Around 1800 the British Navy's traditional tricorn (three cornered hat) for officers was replaced by the bicorn (two cornered hat). Matthew Flinders’ sister-in-law, Isabella Tyler, recalled seeing him just before the HMS Investigator set out from Portsmouth in July 1801 'in his handsome uniform, his cocked hat put slightly over one eye - his sword by his side - did he not look handsome?'
By the twentieth century, the term cocked hat had come to be used more often than not in official UK usage (uniform regulations) with reference to this shape of hat (particularly when worn as part of a uniform). In rare instances where hats were directed to be work side-to-side (‘athwarts’) rather than front-to-back, the term bicorn tended to be preferred.
The cocked hat was pinned up at two sides to form a hump-back bridge shape and was worn perpendicular to the shoulders, with the front end above the face and the back end over the nape. A cockade in the national colours might be worn at the right side (French tradition) and a plume might be attached to the top (British military, c. 1800). Cocked hats were often trimmed with gold or silver bullion lace and tassels. Naval officers wore them without further decorations, but those worn by military and civilian officials might be lavishly decorated with coloured ostrich or swan feathers.
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