Clearly not a hat to be trifled with.
To show that you mean
business, it's important to have
style. Enter: the
nice hat. It may actually have utility — even
conveying special powers — but more often than not
it just looks cool, or
even sexy.
A discerning hero/villain just can't be seen without their Nice Hat!
Harming the nice hat may be akin to
kicking the dog, with
disastrous results.
Fedoras are the most common
Nice Hat, probably because they inherently invoke 1920s-era
Gangsterland and
Film Noir we all know and love. Wizards have
their own style to worry about.
Commissar Cap is also a common enough version of this to have its own sub trope. The crowns of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs (since
crowns are always cool) make this
Older than Dirt. In fact, the
Cool Crown as
Requisite Royal Regalia always overlaps with this trope.
One reason that hats are so common in
Action/Adventure films and series is that they can obscure the face of the character so the viewer can't tell when the hero is being played by a stunt double.
Despite the name, this doesn't just cover hats, but most kinds of headgear, as long as
it's cool. Particularly memorable hats may end up as part of an
Iconic Outfit.
Often they make a
Useless Accessory, but they sometimes have uses, like making a good
Improvised Weapon.
A
Sub Trope of
Costume Porn.
A
Super Trope to
Cool Helmet,
Cool Crown,
Fedora Of Asskicking,
Hat of Power.
Compare
Hat Shop,
Cool Mask,
Pimped-Out Dress,
Pimped Out Cape,
Nice Shoes,
Coat, Hat, Mask. Has nothing to do with
Planet of Hats, unless it's taken to
literal proportions.
Examples
