Which color for Donegal Irish Walking Hat?

Abraham · Oct 17, 2019

Hello, I'm thinking about a new Donegal Irish Walking Hat to help me get through this winter. I have narrowed it down to either "Gray Salt & Pepper" (first photo) or "Moss Green Salt & Pepper."

Is one color the more traditional of the two? Does one typically look better on a dark complected Caucasian? I cannot make a decision without seeing them in person and that's pretty much impossible. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Edward · Oct 17, 2019

THese aren't seen as often now as they were, but for a generation of men who would have been notl ong retired when I was a young child in the seventies, these were as common in rural Northern Ireland (as well as RoI and parts of Scotland) as a flat cap. My memory is of seeing far more of them in various tweeds and other fabrics in earth-tones, though I believe that was more reflective of the rest of the wardrobe than anything else. Personally if I was to buy one of these now, I'd but whichever best toned with the wardrobe with which I wanted to wear it.

milandro · Oct 17, 2019

I tend to think that brown-greenish colors are nicer with tweeds than grey. I own a donegal tweed coat and it looks quite different from yours. It’s a herringbone weave to start with

I guess that you could say that I am a Caucasian with a Dark Complexion and I think this looks nice on me.
My color looks somewhat like this

Abraham · Oct 17, 2019

Edward said:
THese aren't seen as often now as they were, but for a generation of men who would have been notl ong retired when I was a young child in the seventies, these were as common in rural Northern Ireland (as well as RoI and parts of Scotland) as a flat cap. My memory is of seeing far more of them in various tweeds and other fabrics in earth-tones, though I believe that was more reflective of the rest of the wardrobe than anything else. Personally if I was to buy one of these now, I'd but whichever best toned with the wardrobe with which I wanted to wear it.

Interesting... I think originally, they were fisherman's hats...

Edward · Oct 17, 2019

Abraham said:
Interesting... I think originally, they were fisherman's hats...

Plausibly, I'm not sure. What always sticks in my head was being a small child and my grandmother telling us about how the various Aran knit patterns came from different families, and how often when fishermen were lost at sea the bodies would eventually be identified by their sweater patterns. I guess by the point the hats would have washed away...

The brim on those certainly looks small enough that, assuming a neat fit, it could avoid being blown off in a stiff Atlantic wind!

Edward · Oct 17, 2019

milandro said:
I tend to think that brown-greenish colors are nicer with tweeds than grey.

Depends on the tweed, of course - the black/grey variant of Donegal goes back at leasst to the late 20s.

milandro · Oct 17, 2019

the operative word being “ I tend to think...”, other may think something else......

Rmccamey · Oct 17, 2019

I might be the odd man out, but I have a dozen Hanna and Magee flat caps in various colors and patterns (green, blue, brown, gray, tan, etc. in solid, herringbone, salt & pepper patterns) and I wear a solid black most of the time. It's warm and goes with any color clothes.

milandro · Oct 18, 2019

But it wouldn’t be a Donegal tweed hat , which Abraham is asking about.

Doctor Jones · Oct 18, 2019

I wear hats in this style daily.

They're complicated. There are several names and several styles and various makers and sellers don't use the names consistently.

Names you will see include
Bucket
Elgin
Grouse
Trilby
Eske
Highgrove
Fisherman's
Walking

In Scotland they're often made of Harris Tweed, in Ireland Donegal Tweed.

You'll usually see them in herringbone, check, houndstooth, and fleck.

Generally the colours tend to be on the light-to-mid range, the same you'll see for tweed jackets. Neither the hats nor the jackets are often seen in very dark tweeds. Colours are usually greys or browns or soft muted greens or blues ("Lovat green" and "Lovat blue" as they're called in Scotland.)

I don't think it really makes any difference, because the traditional tweed colours are in a fairly narrow range both of hue and darkness.

I ran into this when putting together the outfit worn by Dr Jones Senior; as you can see his tweed hat is quite dark. I couldn't find that tweed in my size (61) so I had to go the bespoke route.

johnnycanuck · Oct 18, 2019

Abraham said:
Hello, I'm thinking about a new Donegal Irish Walking Hat to help me get through this winter. I have narrowed it down to either "Gray Salt & Pepper" (first photo) or "Moss Green Salt & Pepper."

Is one color the more traditional of the two? Does one typically look better on a dark complected Caucasian? I cannot make a decision without seeing them in person and that's pretty much impossible. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

I would think your choice depends on what colour of jacket you have/what your general clothing colours are. Green is more earth tones and grey is more blacks and greys. That being said green does go with greys. I would personally go with the green. A very versatile colour
Johnny

Blackthorn · Oct 18, 2019

I have two of them and honestly, they aren't very warm. A quilted newsboy cap is much warmer during cold weather.

Michael A · Oct 18, 2019

I think I have two or three of these, though they don't get worn often. One is an ordinary grey herringbone and then there is this one

IMG_7419 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
A mix of green, orange and a sort of taupe

IMG_7423 by Michael A2012, on Flickr

IMG_7418 by Michael A2012, on Flickr
Handwoven Donegal made for Norm Thompson back in the 70s, or thereabouts.

Michael

Abraham · Oct 19, 2019

Doctor Jones said:
I wear hats in this style daily.

They're complicated. There are several names and several styles and various makers and sellers don't use the names consistently.

Names you will see include
Bucket
Elgin
Grouse
Trilby
Eske
Highgrove
Fisherman's
Walking

In Scotland they're often made of Harris Tweed, in Ireland Donegal Tweed.

You'll usually see them in herringbone, check, houndstooth, and fleck.

Generally the colours tend to be on the light-to-mid range, the same you'll see for tweed jackets. Neither the hats nor the jackets are often seen in very dark tweeds. Colours are usually greys or browns or soft muted greens or blues ("Lovat green" and "Lovat blue" as they're called in Scotland.)

I don't think it really makes any difference, because the traditional tweed colours are in a fairly narrow range both of hue and darkness.

I ran into this when putting together the outfit worn by Dr Jones Senior; as you can see his tweed hat is quite dark. I couldn't find that tweed in my size (61) so I had to go the bespoke route.

Abraham · Oct 19, 2019

Beware... An Irish Walking Hat is not an Irish Eske Hat. The Irish Walking Hat is a fairy stiff hat that should not be rolled up -- either for storage or to transport. The Eske is designed just for that, plus it has a narrower brim than the Walking Hat.

Sean Connery in your photo is wearing an Eske and not a Walking Hat.

Blackthorn · Oct 19, 2019

Abraham said:
Beware... An Irish Walking Hat is not an Irish Eske Hat. The Irish Walking Hat is a fairy stiff hat that should not be rolled up -- either for storage or to transport. The Eske is designed just for that, plus it has a narrower brim than the Walking Hat.

Sean Connery in your photo is wearing an Eske and not a Walking Hat.

Very interesting, Abraham, I didn't know that. Now I'm going to have to research the Eske hats...

M Hatman · Oct 19, 2019

Doctor Jones said:
I wear hats in this style daily.

They're complicated. There are several names and several styles and various makers and sellers don't use the names consistently.

Names you will see include
Bucket
Elgin
Grouse
Trilby
Eske
Highgrove
Fisherman's
Walking

In Scotland they're often made of Harris Tweed, in Ireland Donegal Tweed.

You'll usually see them in herringbone, check, houndstooth, and fleck.

Generally the colours tend to be on the light-to-mid range, the same you'll see for tweed jackets. Neither the hats nor the jackets are often seen in very dark tweeds. Colours are usually greys or browns or soft muted greens or blues ("Lovat green" and "Lovat blue" as they're called in Scotland.)

I don't think it really makes any difference, because the traditional tweed colours are in a fairly narrow range both of hue and darkness.

I ran into this when putting together the outfit worn by Dr Jones Senior; as you can see his tweed hat is quite dark. I couldn't find that tweed in my size (61) so I had to go the bespoke route.

Nice information!!! Seniors hat must be custom....note the matching bowtie.......to cool....with the bowtie...I WOULD wear it!!

M

Abraham · Oct 20, 2019

Blackthorn said:
Very interesting, Abraham, I didn't know that. Now I'm going to have to research the Eske hats...

Here is the email I received from Hanna Hats:

"Dear Abraham;

I hope you are well. Thank you for your query. I don’t recommend to put a Walking hat in a knapsack, it would ruin the shape of it.

If you are looking for a hat that can be folded, please have a look at our Eske hat:

https://hannahats.com/products/plain-tweed-eske-hat

If I can help with anything else please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Agnes Bujdoso"

Which color for Donegal Irish Walking Hat?

One of the Regulars

Attachments

A-List Customer

One of the Regulars

A-List Customer

I'll Lock Up

A-List Customer

Familiar Face

My Mail is Forwarded Here

I'll Lock Up

I'll Lock Up

One of the Regulars

One of the Regulars

Attachments

I'll Lock Up

I'll Lock Up

One of the Regulars

Similar threads

Log in

Forum statistics