Ralph Lauren's idiotic PRE-DISTRESSED fedora

Me, I don't know why saying that you hate something is so threatening to others? If you hate it, you hate it. If you like it, so what? We are all allowed opinions, right? what's wrong with voicing an opinion?

I should just preface every post I make with a big fat "IMO".

Lauren.... this hat is great. I mean, I spend time cleaning my hats to get rid of any stains. Hell, maybe this means I can charge a premium on my "beater" hats.

One thing I noticed, when Ralph came out with his fake WWII military line a few years back I was amazed. I can go to any decent repro shop and pick up the same thing for less, without the goofball lettering or painted on words.

I agree with Marc: this hat is idiotic. More money than brains.

Ralph's genius is his ability to come up with products that can separate fools from their money.

Buy a hat. Wear it and earn all those stains.

It's the same as bars and restuarants buying antique memorabilia in a attempt to give the place character. That needs to be earned, not purchased.

HatsEnough said:

Me, I don't know why saying that you hate something is so threatening to others? If you hate it, you hate it. If you like it, so what? We are all allowed opinions, right? what's wrong with voicing an opinion?

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Threatening? I said mystified.

I am not mystified by Marc's original post about a hat, although I rather like the design.

I am mystified by the six pages following, including many tangent digs on an influential guy who has built an empire romanticizing the American past. Kinda the major shtick on the Fedora Lounge, right?

At least it seems so IMO.

I've been doing some rehab on older hats recently. Some of the work has to be done by Wichita Hat Works and other stuff I do myself.

Anyway, I was reshaping two of the earlier Stetson westerns that I bought, one in 1974 and the other in 1975. The second was a white ... not silver belly ... but white 4x that I shaped and rebuilt for a TV commercial project in the early '80s ... almost a decade before Lonesome Dove

I styled it after the hat Steve McQueen wore in Tom Horn and was very surprised when Lonesome Dove came on TV, cuz the hat Gus wore was identical, except for the band. I used a solid piece of leather.

But as part of the project, I concocted a stain from coffee and tea and it worked great. It took a lot of patience, because you had to apply it over and over to get the felt saturated.

When I was washing out the old felt the other night, I was amazed at how well the staining remained. Man, the old hat really looks like it's from a century ago ... though it was never "correct" for the Tom Horn era.

Now, I see, there are all sorts of places where you can pay someone to artificially age a hat for you ... especially western hats.

If that is what floats your stick, I guess go for it.

Although the hat seems pricey to me ... whatever

Sam

By the way ...Isn't he also the guy who makes the REALLY expensive dress shirts and then refuses to put a brest pocket on them?

I just remember that!

Dang, I hate it when they do that!

Oh year, I can just NOT BUY PRODUCTS I DON'T LIKE!

That is what makes America great.

Sam

Marc Chevalier said:

I should just preface every post I make with a big fat "IMO".

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lol Sad isn't it? It's an overpriced wool hat that is made to look like someone else wore it during a few good old fashion cattle drives. So basically what your paying for is a brand new hat, that imitates a beater hat, for the price of a decent custom made hat.

Now I'm one of the biggest free market guys around, but honestly their is "fashion", and then there is just being stupid. You want a "distressed wool hat", go by a cheap wool Scala hat throw it in some mud, maybe set it on fire for a few seconds and then put it on your head. You'll be saving yourself a few hundred bucks and can also claim your thrifty.

Why anyone would want a "pre distressed" hat, pre torn jeans, or hobo approved "faux-sweat included" shirts is beyond me.

I am mystified by the six pages following, including many tangent digs on an influential guy who has built an empire romanticizing the American past. Kinda the major shtick on the Fedora Lounge, right?

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I may like the New York Giants, but that doesn't mean I don't get upset when Eli throws an interception. There are plenty of things Ralph Lauren has done right, calling him up on something that he has done wrong isn't a bad thing. This overpriced monstrosity is one such mistake.