Hello there people of the Fedora Lounge. I'm new here and just wanted to introduce myself to everyone. My name is Brandon, and I'm a huge fan of hats, suits, and all other vintage and old style apparel. Fedoras especially interest me. I've been learning a lot about fedoras and hats recently, and have been watching The Fedora Lounge for a while. The people on this forum seem very friendly and knowledgeable. I look forward to learning more and getting to know you all. -BP
Brandon, Welcome to TFL. You came to the right place to both learn about new things of interest and to teach others what you know. TFL is made up of a friendly and knowledgable group of enthusiasts.
BR
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult
Greetings 'Loungers' - I've been away for a while but wanted to visit briefly. I posted a note of sympathy for our friend Herr Gerhard Franzky of Phoenix, Arizona who passed awas this past Sunday, 24th June, 2012. -Dixon Cannon
Love is the international understanding that each and every one of us have exactly the same problems to fight. - Lord Buckley
Salutations, Fedora Loungers, I've been posting some in the questions thread, so while I'm not brand new here, I still think a proper introduction is in order.
I am R. Connor Montgomery, I am a native of Texas, and I currently reside in Arlington, TX, home of the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. I brought myself into the world of Fedoras in February of this year, when I ordered a Stetson Temple, the nightmarish events that followed that order nearly made me give up on hat before I'd even started.
First, as I presume is usual, they ordered the hat from Stetson, who took around a month to make and ship it to Pennsylvania from Garland, TX (which is practically just around the corner from me). When it finally arrived, they hat put a 7 1/4 hat in a 7 3/8 box, so I sent it back to Pennsylvania so they could send it back to Garland. Then Stetson took another month to make a new hat, then sent it back to Pennsylvania so they could send it back to me again. When I finally received the right hat, the ribbon was far too loose around the bow, and since I refuse to repair a brand new hat, I contacted HatCo and insisted that they do business with me themselves. In the end, I finally got my hat, though it's practically taken a trip around the country in the process. After all that, I have no wish to do any further business with any HatCo owned brand.
I'm not quite sure when I found the Fedora Lounge, as I remember it seeming vaguely familiar when I was looking through it earlier this year, but I'd been looking here for quite some time between my introduction to fedoras and when I joined, and I must say, it's been a lot of help, before and after joining.
Lastly, allow me to elaborate on my screen name, CONELRAD, and make its meaning known. CONELRAD, short for Control of Electromagnetic Radiation, was the name of the 1950s to 1960s national warning system in the event of a nuclear attack. Seeing as I am a collector of memorabilia related to the Atomic Era, and its similarity to my real name, I thought it fit perfectly.
P.S. In case you didn't notice, I tend to get a bit carried away when I'm typing.
P.P.S I'm afraid don't know who Herr Gerhard Franzky is, but I give my condolences, nonetheless.
Last edited by CONELRAD; 06-28-2012 at 06:18 PM.
R. Connor Montgomery — CONELRAD
Welcome Conelrad! It would never have occured to me that in the country of the Stetson it is so difficult to lay your hands on one of them. I surely can understand your disappointment and reluctance to buy from the same source/brand again. Surfing the lounge you will find several hatmakers (most of them located in the USA) who deliver 1st. class quality and service. Even for overseas customers like me the purchase is a breeze, although hats might be slightly more expensive (which should be the case with a bespoke hat anyway). This is a great place to learn about hats, most of what I know was learned here. Enjoy!
Frank
Well, there's plenty of cowboy hats around here, but fedoras are a different story entirely, plus I was new to hats and didn't know any of the few places in my area that sell them at the time. Since then I've bought an old ADAM hat on eBay that I've had a small hassle stretching to fit me, but ultimately I'm very happy with. I've also been looking around at various custom hatters, but I'm not ready to spend that much money again just yet. And yes, I've already learned a lot in the short time I've been a member here. I agree that there's little quality in mass produced hats nowadays, and from now on, I'll prbably stick to vintage and custom hats.
R. Connor Montgomery — CONELRAD
The word "Conelrad" conjures up vague memories from the late 50s or early 60s. What was Conelrad? I thought it was some kind of 1950s civil defense siren or something like that.
Oh, I know--some kind of radio network, the "rad" part of the word. Maybe an early emergency broadcasting network.
Originally Posted by CONELRAD
R. Connor Montgomery — CONELRAD
Oops, I didn't read all of your original message.
Hi Brandon! Welcome to the Lounge. You'll learn as much (if not more) about the things you're interested in here, though I might warn you it will end up costing you! :P The folks here are awesome, and I look forward to your contributions as much as I value theirs. It's amazing that not only is this place awesome for all things vintage as you noticed, but it's great for practically anything you ever wanted to know! For fun some day, try Googling something you're curious about and add "site:thefedoralounge.com". I've found information about briefcases, vehicle maintenance, suspenders, pants, shoes, pens, notebooks/journals, bicycles, you name it. While there is a lot of vintage that goes on here, that's not all. Bienvenidos! -TS
Mr. Montgomery, welcome to the Lounge. I'm verbose with my posting too (see above, and anything I've ever written here haha), and that's totally OK. For some, verbosity is TL;DR, while for others, something is gleaned. For example, as a 25 year old, I had no previous knowledge of CONELRAD. Some Google brought me up to basic speed and I think your handle is fantastic! What other memorabilia related to the atomic era do you have/collect? That stuff fascinates me.
Welcome aboard! -TS
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
