Those little bowler hats—called “bombins”—perched quaintly on the heads of Aymara women in Peru and Bolivia, and every once in a while, on the heads of reality show contestants, certainly have an intriguing history, we’re just not sure which intriguing history it is. 

See, while we were researching how this particular accessory made its way from Europe in the 1920s and became a staple of traditional Aymara dress, we came across some great stories. But experts haven’t been able to tell us which, if any, of the stories are true. Myth or truth, here are a few interesting tales:

Story #1: A large shipment of bowler hats arrived in Bolivia, destined for the heads of European workers based there. The hats, however, were too small for them, so they were distributed to the locals, who came to love the miniature look and kept the custom going. And going. And going.

Story #2: A local store owner accidentally ordered a large quantity of European derby hats. Horrified at his suddenly large stock of strange headwear, he decided to market them as a women’s accessory. The hats caught on and soon, that’s all he was importing.

Story #3: Some sources say that however bombins got to Bolivia, they have remained popular for so long because women believe the hats increase their fertility. 

So, which story do you like best? Which one do you think is true?

-Winona Dimeo-Ediger

National Geographic photographs by Ivan Kashinsky
 

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