Hats

[Uncle Bubba]

That's what I wear most days in cold weather, and am frequently complimented.  I'd wear it year-round, 'cept it's too hot.  By carebear's definition, it's a fedora, apparently.  It certainly does not need a suit to complement it.  Most folks seem to think it's a "cowboy hat."  That being said, I also dress like a big boy, meaning no sneakers, shorts, sandals, sweatpants or other silliness.  Tend not to wear sweatshirts or sweaters, either, but that's just me. 

Downsides:
1.  When shopping, etc, it always occupies one hand, so I sometimes leave it in the vehicle.  I could wear it inside, but that just seems poser-ish.  On the upside, it is not so bad as an improvised shopping basket. 
2.  Due to 1, once or twice per season I have to go back to the Steak n Shake or wherever, to see if they have my hat in the lost and found.  So far, they always have. 
3.  Sometimes blows off in the wind. 
4.  In the car, it sometimes bumps into the head-rest or sun visor.  But then, I am too tall for the little vehicles I am driving now-a-days.  I will go back to the full-sized pick-up as soon as feasible. 

That's not a fedora. The brim is too wide and the crown is wrong. Another type of porkpie. Or it could be called a slouch hat.

Look at the photo in Iain's link. It has a medium-wide brim and creased crown. That's a fedora. Were the brim a little narrower it'd be a trilby.

[charby]

I have an Orvis packable felt hat, rather a lot like a Fedora. Never worn it. http://reviews.orvis.com/7532/7910/reviews.htm

Bear in mind that I am in the UK - I will look into shipping charges if any member wants it.

What size is it? I need a new fishing hat.

[Iain]

Extra large,  XL(7½-7 5/8) according to Orvis. It's in the brown colour.

[Harold Tuttle]

Thread drifts into a favorite collage I have wanted to build into a 3d VR realm:

"The Hat Makes the Man" (1920) is a collage by the German dadaist/surrealist Max Ernst. It is comprised of cut out images of hats from catalogues linked by gouache and pencil outlines to create abstract anthropomorphic figures. There are inscriptions in ink that read "seed-covered stacked-up man seedless waterformer ('edelformer') well fitting nervous system also tightly fitting nerves! (the hat makes the man) (style is the tailor)." The idea for this work began as a sculpture made from wooden hat molds.

Ernst was an important figure in the dada movement, which often criticized the tastes of mainstream culture and depicted modern man as a conformist automaton.

[KD5NRH]

1.  When shopping, etc, it always occupies one hand, so I sometimes leave it in the vehicle.  I could wear it inside, but that just seems poser-ish.  On the upside, it is not so bad as an improvised shopping basket.

In the common areas of a building it is considered acceptable to keep the hat on.  Also, except in certain situations (dinner table, church, etc.) it is acceptable to put the hat back on your head when both hands are needed for a task.

For example, at the bank, I keep it on at the little tabe where I fill out my deposit slip and in line, but remove it as I step up the the teller's counter.  (Since that is effectively an individual's "office" rather than common area.)

[Perd Hapley]

Golconda - Rene Magritte

[Bigjake]

Since we're descending into Art, Stuff like the above pic, I just don't get.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Music for MTP's picture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L-2Fccv6U4

[Uncle Bubba]

In the common areas of a building it is considered acceptable to keep the hat on.  Also, except in certain situations (dinner table, church, etc.) it is acceptable to put the hat back on your head when both hands are needed for a task.

For example, at the bank, I keep it on at the little tabe where I fill out my deposit slip and in line, but remove it as I step up the the teller's counter.  (Since that is effectively an individual's "office" rather than common area.)

The demise of hat-wearing meant the loss of knowledge of hat etiquette. That and the "do your own thing" attitude from the Sixties, did it.

I loathe seeing a man seated at table with his hat on. One time when I was about twenty or so I was at a family dinner at my maternal grandmother's house. One of my cousins, who is a couple of years younger than me, was there and came to the table with his baseball cap on. One of our uncles told cousin to take his hat off at the table and Cousin, full of teen attitude, just looked at and through him and continued dishing  food onto his plate. Uncle stood up, reached across the table, slapped the hat off cousin's head and said, "You'll take your hat off at MY MOTHER'S table!" Ever since then if Cousin, who turned forty last year, comes to any table to eat wearing a hat he removes it before sitting down.

[Uncle Bubba]

A hat story I thought of while typing about hat etiquette. Knowing a tad about court etiquette in Jolly Old came in handy this day, too.

I was at the Renaissance Festival, held near Atlanta every Spring, about ten or twelve years ago. Had on a black panama-style hat. King Henry VIII and Queen Anne walked by exchanging greetings with the crowd. While most people just nod and say hello I decided to be different. I doffed the hat, bowed low with one leg out in front and swept the ground with the hat (as court etiquette required), and said, "Good day, sire!" The King stopped dead in his tracks, said, "Well done, sir!", drew his sword, told me to kneel, and knighted me on the spot.

[Bigjake]

A hat story I thought of while typing about hat etiquette. Knowing a tad about court etiquette in Jolly Old came in handy this day, too.

I was at the Renaissance Festival, held near Atlanta every Spring, about ten or twelve years ago. Had on a black panama-style hat. King Henry VIII and Queen Anne walked by exchanging greetings with the crowd. While most people just nod and say hello I decided to be different. I doffed the hat, bowed low with one leg out in front and swept the ground with the hat (as court etiquette required), and said, "Good day, sire!" The King stopped dead in his tracks, said, "Well done, sir!", drew his sword, told me to kneel, and knighted me on the spot.

Well done indeed!

Aren't Renn Faires fun?

[Uncle Bubba]

Well done indeed!

Aren't Renn Faires fun?

Yeah, I always have a good time. I like to set up the Kissing Wenches to ambush somebody I'm there with.

[Gewehr98]

Not to derail things, but did the etiquette ever survive to begin with?

I knew not to wear a hat indoors, let alone at the dinner table, from 30+ years ago. 

My military career burned that in even further, and my wife asks me why I still take my hat off when going inside WalMart, Mongolian BBQ, etc.

Same goes, of course, for the National Anthem.

But times are different, and I really wonder what's being taught in schools and at home here in 2009.

IOW, people don't know what's acceptable or not, especially if nobody tells them. 

I see plenty of white apparel after Labor Day, too...

[Matthew Carberry]

I need to find more pictures.

Here's me in my brown fedora, not in a suit.

Ignore the cute girl and dog.



And me in a suit in my Charcoal Akubra.



These hats are more of a '20s - '30s style as they have high crowns and comparatively wide (2-3/4") brims.  The stingy brims of Sinatra and the '50s gained popularity after the war. 

The Akubra came flat-brimmed and with an open (unbashed to shape) round crown, think Hoss's cowboy hat.  A little steam and some pinching and I put a C-crown on it.  It looks casual with casual clothes and dressy with dressy clothes, much as a quality plain-toe Oxford will look appropriate with almost any pants.

I usually take mine off in the car for the headroom reason and, admittedly, with the demise of coatrooms going out can be a pain as they can get stolen if you leave them unwatched and there are few hatracks in restaurants and such anymore.  With a quality lid going for a couple hundred bucks that can get spendy.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Hmm... I think my problem is that while I think baseball caps look sloppy and unprofessional, I also think fedora's and the like look out of place, especially on men younger then 40. 

Agreed.  Unless you experienced WWII, a fedora on your head looks like a costume piece.  There's nothing wrong with that, and if you like the look then have at it.  The fedora left the realm of proper, fashionable attire a coupla generations ago.

In the winter I always wear a warm knit hat, something that covers my ears.  In the summer I wear a boonie cap or a fishing hat of some sort.  I have no illusions about them being fashionable, I wear 'em because they're functional.  At any time when I need to be fashionable I most definitely do NOT wear a hat.

[Balog]

People stuck on the cultural quirks of days gone by amuse me. Bonus points if the person was not alive when the quirk in question was a going proposition.

[zahc]

It's not always quirks. It's not that I want the look...I don't care about fashion one little bit, and wish to remain as fashion-neutral as possible. I, however, like wearing hats, for comfort reasons. I resent the fact that it's difficult to wear a brimmed hat while remaining fashion-neutral.

[Perd Hapley]

Keeping rain and sun off your head, eyes, neck, etc; is no quirk.  It was something past generations were sensible enough to do with something called a hat.  It's something I suppose some people still do with baseball caps or bandannas, though they're not as effective.  And we have sunglasses these days. 

'Course, the benefits of a hat are not quite as urgent when you're not traveling on foot or horseback, so it's not surprising that hats are not so common these days.  This also explains why people wear sandals, when they could easily afford shoes.  Or why guys wear pants that are constantly falling off of their hips.  Or why I see teenagers showing up at my church in the dead of winter wearing a pair of shorts and a polo, with no coat. 

So, yes, we could all usually get along alright most days, bareheaded and sandaled, or being half-dressed in winter-time.  But common sense suggests that we should make a few concessions to the realities of the weather outside of our little climate-controlled bubbles.  After all, flat tires happen. 

And if anyone thinks I look silly in my hat, that's fine.  I think know very well they look like over-grown eight-year-olds in their short pants. 

[Balog]

Carebear: awesome dog! I love bull teriers; I'd like to get one when we have a house instead of an apt. But that tie in the second one.... what's up with that, man?

I too wish we could wear more kinds of hats without it being a fashion statement. I wish I could open carry at work without freaking people out too. What I wish != reality.

[KD5NRH]

Not to derail things, but did the etiquette ever survive to begin with?

To an extent...I think I'll pose this question to some folks who might have interesting input over in blogland.

[charby]

I still wish vests were popular with suits.

[Balog]

Who is that Charby? The guy in the sunglasses looks likes he's grinding on the guy next to him. How odd.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I still wish vests were popular with suits.

Three piece suits are still acceptable.  They aren't as common as two piece suits, but they're not unusual either.  Likewise for double-breasted suits.

[charby]

Who is that Charby? The guy in the sunglasses looks likes he's grinding on the guy next to him. How odd.

It is the cast from Mulholland Falls.

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

http://realdealbrazil.com/
Just bought one of those, pretty nice hat.   

I promise, I was not influenced at all by the cute girls on this page.
http://realdealbrazil.com/customers.asp