The HAT thread

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Hat looks good but not sure why he is carrying an umbrella as well... Kind of like wearing a belt and braces.
 
Part of my hat problem is that it is ingrained in me to immediately remove headwear upon entering any building. That's fine if I'm going to the office or home and can drop it on a hook or rack, but what happens if I'm taking the kids to the supermarket, for example? I put it in the trolley to be crushed?

For practicality, you can't beat a woolen beret and a shirt with epaulettes!
When will old Monty come back into style?

In the meantime, I think I should get some hat practice with one of those tweed flat cap things, though I don't get the nuances of the various styles. For summer, maybe I should try a grey or blue straw fedora-syle hat (I'm sure there is a better name and description). I just don't like the look of the light coloured hats.
 
Hat looks good but not sure why he is carrying an umbrella as well... Kind of like wearing a belt and braces.
My understanding is that felt hats aren't so great in downpours and it does the hat no favor. I may be wrong.

Part of my hat problem is that it is ingrained in me to immediately remove headwear upon entering any building. That's fine if I'm going to the office or home and can drop it on a hook or rack, but what happens if I'm taking the kids to the supermarket, for example?
Oh the AAAC crowd will quibble over this, but I think the standard convention is that open-air public places, to include malls, elevators, hallways etc, do not require hat removal. Admittedly, I suffer the same military habit of removing all headwear as I pass though a door...
 
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Wonderful. Thank you!

Is that a spelling mistake in the top right? Tyrolean like the peeps in Austria and Italy?
 
Is that a spelling mistake in the top right? Tyrolean like the peeps in Austria and Italy?
:problemo: Yup, that's a typo all right. Tyrolean. I think I've already mentioned that this Ben Hogan thing, and Ivy,flat, driving, etc. caps are all the same as best I can tell.
 
Part of my hat problem is that it is ingrained in me to immediately remove headwear upon entering any building. That's fine if I'm going to the office or home and can drop it on a hook or rack, but what happens if I'm taking the kids to the supermarket, for example? I put it in the trolley to be crushed?

This is probably the major drawback of wearing a hat like a fedora - the hat wearing culture just doesn't exist anymore, so restaurants, bars etc. have no facility for storing your hat when you want to take it off. Then again, I can't remember the last time I walked out of a restaurant or bar with the same umbrella I arrived with either.

Your best bet is to get something reasonably robust in a darker colour that won't stain easily, and can withstand a bit of abuse. Not that hats should always look pristine IMO - like clothes and shoes they look best when they look worn and used.

My understanding is that felt hats aren't so great in downpours and it does the hat no favor. I may be wrong.

Depends on the hat of course but a decent quality rabbit felt will withstand a heavy downpour and come back good as new. One of the major reasons I wear a felt hat in winter is to save farking about with umbrellas. For that reason I see them as much a practical choice as a stylistic one.
 
Is that a fedora? Can anyone recommend a good primer for understanding basic men's hat styles?

The term fedora is a little generic AFAIK and covers (small hat pun) a few different styles. I think the one that guy's wearing in the pic is getting more into Trilby territory - going by the brim which seems a bit stingy.

On the whole 'style versus face' thing, this is why trying on hats is essential. There are general rules I guess (short face, taller, angled hat crown; long face, shorter hat; square jaw, more curved hat etc.) but really every face is different so you just have to see what works.
 
The bases, as I see them:
  1. Summery straw hat - Panamas are great for being useful as casual and dressy
  2. Casual beater for purely practical purposes
  3. Smart casual cap
  4. Dressy wool felt hat
  5. Lifesaving funny hat for ass-freezing temperatures
I only have #2 and #5 covered well at this point.

I missed this one earlier, but isn't "dressy wool felt hat" a contraction in terms? To the best of my knowledge, wool felt is used only for cheap hats--okay maybe for "beaters," but certainly not for dressy occasions. In fact, in the American South a "wool hat boy" was a synonym for a redneck, hillbilly or other poor white--similar to a "one-gallus man" as we recently discussed in the suspender thread. The best felt hats are made from beaver fur. However, rabbit fur felt is a more economical and perfectly acceptable alternative. Blends of rabbit and beaver fur are offered as an intermediate step.
 
You are correct. I have a Lite Felt hat made from wool. It has shrunken. It's the only felt hat I have so far, so that's probably why my content assessment was wrong.
 
I bought this at Nordstrom the other day - my first 'city hat'.
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Like the hat, hate the christmas tree.

Part of my hat problem is that it is ingrained in me to immediately remove headwear upon entering any building. That's fine if I'm going to the office or home and can drop it on a hook or rack, but what happens if I'm taking the kids to the supermarket, for example? I put it in the trolley to be crushed?

Hats inside stores is ok imo but if needs must just fold and stuff in your jacket pocket. Speaking of think fitpic above needs a jacket, wearing a winter hat without one is like wearing gloves without as well, doesn't make sense.
 
Pork pie, fedora, or newsboy hat. Which one is more versatile? I am leaning the newsboy hat, but I feel fedora or pork pie is more edgy.
 
Any flat cap is more casual and hence easier to pull off in the modern world. However, I see them as more fall/winter where a felt hat is year round.
 
I am monitoring a couple of eBay auctions right now. Tweed Bailey newsboy cap in black herringbone and Bailey brown felt fedora. Thinking about going for one.

Thoughts on peacock feather in the ribbon? Too pimp-ish?
 
I really have no idea if that's a classic Brit thing or a bad taste American thing. Either are fine with me, you know if you feel dandy.
How about peahen feathers, Rambo?
 
i am looking for a diplomats hat
not sure if i want mink or karakul though
 
something like that
 

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So this hat was recommended a while back by Patrick Sullivan of AAAC, FNB, SF etc. and now it's like $11.

Probably from China, but whatever. I liked the similar one that I had and lost. Will get.
In thinking of warmer weather, I saw this litestraw (which I think means synthetic?) hat that claims water repellency. I've long been perplexed on how to look dignified when it is hot but misty out. This looks like the answer. I hate the black band.

Supposedly, it's tightly woven, and the bucket hat is lined. SO for actual airflow, I;m thinking of this.

Is this a cohesive plan or is there overlap, redundancy or some other errant thinkin on my part?
 
I just received this Hat People full cut wool hat. Fits a little tighter than I thought it would but probably because it sits lower than I thought it would. The brim top isn't sewn to the cap top so I have to shape it on which isn't a big deal but harder to get right without looking at a mirror. Definitely prefer the shape to my Junya flat caps, but do wish the wool were a thicker fabric.

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