I'm not totally disagreeing with you here but I think there's a general understanding of what is and is not a dress hat. I'm sure that from country to country, the characteristics of a town/dress hat will differ but I can't really see the "Zapf Rotunde" in an urban setting, worn with a city suit, for example.
The green/gold band is quite a regional/traditional outdoor pursuits type embellishment. I know there are dress-y and outdoors-y versions of many of these traditional hats and a dressy version would be worn with dressy regional/traditional attire and a more rustic version with the rustic attire.
There are also dressy versions of Western hats but I would not think of them as dress hats, outside of a dressy Western ensemble.
I guess I'm speaking of a tradition of generic dress hats, rather than dress versions of traditional/regional hats.
I guess.
I'm sure you know what I mean.
The "dress hats" I posted, the Homburg and Fedora are "traditional" hats but based upon turn-of-the-20th-Century
Town hat styling that was common in Europe, America and beyond. I don't know that there is anything definitely German about them- although the "Gompertz" looks very similar to one seen on Hitler in the early '30s.
You could argue that the Homburg is a regional hat and originally, it was but was adopted into the realm of "normal" hats and worn in formal settings the World over, popular Japan.
B
T
Looking with my good ear peeled.
Here is the Zapf Rotunde being worn in a formal setting. I believe the design goes back to the turn of the century same with the Bittner. I think both would look fine with a city suit.
I see a German Alpen influence in both the Homburg and Fedora. Isn't the Fedora from Austria? The Homburg (ie Bad Homburg) is of course from Germany.
Oh- I thought we were talking about Mens' hats...
Women can wear whatever, whenever.
I'm done with the ins and outs of dress hats vs. Tyrolean hats now.
I like a lot of the German/Austrian/etc. styles- must get more...
but getting a good quality hat into the bargain can be a problem.
I can accept that some of the more rustic hats are traditionally woolen/loden and always have been- fine, but it seems that a lot of the hats available are more costume, rather than of a quality that would suit me. Of course there are some very expensive hats available too. Some of the trad. Schützenhutte appeal to me but many of the example I've seen are not too good on quality.
I want a hat that will keep its shape. I guess I'm comparing apples and oranges- I'm used to vintage American and European hats- modern hats don't always cut it and good vintage German hats are pretty thin on the ground. The vintage German and European (Fedoras, Homburgs)hats that I own and have previously owned have all been very well made and from fine felts.
I'm rambling(wandering)now.
More hat talk- lets get off the "versus" thing now, huh..?
B
T
Looking with my good ear peeled.
In Austria these type of hats are worn by women too. This was a formal occasion and she was wearing a formal hat.Originally Posted by BellyTank
Over and out!
My father has a hat by Mayser which is intended as a dress hat. Is is made from soft fur felt with long hair but is black with a grosgrain band, allowing it to be a dress hat.
As for durability, any hat made from loden (the thickened wool felt) will hold up brilliantly. I know wool hats are generally cheap, but loden is an exception to that rule. I have a loden overcoat and it is completely waterproof. Loden can be identified by its green/grey colour (although it can be dyed other colours), course texture and thickness compared to other felts.
Wow.........
I love this crease, is it original or is there a name for it?
"When words fail.........music speaks!"
ƘƲƦƬ☮
It's this, but softer and backward.
Actually not new, it is called an arrow crown.
Hello,
interesting thread. German hat fashion dates back to the middle ages when dress rules were set for everybody. By the dress one could distinct the social and economic position of the wearer. There were also diferent dresses and hats worn for diferent occasions. Workware, sunday church aparel .... .
Next to the various professional and office hats (court, military, clregic ...) one would find a large variety of regional country-styles. Almost every village had it´s own distinctive style within the regional mainstream. Within the style range there were diverent levels of formality to be found. Most of the styles of contry costume, that is still worn on a regional level, today, has been developped in the 18th and 19th century. Many styles have dissapeared, some are still worn. In the time period country folks would wear their formal apparel when in town town on a business or official trip.
Here in Bavaria it is still perfectly alright to attend a business meeting or even the governor´s new year´s reception in forlal regional country style.
Coming back to hats. There were never really larger productions of german country style hats. Mainly because of the fact that the actual designs were very local (one can find certin mainstreams in terma of the hat body. Differences are often decoration based). Therefore hats were designed and supplied by the many local hatters and workshops. Since most of them are gone, today, one can find only very few hatters in Germany and Austria that still supply to the limited regional demand.
Most of the "country hats" one can find in the catalogues of the big hat companies do not reflect a unique style. The thing gets worse, when the hats come from chinese productions.
Hotkoenig - and to some extend Zapf - are, indeed, good examples of manufacturers that cater genuene high quality hats to regional demand. Many designs you find on today´s market are some kind of contempory country mainstream. Sometimes good quality and nice to wear, however. Local flee markets are a good source for original country hat designs of the past.
Solong
Holy SMOKE! How did I miss this thread??
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A sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth. - Fitzgerald
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I only wonder how it came that the Trachten/hats died out in the Northern and Eastern parts Germany while they still flourish in the Catholic South as Bayern, Österreich and Schwaben.
Industrialisation can not be the reason since all regions of Germany and Austria are pretty much industrialised and developped.
The German looking 'alpine' hats are omnipresent with all forrestors and hunters.
I am glad that this thread discusses the German hats...
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