night before
Honestly, i've no shame...i'll use any subject as a post so's I can post a photo of myself 
.....now where was I?..ah yes..i've got to go buy t'old man a flat cap 