The Hat Confessional Thread

[Michaelshane]

Dinner42......welcome...and no you will not be cured..We are enablers.







My first confession: I don't know what LOL is....?

 

[JPMcAdara]

Man, I love this thread. It has really been great to hear honest answers from people. I do not think that any comment should be taken personally as all opinions are personal and they really should not offend. Seriously...........we wear classic fedoras, we should have pretty thick skin as it is, right? I am glad to see that some people are able to step up to the plate and admit what they like and do not like.

On a side note, I said I would not wear a straw, and I tried one today..........if you can believe it, I actually liked the fact that I did not sweat like a pig!! I may be a convert.

Again, great thread!!

JP

 

[jpbales]

my confessions

I started reading this thread, but was too lazy to read it all the way through- but here goes

my fiancee hates my hats, but I just don't understand it! How can someone not like the way a man looks in a well-suited hat?

Even though my fiancee hates my hats, I wear them anyway.

I don't want to collect hats, but if an interesting vintage comes my way, I may hold on to it.

I get hats to wear them, not leave them sitting at home. If it's not my size, or if I'm too afraid to wear it, then I'm not going to keep it.

I think that there's a hat for every occasion.

I obey some of the hat etiquette, such as removing your hat indoors- but that's about it. I leave it on if taking it off is too much of an inconvenience.

I handle some of my hats by the pinch, if they seem sturdy enough.

A lot of customs look really nice, or seem like a feat of craftsmanship/artesanship on the part of the makers, but it's hard to imagine anyone wearing them on a normal basis.

I store my hats with the brim down, mostly because of the long oval issue. If I store regular oval hats with the brim up, the crown gets rounder plus the brim gets wavy again. I usually set the brim off the edge of the sitting surface. If I'm out, I'll store it crown down.

If you can't handle someone touching your hat, then you've invested too much money in a hat that you have to baby. Your regularly worn hats should be able to take some regular wear!

I don't own any vintage clothing apart from three hats.

It bothers me when people hoard vintage hats. If you have more than you can wear, then give that hat a chance to be owned by someone who will wear it.

It bothers me when people quote the old WIVES TALE that men who wear hats go bald. That's just absurd!!! Do some research or perform a scientific experiment- then you can tell me that hats make people go bald. Don't be ignorant.

I spend WAAAAAYYY too much time on the fedora lounge!!

 

[jpbales]

haha LOL is text language for "laughing out loud"

Dinner42......welcome...and no you will not be cured..We are enablers.







My first confession: I don't know what LOL is....?

 

[jpbales]

I can see why most people are afraid to try straws- they've just been associated with "old man hats" too much. I, honestly, love straws though (and I'm only 20) and I think they don't make me look like an old man. My fiancee thinks that even wearing a straw hat will make me hot in the summer, but it's the other way around- It keeps the sun off my head and keeps me cooler!! Example: Today we went to one of her friend's high school graduation, and while everyone was fanning off from the heat, the only part of me that was hot was my exposed neck. She tried to talk me out of bringing the hat, but I'm SOOOO glad I did!

Man, I love this thread. It has really been great to hear honest answers from people. I do not think that any comment should be taken personally as all opinions are personal and they really should not offend. Seriously...........we wear classic fedoras, we should have pretty thick skin as it is, right? I am glad to see that some people are able to step up to the plate and admit what they like and do not like.

On a side note, I said I would not wear a straw, and I tried one today..........if you can believe it, I actually liked the fact that I did not sweat like a pig!! I may be a convert.

Again, great thread!!

JP

 

[Michaelshane]

I hoard vintage hats and I wear them all....Sometimes three or four a day.Not at the same time.

I only own vintage hats,I don't have any newer than the sixty's.

I would rather leave my house without my pants than without my hat.

I don't wear ball caps,I don't consider them to be real hats,just like sneakers aren't real shoes.I don't wear those either.

 

[Chinaski]

I post "nice hat" to someone only if I really mean it. If I don't like your hat I won't post anything at all.

I happily wear a baseball cap often, but only when riding my motorcycle. I keep it in the side bag of my BMW for use when the helmet comes off - takes care of "helmet head."

I have no inclination towards fedoras with suits, however, I enjoy the Loungers that can put the two together with style. More often than not, I am wearing an OR style with jeans, T-shirt and some type of Pendleton or chamois type button up shirt. Flip-flops are heartily endorsed.

My favorite hat is a circa 2007 Stetson buffalo felt western hat in chocolate brown with an overwelt. I got it in Sedona, AZ, and wearing it puts me immediately in relax mode. I like cowboy hats.

My guess is my neighbors think I'm a bit off, what with all the hats I wear about the 'hood. Ivy caps (Jonathon Richards from Byrnie Utz, Kangols,) bucket hats, panamas, fedoras, cowboys, etc. I'm at that point in life where, aside from work, I do what pleases ME.

I brought back "coolie rice-paddy" hats from Thailand and also from Bali. I carried them onboard for the multi-hour flight home.

When I was around 12 years old, I was so enamored of a newsboy cap owned by an older girl that she ended up giving me the cap. A couple years later, on a cold winter's night, she fell asleep in her car with the engine running, and did not wake up due to carbon monoxide poisoning. I still have the hat, and it always reminds me of her.

 

[Rule17]

What sort of hats do you wear? I have a long face too (and I'm also thin) but I don't like stingies. I'm fine going with medium brims rather than wide ones, but I have a problem with low crowns as my head is long and they don't sit well at all in wind.

I'm with you on the brims, although I do like my Alton Stetson. When it comes to sun, though, I'm not interested in a thin brim.

Getting the crown size right is hard for me but because me head is narrow it's more about the width. The big Akubra fedoras like the CEO are too wide and that's what I don't like seeing on people -- when the crown is wider than the face.

I'm picking up a new fedora and will doubtless bung up a picture here

 

[troy]

My wife doesn't know how many hats I've purchased in the last year.

What she doesn't know (and I'm ONLY talking about hat purchases here), won't get you poisoned in your sleep!

 

[troy]

Anyone else keep a feather in their hat, or am I the only one?

If i get a vintage hat with no feather, I don't go out of my way to replace it, but the hats I get with feathers... the feather stays. I feel most folks here throw them in the garbage, but not me. I like the feather just fine. I like the bit of color it adds, and makes the hat "pop".

I can email my address to anyone throwing their feathers in the trash if you'd like to recycle!

 

[billyspew]

haha LOL is text language for "laughing out loud"

It certainly is "Laughing Out Loud", however it existed before text messaging. It has been used, as many of the other abbreviations on the internet via mediums such as usenet, MUDs and IRC for many years... (text messaging has only been around since the early-mid nineties).

 

[CRH]

I wish I still had my vintage fedoras that I bought for cheap and wore in the '80s. Alas those cheap old hats hats were not well cared for and were either lost or died - maybe killed . I had little consideration for acquiring things in those days.

I'm not sure how to pronounce 'daizawaguy' - "Die - zawah' - guy"?

Everyone looks good in a Fedora. Most folks think they don't. I look good in any hat or cap. At least that's what my wife tells me and I trust her on this .

I have a friend with a wood shop. He makes toy trucks and trains and the like. He doesn't know it yet but he's going to learn very quickly how to make a hat block and flange(s) .

All you guys that haven't done so already should make a concerted effort to wear out (like shoes) at least one brimmed hat before you are done.

 

[armod]

I'll wear a dinner suit with black tie when I know full well that the intended meaning of semi-formal was closer to casual evening/dinner and pretend to have assumed they meant semi-formal.
_________________

and I once walked up to a guy i just met (he was being arrogant and sleazy to my friends all night and we were finally introduced) straightened his collar and tucked into his jacket's lapels and said to him "it's winter. collars hibernate untill next spring"

he had a striped dress shirt (turn down collar)
with a black shawl lapel jacket
and he wore it in this fashion

I didn't want to be mean but his ego needed bruising and I was given a free drink as a thankyou from each of the bar staff, turned out he was a jerk to them as well.
__________________

my only hat confession is that I removed the headrest in my car so that I can wear it while I drive without the brim getting pressed against it

 

[gtdean48]

I don't always take my hat off when I should.
I don't really get stingy brim hats.
I don't really get very wide ribbon banded hats.
I don't & won't own any hat that resembles an Indiana Jones lid.
I think some custom hats are like some custom motorcycles = they are great to look at but nobody would really actual use them.

 

[elvisroe]

little shops

Getting the crown size right is hard for me but because me head is narrow it's more about the width. The big Akubra fedoras like the CEO are too wide and that's what I don't like seeing on people -- when the crown is wider than the face.

I hear you on that one! I'm still having a trouble beating my Fed iv into line, but I'm getting there!

My biggest weakness is small outfitters in country towns I pass through. If I don't get a chance to explore it drives me mad wondering what hidden treasure tucked away on a high shelf that I may have missed. Mind you I rarely find anything and with a size 60 head most ye olde hats are too small. Still, it makes it all the more rewarding when something does materialize.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

My wife doesn't know how many hats I've purchased in the last year.

Do we need a confession thread dedicated solely to this topic?

We already have one: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=39933&highlight=Whipped



.

 

[Feraud]

If i get a vintage hat with no feather, I don't go out of my way to replace it, but the hats I get with feathers... the feather stays. I feel most folks here throw them in the garbage, but not me. I like the feather just fine. I like the bit of color it adds, and makes the hat "pop".

I do the same exact thing.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I once paid over $400 for a hat on eBay that remains my favorite hat of all time.

Ah, yes: the "Oviatt's" silver beaver fedora. http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=28905&highlight=Oviatt


.

 

[Inusuit]

If you can't handle someone touching your hat, then you've invested too much money in a hat that you have to baby. Your regularly worn hats should be able to take some regular wear! QUOTE]

To me, these are two different issues. I don't like it when someone handles anything of mine without asking first. It's not about babying my hat, it's about another person being rude and I won't tolerate it. I don't baby any of my hats, including the two custom hats I own. I buy hats to wear them and I do. That said, I won't wear my newer custom or a pristine vintage if I am doing hard work in dirty conditions. (My wife has an endless supply of good ideas that require heavy lifting on my part.) I have a beater Stetson that I wear in those conditions. Even the beater, please ask before you pick it up. Do not snatch it from my head, or put it on to see if it fits you.

 

[riccardo]

Very serious matter.

This year, for the first time I've forgotten what's the hat straw day.
I'm just waiting for the 15th june.
Damned, I'm 15 days later!!!


Best regards.
Riccardo.