Smurf hat

A Smurf hat is a piece of clothing generally worn by all Smurfs. It is a standard woolen cap with the top part of it flopping forward (or in any preferred direction, as with Slouchy's hat), basically resembling a Phrygian cap.

Male Smurfs generally wear Smurf hats because the top of their heads are bald. Female Smurfs tend to wear them simply to identify themselves as Smurfs. Most Smurfs wear white hats while Papa Smurf wears red, Grandpa Smurf wears yellow, and Sweepy Smurf wears black.

Smurf hats may also vary in appearance depending on the type of Smurf wearing it. Greedy, who is the village chef, wears a Smurf hat that is a variation of a chef's hat. Farmer in the comic books wears a straw hat in the form of a Smurf hat, and Wild wears a Smurf hat made of leaves.

In the 2011 Smurfs movie, the Smurfs could use their hats as parachutes to glide down from high places, such as from the Winslows' apartment building to a nearby taxicab in New York City.

Empath: The Luckiest Smurf series
Smurfs are seldom seen without their hats. In the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf story series, a Smurf without a hat is generally seen as being naked among their own kind and thus not being a true Smurf. Doing this on purpose would be considered a shock effect to their particular sensibilities, although very few Smurfs are known to be very sensitive about the issue. Tearing one's hat would be considered a major insult, as the Smurf doing that is making the statement that he totally rejects Smurf culture and all that it stands for. This was done by Empath when he became disgusted with his fellow Smurfs' idolatry of him.

Empath is seen without a hat during his time in Psychelia, revealing himself to be very different from his fellow Psyches and also very different from his fellow Smurfs whenever he came home to visit them. The Psyches see the Smurf hat as an offensive symbol and thus the Psyche Master does not permit Empath to ever wear one while living in Psychelia. His wearing a Smurf hat in public in the Smurf Village and anywhere else also serves to hide a brand mark on the back of his head which is his designation code. Sassette around the time after Empath's final return from Psychelia had chosen not to wear a hat, instead having a big ponytail with a ribbon sticking from the back of her head.

According to Empath in "Papa Smurf & Mama Smurfette", a married female usually wears the same colored hat as her husband to indicate whose wife she is. In that story, Smurfette wears Papa Smurf's red hat. In the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf novel at the time of Empath and Smurfette's wedding, Smurfette wears Empath's star-patterned hat. A marriage consummation generally consists of a Smurf couple removing each other's hats at the start, with the female Smurf removing the male Smurf's hat first by running her hands underneath it on his head, producing a stimulating aphrodisiac effect. From this comes the term "getting under one's hat" to suggest that a female is looking to have intimate relations with a male Smurf.

The Smurf symbol that constantly appears in the Smurf Village in the story series reflects the use of the Smurf hat as an icon.

Some cultural terms in regards to hats:
 * A Smurf of many hats -- A Smurf who has more than one particular talent that he is good at. Similar in meaning to "a jack of all trades".
 * Pull the hat over someone's eyes -- to easily deceive someone.
 * Whichever way the hat points -- to be easily swayed to go in a different direction. Smurf hats generally point in a forward direction and the top part is usually affected by a change in wind direction.
 * Puffed-up hat or balloon hat -- A Smurf that's basically full of pride
 * Flower hat -- A male Smurf with characteristics more befitting a female Smurf, suggesting effeminacy.
 * Old hat -- old-fashioned, outmoded.
 * New hat -- a new Smurf in the village, same in meaning as "the new kid in town".
 * Hard hat -- stubborn or dense.
 * High hat -- A Smurf who is so happy that he appears to be high on an intoxicating substance.
 * Stiff hat -- when used negatively, too rigid in his or her ways; when used positively, one who is very attracted to a female Smurf.
 * Straw hat -- lacking any common sense.
 * Top hat -- a Smurf who has prominence or a top position over his fellow Smurfs.
 * Droopy hat -- a Smurf who is totally exhausted or too weak to do anything. The term can also be a reference to a certain type of dysfunction in regards to being around a female Smurf.
 * Red hat -- a Smurf given a leadership position, a reference to Papa Smurf's red hat.
 * White hat -- an ordinary common Smurf, or one who has been demoted from being a "red hat" or a "top hat".
 * Black hat -- a Smurf with evil intentions or with a dark and mysterious past.
 * Gold hat -- a Smurf who highly prizes possessions over friendships.
 * Yellow hat -- a Smurf lacking courage; a coward.
 * Soiled hat -- to become dirty or to do something morally disgraceful as a Smurf.
 * I'll eat my hat -- I'll be very surprised.
 * If the hat fits -- Same as the human expression "if the shoe fits".
 * Where I hang my hat -- wherever I call home.
 * Don't lose your hat -- Same as the human expression "don't lose your head".
 * A feather in his hat -- a personal achievement in a Smurf's life.
 * Make his hat rise -- make a Smurf very excited; this is usually equated to the reaction of meeting a female Smurf.
 * Scalpie -- A Smurf that lost his hat or isn't wearing a hat.

Hero: The Guardian Smurf stories
In the HERO: The Guardian Smurf story adaptation of "A Christmas Carol", while Grouchy is being visited by the Three Smurfs Of Christmas, it is revealed that Papa Smurf tailors every Smurf hat that he gives to his little Smurfs every Christmas, making them specifically for each and every Smurf. Grouchy, who was expecting to get a hang glider, was constantly disappointed in that the only gift he got was a Smurf hat. After Jokey's prank where he was fooled into believing Papa Smurf finally came through with a hang glider, only to have another of Jokey's "surprise" pranks pulled on him, he refused to have any further participation in Christmas.

It was after the visitation by the Smurf Of Christmas Future when Grouchy realized that the greatest Christmas present he had was family. He gladly received his current Christmas present - a Smurf hat - and discovered that he could use it to glide through the air, reinstating Papa's attention to detail for each individual hat.

Glovey Story
In the Glovey Smurf story series, Glovey and Aksel are the only known Smurf characters that do not wear a Smurf hat. However, during musical performances, Glovey may wear a fedora. Actor prefers wearing a bowler hat over a Smurf hat.

Traction stories
Most smurfs wear hats, although some do not. During his temperorary rule as village leader, Soviet Smurf ordered everyone to burn their smurf hats and wear communist hats instead.