Sombrero (pronounced som-brair-oh
or sawm-bre-raw (Spanish))
(1) A sometimes highly embroidered, broad-brimmed hat of
straw or plush felt, usually with a high conical or cylindrical crown and a
saucer-shaped brim, worn especially in Spain, Mexico, and the south-western
United States.
(2) A style of automobile wheel-cover which became
popular in the US during the 1950s, the enveloping design vaguely similar to
the motifs associated with the hat.
(3) A mixed drink, made with coffee liqueur and cream.
(4) In ten-pin bowling, a series of four consecutive
strikes.
1590–1600: From the Spanish from sombrero de sol (broad-brimmed
hat offering shade from the sun) and originally "umbrella, parasol"
(a sense found in English by the 1590s), from sombra (shadow; shade) from the Late
Latin subumbrare (to shadow), the construct being sub (under) + umbrāre (from
umbra (shadow)) + ero (the dative & ablative singular of erus, from the Proto-Italic
ezos (master), from the primitive Indo-European heshós (master) and cognate
with the Hittite išhāš (master)) and thus literally "shade-maker". Sombrero is a noun and sombreroed is an adjective,
(the non-standard sombrerolike & sombreroesque both used informally); the
noun plural is sombreros.
Politicians are often compelled to wear sombreros in the search for votes. Others wear them by choice.
(1) Gerald Ford (1913–2006; US president 1974-1977).
(2) Comrade Marshal (Josip Broz) Tito (1892–1980; Yugoslav president 1953-1980).
(3) Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965; Democratic
presidential nominee 1952 & 1956).
(4) Hugo Chávez (1954–2013; Venezuelan president 1999-2002
& 2002-2013).
(5) Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president
1969-1974).
(6) Britney Spears (b 1981; entertainer).
(7) Pope Benedict XVI (b 1927; Roman Catholic Pope
2005-2013, pope emeritus since).
(8) Barry Goldwater (1909–1998; Republican
presidential nominee 1964).
1961 Lincoln Continental SS-X-100 with sombrero wheel covers, Dallas, 22 November 1963 (left) and with the (ex Continental Mark II) turbine-style wheel covers and some of X-100’s protective accessories (right).
Traces of a sombrero-like shape can be discerned in the
designs used for the early post-war Cadillacs but it was in the 1950s the style
became popular with many manufacturers emulating the lines. Although less popular by the early 1960s, the
coachbuilders Hess & Eisenhardt chose to use sombrero-style wheel covers from
the 1957 Lincoln Premiere when the White House’s 1961 presidential parade
limousine was updated in 1963 with a current model grill. This was the famous SS X-100 (the Secret
Service inventory number) in which the president was assassinated in Dallas in
November 1963. It was extensively re-modeled
in the aftermath of the assassination (and again in 1967), Hess &
Eisenhardt reverted to the turbine-style wheel covers from the Continental Mark II (1956-1957)
with which the car had originally been fitted.
Although other presidential parade cars were built in 1968 and 1972, X-100
continued to be used by Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter until 1977
and it’s now on permanent display in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn,
Michigan.
1952 Cadillac sombrero wheel covers (16 inch reproductions) (left), 1954 Packard sombrero wheel covers (centre) and 1957 Cadillac sombrero wheel cover, Cadillac by 1957 unable to resist adding embellishments.
The terms “wheel cover” & “hubcap” (or hub-cap) have
long been used interchangeably but the two, historically, are different. The distinction between the two is that a
wheel cover covers the entire diameter of the wheel whereas a hubcap covers
only the center portion of the wheel, concealing at most only the lug nuts which
secure the wheel. The origin of the hub
cap pre-dates powered-transportation and was simply a device which fitted over
the hub of a wheel to prevent dirt and debris from entering the assembly and
contaminating the grease which provided lubrication and some of the early
versions were actually called dirt-caps or grease-caps.
1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III saloon with wire wheels with centre hub cap (left) and an unusual 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III pillarless fixed head coupé (FHC) with wheel covers over wire wheels.
As wheel designs evolved from those used on hand-carts or
horse-drawn vehicles, the hubcaps were enlarged to extend protection to the lug
nuts, reducing abrasion and limiting the moisture penetration which encouraged
rust. The hubcap was thus a purely utilitarian
device and this functionality was extended in the 1920s when all-enveloping
wheel covers (some of which had actually been seen in the nineteenth century) began
to appear in volume. These were usually
covers for wire wheels (a type preferred because they were much lighter that
those made from pressed steel) and served to protect both the spokes and the
brakes behind from dirt and the impact of stones and rocks, an important consideration
when so many roads were un-sealed. Owners and drivers appreciated the protection, wire wheels notoriously time-consuming to
clean. One drawback however was that the
air-flow to the brake drums was inhibited so the brakes were more prone to
overheating, thus reducing their retardative effect but as some soon discovered,
speed and economy were actually improved because the smooth wheel covers were aerodynamically
more efficient, as aspect of design which continues to be exploited to this
day. In the UK, both hubcaps and wheel covers
were originally called nave plates. Nave
(hub of a wheel) was from the Middle English nave, from the Old English nafu,
from the Proto-West Germanic nabu, from the Proto-Germanic nabō (which
influenced the Dutch naaf, the German Nabe and the Swedish nav), from the
primitive Indo-European hneb- (navel) and related to the
Latin umbō (shield boss), the Latvian naba and the Sanskrit नभ्य (nabhya). The
idea of it being “something central” was a development from the Latin nāvem, the
singular accusative of nāvis, terms from architecture which referred to the middle
section of a church (later extended to other structures & shipbuilding).
1959 Imperial Silvercrest Landau (left), 1959 Edsel Citation convertible (centre) and 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz (right).
Also exploited, for better and worse, were aesthetic
sensibilities. It was in the stylistically
exuberant US of the 1950s that wheel covers became truly extravagant and heavy,
the latter something that brought its own problems. The design teams took to wheel covers with enthusiasm
because changes were cheap to implement and they soon became part of product
differentiation, the higher in the hierarchy a model sat, the more elaborate the
wheel covers were likely to be. The sombreros
were just one style, others referencing influences as diverse as the original
wire wheels, the turbines in jet engines, water fountains, the full moon (though
without pock-marks) and beehives.
Dog dishes: 1966 Ford Fairlane 427 (left), 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack and 1969 Yenko Chevrolet Nova 427.
Wheel covers became part of what was typically an annual cycle
of styling changes and it wasn’t unusual for those used on last year’s top-of-the-line
model to re-appear on a cheaper line and just because wheel covers had arrived,
hubcaps didn’t go away, fitted almost always as standard equipment on the
cheapest entry-level models and those defined as heavy-duty such as the ones built
for police fleets. Simple steel stampings,
they were cheap to produce and, being lightweight, were less prone to becoming detached
during brisk driving, the “flying hubcap” (actually usually a wheel cover) a
noted feature of many of Hollywood’s car chases. The simple pressings were sometimes dubbed “poverty
hubcaps” but a more common nickname was “dog dish”, a reference to their
appearance if upturned.
Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB with early, two-piece hub cap & trim ring combination (left) and the later, less pleasing, one-piece wheel cover.
The wheel cover as part of a re-style was not restricted to
the US but manufacturers in the UK & Europe were more conservative (an
exception to this tended to be the locally produced models from companies
ultimately owned by US corporations; as in Australia, these sometimes used
hand-me-downs from Detroit), hubcaps persisting longer while “trim-rings” began
to be added to emulate wheel covers but designs were often carried over from
one model to the next. In this, the
Mercedes-Benz 600 (M100, 1963-1981) is a footnote in hubcap history in that in
its eighteen-odd years in production, the only styling change was to replace
the two-piece hubcap/trim ring combination with a one-piece wheel cover. This was unfortunate because the earlier style
better suited the car.
Wheel covers remained of interest to those designing cars
for competition and the trade-off between brake cooling and the aerodynamic
advantages possible weighed up according to the nature of the event. Those setting speed records were particularly
attracted to the smoothest possible shape although, where possible many choose
to enclose the wheel to whatever extent was possible and Jaguar discovered an
additional 3-4 mph (km/h) was possible if the XK120’s rear wheels were wholly
enclosed by fender skirts (also called spats).
In the modern era, even with aluminum or composite wheels optimized for
lightness and brake cooling, there are manufacturers which use additional wheel
covers, either to produce downforce for use in competition or to reduce drag,
lowering energy consumption to increase a vehicle’s range.
The selfie sombrero, a 2014 co-development between Christian Cowan-Sanluis and Acer Inc of Taiwan.
In one of the IT industry’s less remembered collaborations
with the fashion business, in 2014 designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis (b 1994) joined
with Taiwanese (Taiwan a renegade province of the People’s Republic of China
(PRC)) manufacturer Acer to produce a “limited-edition” (a perhaps unnecessary
announcement) sombrero with an integrated tablet, able to spin through 360o. Said to be the ultimate solution to selfie
takers who struggle to find their best angle, the wide-brimmed apparatus
included an Iconia A1-840 tablet. Listed
upon release at a not unreasonable Stg£599, the selfie-sombrero was based on a
hat in Cowan-Sanluis' autumn-winter 2014 collection, noted for having been
modeled by Lady Gaga (b 1986).
Lady Gaga in original sparkly pink sombrero from Christian Cowan-Sanluis’ autumn-winter 2014 collection.
Technically, the design was helpful for selfie-takers because of the mounting which allowed the tablet to spin through 360o, helping the user to determine the best angle while snapping and reviewing the results. With an internet connection, the perfect selfie could then instantly be uploaded to the social platform of choice. Early adopters were encouraged to place an order, the designer noting the creation of ten pink sparkly glitter cases with accompanying hats in the same style as that worn by Lady Gaga.
Lindsay Lohan in Sombrero.
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