New Member to the Hat Forum

[Matt Black]

Thanks all!

Bamaboots, thats an epic thread, lots to digest. Does Peters Bros still mess around with straw hats? I've seen the name mentioned in various threads here but the website doesn't give me much information. My current front runners are the Dobbs Rosebud or the Stetson Stratoliner, both in Hemp. I tend to prefer a medium brim flipped up all the way around so I want something with enough snap to hold that position.

 

[spoonfedora]

Back in January, I went to a bar with a good friend of mine for one last drink together before l had to leave on a month long trip across Europe. The bartender had on a felt fedora that looked good on him and I half-jokingly said to my friend, “while I’m in Europe, maybe I should pick up a fedora hat like the one he’s wearing.” My friend crinkled her nose and said it wouldn’t look good on me. I suppose it was a normal sentiment from people my age (late 20s-early 30s) regarding fedoras, since to our generation it seemed stigmatized by ill-fitted “neckbeard” stereotypes or otherwise seen as being fashionably reserved for older gentlemen. I said it half-jokingly to her because I already knew she would react that way, but also because wearing a fedora was something I genuinely had entertained.

The past 2 years I’ve been embracing classic menswear fashion due to a gig I got as a brand ambassador that requires me to meet up with clients in a suit to professionally represent the company I work for. I thought wearing a fancier hat might fit nicely with my regular wardrobe of button suspenders and dress shirts.

During my trip, one of my destinations was Amsterdam. As I was walking around the city, I came across a hat shop that caught my eye and immediately I knew I had to get a fedora regardless of what my friend thought about me not being able to pull off wearing one.

My first fedora was a brown felt Stetson made in the Czech Republic and naturally I wore it during the remainder of my travels across Europe.

But by the time I returned home to Texas near the end of February, the weather had already started warming up quickly and wearing it seemed impractically hot for my head. I have since bought a straw panama hat online from Stetson to wear with my linen suits. And even though I have to wait for fall and winter to roll around before I can wear my felt Stetson I got in Amsterdam, “HAS” (as I’ve learned from the forum here) has already afflicted me and I ordered another fur felt fedora, a vintage Borsalino off of ebay that I am warmly waiting for to arrive.

Glad to have found a community like this and hope to learn more about the world of wearing fedoras.

 

[Mighty44]

Back in January, I went to a bar with a good friend of mine for one last drink together before l had to leave on a month long trip across Europe. The bartender had on a felt fedora that looked good on him and I half-jokingly said to my friend, “while I’m in Europe, maybe I should pick up a fedora hat like the one he’s wearing.” My friend crinkled her nose and said it wouldn’t look good on me. I suppose it was a normal sentiment from people my age (late 20s-early 30s) regarding fedoras, since to our generation it seemed stigmatized by ill-fitted “neckbeard” stereotypes or otherwise seen as being fashionably reserved for older gentlemen. I said it half-jokingly to her because I already knew she would react that way, but also because wearing a fedora was something I genuinely had entertained.

The past 2 years I’ve been embracing classic menswear fashion due to a gig I got as a brand ambassador that requires me to meet up with clients in a suit to professionally represent the company I work for. I thought wearing a fancier hat might fit nicely with my regular wardrobe of button suspenders and dress shirts.

During my trip, one of my destinations was Amsterdam. As I was walking around the city, I came across a hat shop that caught my eye and immediately I knew I had to get a fedora regardless of what my friend thought about me not being able to pull off wearing one.

View attachment 599233

My first fedora was a brown felt Stetson made in the Czech Republic and naturally I wore it across the remainder of my travels across Europe.

View attachment 599234

But by the time I returned home to Texas near the end of February, the weather had already started warming up quickly and wearing it seemed impractically hot for my head. I have since bought a straw panama hat online from Stetson to wear with my linen suits. And even though I have to wait for fall and winter to roll around before I can wear my felt Stetson I got in Amsterdam, “HAS” (as I’ve learned from the forum here) has already afflicted me and I ordered another fur felt fedora, a vintage Borsalino off of ebay that I am warmly waiting for to arrive.

Glad to have found a community like this and hope to learn more about the world of wearing fedoras.

Welcome! You chose well—that Czech made Stetson has more classic proportions than most American models. Most here have some modern hats—especially straws—but really live for the vintage hats, good examples of which just have better felt and better proportions. Look forward to seeing more.

 

[Blare]

Back in January, I went to a bar with a good friend of mine for one last drink together before l had to leave on a month long trip across Europe. The bartender had on a felt fedora that looked good on him and I half-jokingly said to my friend, “while I’m in Europe, maybe I should pick up a fedora hat like the one he’s wearing.” My friend crinkled her nose and said it wouldn’t look good on me. I suppose it was a normal sentiment from people my age (late 20s-early 30s) regarding fedoras, since to our generation it seemed stigmatized by ill-fitted “neckbeard” stereotypes or otherwise seen as being fashionably reserved for older gentlemen. I said it half-jokingly to her because I already knew she would react that way, but also because wearing a fedora was something I genuinely had entertained.

The past 2 years I’ve been embracing classic menswear fashion due to a gig I got as a brand ambassador that requires me to meet up with clients in a suit to professionally represent the company I work for. I thought wearing a fancier hat might fit nicely with my regular wardrobe of button suspenders and dress shirts.

During my trip, one of my destinations was Amsterdam. As I was walking around the city, I came across a hat shop that caught my eye and immediately I knew I had to get a fedora regardless of what my friend thought about me not being able to pull off wearing one.

View attachment 599233

My first fedora was a brown felt Stetson made in the Czech Republic and naturally I wore it during the remainder of my travels across Europe.

View attachment 599234

But by the time I returned home to Texas near the end of February, the weather had already started warming up quickly and wearing it seemed impractically hot for my head. I have since bought a straw panama hat online from Stetson to wear with my linen suits. And even though I have to wait for fall and winter to roll around before I can wear my felt Stetson I got in Amsterdam, “HAS” (as I’ve learned from the forum here) has already afflicted me and I ordered another fur felt fedora, a vintage Borsalino off of ebay that I am warmly waiting for to arrive.

Glad to have found a community like this and hope to learn more about the world of wearing fedoras.

Welcome to the lounge. I’d recommend an ointment or tincture for the HAS but unfortunately it seems there is no cure. Fortunately though, buying another hat does seem to help you live with it.

 

[Rmccamey]

Welcome to the Lounge. It is sometimes difficult, but don't worry about what others think of your hats. They have a classic look and if you like them, that's all that matters.

Back in January, I went to a bar with a good friend of mine for one last drink together before l had to leave on a month long trip across Europe. The bartender had on a felt fedora that looked good on him and I half-jokingly said to my friend, “while I’m in Europe, maybe I should pick up a fedora hat like the one he’s wearing.” My friend crinkled her nose and said it wouldn’t look good on me. I suppose it was a normal sentiment from people my age (late 20s-early 30s) regarding fedoras, since to our generation it seemed stigmatized by ill-fitted “neckbeard” stereotypes or otherwise seen as being fashionably reserved for older gentlemen. I said it half-jokingly to her because I already knew she would react that way, but also because wearing a fedora was something I genuinely had entertained.

The past 2 years I’ve been embracing classic menswear fashion due to a gig I got as a brand ambassador that requires me to meet up with clients in a suit to professionally represent the company I work for. I thought wearing a fancier hat might fit nicely with my regular wardrobe of button suspenders and dress shirts.

During my trip, one of my destinations was Amsterdam. As I was walking around the city, I came across a hat shop that caught my eye and immediately I knew I had to get a fedora regardless of what my friend thought about me not being able to pull off wearing one.

View attachment 599233

My first fedora was a brown felt Stetson made in the Czech Republic and naturally I wore it during the remainder of my travels across Europe.

View attachment 599234

But by the time I returned home to Texas near the end of February, the weather had already started warming up quickly and wearing it seemed impractically hot for my head. I have since bought a straw panama hat online from Stetson to wear with my linen suits. And even though I have to wait for fall and winter to roll around before I can wear my felt Stetson I got in Amsterdam, “HAS” (as I’ve learned from the forum here) has already afflicted me and I ordered another fur felt fedora, a vintage Borsalino off of ebay that I am warmly waiting for to arrive.

Glad to have found a community like this and hope to learn more about the world of wearing fedoras.

 

[CRH]

I'm not new but I'm back. This place is so cool!

 

[RickP]

Howdy from Deep East Texas! Finally came out of the shadows here! Started dusting off my felt hats when I retired 4 1/2 yrs back, and rejoined the brimmed hat crowd. Since then I started doing some rehab on some old family hats. One of my Dads old western hats was found in the bottom of a box with a vcr and several boots on top when I cleared his house out.. its now cleaned, reshaped, and rehabbed into a nice "Justified-Raylan" tribute hat and its perfectly wearable again. Also have a nice late 40's/ early 50's Knox wide ribbon with a bow in the back from one Grandfather that actually fits... And I have a couple cousins back in Tennessee checking the attics to see if my other Grandfathers " Go to town " hats are still around ( they promised I can have them if they are found). I know one was a silver Champ Open Road style ( Granddad was a big LBJ fan) Really crossing my fingers on that one.

I kinda worked myself out of the western hat phase and into Fedoras soon after college. Ive got several nice Akubras that I rotate in and out of daily (Bogart, couple of Stylemasters, Dawson, Lightning Ridge, Cooballah, Cattleman) Ive settled on 2-1/2-2-7/8" brims being my favorites so the wider brims have been trimmed down a bit. Also have a few nice stetsons that see daylight regularly ( A really nice early 60's Whippett, A Stratoliner, a Gus with the front crease mulekick removed, and a mid 70's Open Road)

Ive really enjoyed learning a bit of hat history here, and picked up a bit of hat reshaping/repair/ rehab knowledge along the way. My friends on ebay have provided me quite a few interesting $15-$20 hats ( Some crispy and crushed and some are actually pretty nice.) Over the past couple years Ive found and refurb-ed several old Hat Blocks, and brim blocks.. Even made a couple different wooden hatblocks and tools ( Im cheap). Been interesting to see how well my woodworking and leathercrafting hobbies fit in well with the hat world.

Ive always been most interested in hats with a 2-1/2- 3" brim width with 4-1/2"- 5 1/2 tall crowns, but lately Ive picked up a handful of shorter nice Stetsons, Knoxs, Champs, Lees, and a couple Towncrafts....and I have to say that Im actually warming up to shorted brims and crowns a bit.

Being retired, I enjoy starting the day out at the local coffee shop with a different hat every day most of the time. Lots of the rural locals notice the hats and offer complements ( I DID get one " Just how many different hats do you HAVE?" question not long ago. lol)

Ill post up a few pictures before too long ( cant have ALL my fun on the first day here lol)

 

[wsmontana]

Howdy from Deep East Texas! Finally came out of the shadows here! Started dusting off my felt hats when I retired 4 1/2 yrs back, and rejoined the brimmed hat crowd. Since then I started doing some rehab on some old family hats. One of my Dads old western hats was found in the bottom of a box with a vcr and several boots on top when I cleared his house out.. its now cleaned, reshaped, and rehabbed into a nice "Justified-Raylan" tribute hat and its perfectly wearable again. Also have a nice late 40's/ early 50's Knox wide ribbon with a bow in the back from one Grandfather that actually fits... And I have a couple cousins back in Tennessee checking the attics to see if my other Grandfathers " Go to town " hats are still around ( they promised I can have them if they are found). I know one was a silver Champ Open Road style ( Granddad was a big LBJ fan) Really crossing my fingers on that one.

I kinda worked myself out of the western hat phase and into Fedoras soon after college. Ive got several nice Akubras that I rotate in and out of daily (Bogart, couple of Stylemasters, Dawson, Lightning Ridge, Cooballah, Cattleman) Ive settled on 2-1/2-2-7/8" brims being my favorites so the wider brims have been trimmed down a bit. Also have a few nice stetsons that see daylight regularly ( A really nice early 60's Whippett, A Stratoliner, a Gus with the front crease mulekick removed, and a mid 70's Open Road)

Ive really enjoyed learning a bit of hat history here, and picked up a bit of hat reshaping/repair/ rehab knowledge along the way. My friends on ebay have provided me quite a few interesting $15-$20 hats ( Some crispy and crushed and some are actually pretty nice.) Over the past couple years Ive found and refurb-ed several old Hat Blocks, and brim blocks.. Even made a couple different wooden hatblocks and tools ( Im cheap). Been interesting to see how well my woodworking and leathercrafting hobbies fit in well with the hat world.

Ive always been most interested in hats with a 2-1/2- 3" brim width with 4-1/2"- 5 1/2 tall crowns, but lately Ive picked up a handful of shorter nice Stetsons, Knoxs, Champs, Lees, and a couple Towncrafts....and I have to say that Im actually warming up to shorted brims and crowns a bit.

Being retired, I enjoy starting the day out at the local coffee shop with a different hat every day most of the time. Lots of the rural locals notice the hats and offer complements ( I DID get one " Just how many different hats do you HAVE?" question not long ago. lol)

Ill post up a few pictures before too long ( cant have ALL my fun on the first day here lol)

Welcome to the lounge Rick! With that collection you‘re gonna fit right in here!

 

[Blare]

Howdy from Deep East Texas! Finally came out of the shadows here! Started dusting off my felt hats when I retired 4 1/2 yrs back, and rejoined the brimmed hat crowd. Since then I started doing some rehab on some old family hats. One of my Dads old western hats was found in the bottom of a box with a vcr and several boots on top when I cleared his house out.. its now cleaned, reshaped, and rehabbed into a nice "Justified-Raylan" tribute hat and its perfectly wearable again. Also have a nice late 40's/ early 50's Knox wide ribbon with a bow in the back from one Grandfather that actually fits... And I have a couple cousins back in Tennessee checking the attics to see if my other Grandfathers " Go to town " hats are still around ( they promised I can have them if they are found). I know one was a silver Champ Open Road style ( Granddad was a big LBJ fan) Really crossing my fingers on that one.

I kinda worked myself out of the western hat phase and into Fedoras soon after college. Ive got several nice Akubras that I rotate in and out of daily (Bogart, couple of Stylemasters, Dawson, Lightning Ridge, Cooballah, Cattleman) Ive settled on 2-1/2-2-7/8" brims being my favorites so the wider brims have been trimmed down a bit. Also have a few nice stetsons that see daylight regularly ( A really nice early 60's Whippett, A Stratoliner, a Gus with the front crease mulekick removed, and a mid 70's Open Road)

Ive really enjoyed learning a bit of hat history here, and picked up a bit of hat reshaping/repair/ rehab knowledge along the way. My friends on ebay have provided me quite a few interesting $15-$20 hats ( Some crispy and crushed and some are actually pretty nice.) Over the past couple years Ive found and refurb-ed several old Hat Blocks, and brim blocks.. Even made a couple different wooden hatblocks and tools ( Im cheap). Been interesting to see how well my woodworking and leathercrafting hobbies fit in well with the hat world.

Ive always been most interested in hats with a 2-1/2- 3" brim width with 4-1/2"- 5 1/2 tall crowns, but lately Ive picked up a handful of shorter nice Stetsons, Knoxs, Champs, Lees, and a couple Towncrafts....and I have to say that Im actually warming up to shorted brims and crowns a bit.

Being retired, I enjoy starting the day out at the local coffee shop with a different hat every day most of the time. Lots of the rural locals notice the hats and offer complements ( I DID get one " Just how many different hats do you HAVE?" question not long ago. lol)

Ill post up a few pictures before too long ( cant have ALL my fun on the first day here lol)

Welcome Rick… I Look forward to seeing you post some of your hats.

 

[Rmccamey]

Welcome to the Lounge, Rick, from a "counting the days until retirement " central Texas neighbor. It sounds like you have a good collection. We hope to see some pictures soon.


T. Jones Stetson 3X rebuild.

Howdy from Deep East Texas! Finally came out of the shadows here! Started dusting off my felt hats when I retired 4 1/2 yrs back, and rejoined the brimmed hat crowd. Since then I started doing some rehab on some old family hats. One of my Dads old western hats was found in the bottom of a box with a vcr and several boots on top when I cleared his house out.. its now cleaned, reshaped, and rehabbed into a nice "Justified-Raylan" tribute hat and its perfectly wearable again. Also have a nice late 40's/ early 50's Knox wide ribbon with a bow in the back from one Grandfather that actually fits... And I have a couple cousins back in Tennessee checking the attics to see if my other Grandfathers " Go to town " hats are still around ( they promised I can have them if they are found). I know one was a silver Champ Open Road style ( Granddad was a big LBJ fan) Really crossing my fingers on that one.

I kinda worked myself out of the western hat phase and into Fedoras soon after college. Ive got several nice Akubras that I rotate in and out of daily (Bogart, couple of Stylemasters, Dawson, Lightning Ridge, Cooballah, Cattleman) Ive settled on 2-1/2-2-7/8" brims being my favorites so the wider brims have been trimmed down a bit. Also have a few nice stetsons that see daylight regularly ( A really nice early 60's Whippett, A Stratoliner, a Gus with the front crease mulekick removed, and a mid 70's Open Road)

Ive really enjoyed learning a bit of hat history here, and picked up a bit of hat reshaping/repair/ rehab knowledge along the way. My friends on ebay have provided me quite a few interesting $15-$20 hats ( Some crispy and crushed and some are actually pretty nice.) Over the past couple years Ive found and refurb-ed several old Hat Blocks, and brim blocks.. Even made a couple different wooden hatblocks and tools ( Im cheap). Been interesting to see how well my woodworking and leathercrafting hobbies fit in well with the hat world.

Ive always been most interested in hats with a 2-1/2- 3" brim width with 4-1/2"- 5 1/2 tall crowns, but lately Ive picked up a handful of shorter nice Stetsons, Knoxs, Champs, Lees, and a couple Towncrafts....and I have to say that Im actually warming up to shorted brims and crowns a bit.

Being retired, I enjoy starting the day out at the local coffee shop with a different hat every day most of the time. Lots of the rural locals notice the hats and offer complements ( I DID get one " Just how many different hats do you HAVE?" question not long ago. lol)

Ill post up a few pictures before too long ( cant have ALL my fun on the first day here lol)

 

[rogueclimber]

I said hello in another thread, but maybe I should here too...

@VoodooSan has for years shown me the way through the knife collecting world and has recently been fanning the fire I've harbored for hats

As I wander this new path it is awesome to see such a supportive group willing to share so much knowledge. Of course the challenge is I suddenly want to sell everything I own and buy more hats!

Early in life I was an Army Infantry guy, then I spent a long time climbing mountains, and now I drive boats. Have lived all over but I am currently hoping to find a last place close to the ocean

Thanks in advance to everyone. As I said above the knowledge you share is awesome

 

[Blare]

I said hello in another thread, but maybe I should here too...

@VoodooSan has for years shown me the way through the knife collecting world and has recently been fanning the fire I've harbored for hats

As I wander this new path it is awesome to see such a supportive group willing to share so much knowledge. Of course the challenge is I suddenly want to sell everything I own and buy more hats!

Early in life I was an Army Infantry guy, then I spent a long time climbing mountains, and now I drive boats. Have lived all over but I am currently hoping to find a last place close to the ocean

Thanks in advance to everyone. As I said above the knowledge you share is awesome

View attachment 606932

Welcome.. that challenge is one we all face here daily. LOL

 

[belfastboy]

I said hello in another thread, but maybe I should here too...

@VoodooSan has for years shown me the way through the knife collecting world and has recently been fanning the fire I've harbored for hats

As I wander this new path it is awesome to see such a supportive group willing to share so much knowledge. Of course the challenge is I suddenly want to sell everything I own and buy more hats!

Early in life I was an Army Infantry guy, then I spent a long time climbing mountains, and now I drive boats. Have lived all over but I am currently hoping to find a last place close to the ocean

Thanks in advance to everyone. As I said above the knowledge you share is awesome

View attachment 606932

Welcome, I share your perspective...if there is a site with greater hat knowledge than here, I have yet to find it

 

[Rmccamey]

Welcome to the Lounge. One thing for certain, you need to be very diligent and try to protect yourself from HAS - Hat Acquisition Syndrome!

I said hello in another thread, but maybe I should here too...

@VoodooSan has for years shown me the way through the knife collecting world and has recently been fanning the fire I've harbored for hats

As I wander this new path it is awesome to see such a supportive group willing to share so much knowledge. Of course the challenge is I suddenly want to sell everything I own and buy more hats!

Early in life I was an Army Infantry guy, then I spent a long time climbing mountains, and now I drive boats. Have lived all over but I am currently hoping to find a last place close to the ocean

Thanks in advance to everyone. As I said above the knowledge you share is awesome

View attachment 606932

 

[VoodooSan]

Welcome,

I said hello in another thread, but maybe I should here too...

@VoodooSan has for years shown me the way through the knife collecting world and has recently been fanning the fire I've harbored for hats

As I wander this new path it is awesome to see such a supportive group willing to share so much knowledge. Of course the challenge is I suddenly want to sell everything I own and buy more hats!

Early in life I was an Army Infantry guy, then I spent a long time climbing mountains, and now I drive boats. Have lived all over but I am currently hoping to find a last place close to the ocean

Thanks in advance to everyone. As I said above the knowledge you share is awesome

View attachment 606932

Welcome, Rob. You're gonna love it here. You're also going to be astounded, and incredibly envious, nearly every single day.

 

[Rmccamey]

Be careful, Rob, Mark can get you into HAS before you know it!!!




Vintage Stetson Stratoliner

I said hello in another thread, but maybe I should here too...

@VoodooSan has for years shown me the way through the knife collecting world and has recently been fanning the fire I've harbored for hats

As I wander this new path it is awesome to see such a supportive group willing to share so much knowledge. Of course the challenge is I suddenly want to sell everything I own and buy more hats!

Early in life I was an Army Infantry guy, then I spent a long time climbing mountains, and now I drive boats. Have lived all over but I am currently hoping to find a last place close to the ocean

Thanks in advance to everyone. As I said above the knowledge you share is awesome

View attachment 606932

Welcome,

Welcome, Rob. You're gonna love it here. You're also going to be astounded, and incredibly envious, nearly every single day.

 

[VoodooSan]

Be careful, Rob, Mark can get you into HAS before you know it!!!




Vintage Stetson Stratoliner
View attachment 607013

I'll take that as a compliment, Randy! And niiiiiiiice Strat!

 

[rogueclimber]

Be careful, Rob, Mark can get you into HAS before you know it!!!

I do believe he HAS already