New Member to the Hat Forum

S.Fox said:

Hi folks, just thought I'd say hi and upload a quick pic. I'm Steve, an ex croupier who now uses those skills for good as a professional magician. I also have a hat addiction and I am close to hitting the 30 hat mark, I only actually wear about 6 of them out these days I'm not crazy.

For those wondering why I'm inside in my Christys Panama, I had to wait for my partner to get ready so we could go out and enjoy the sun. I couldnt complain as she's normally waiting for me to choose a hat

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Gobi said:

Hi, I'm an old member rejoining. My last post from my old account was from 2015. I couldn't remember my account info so I started a new one. I think I quit coming here when the site was changed over to a new server and it wouldn't work right on my phone so I gave up.
I'm 35. Long time felt hat lover. I mostly enjoy larger brim hats. You guys got me hooked on Akubra hats years ago so I've accumulated quite a few but I also have a lot of older stetson and resistol hats. I wear my hats pretty hard and they get beat up so I tend to wear a beater hat daily and wear the nicer ones or smaller brimmed hats when I want to look nice.
I'm happy to be back.

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MichaelRhB said:

I didn't see this thread before my introduction thread I made.

I'm Michael. Glad to be here. Nice place you have.

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deadlyhandsome said:

Welcome! We have some German hat experts here who could give graduate level courses. Word of advice: stay away from the leather jacket crowd in the outerwear forums.

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MichaelRhB said:

I'm Michael. I wanted to introduce myself but did not find a New Member's forum so I am just posting here in the hat section.

I like German hunting attire and Alpen Trachten clothing and wear a lot of it in the cooler months of the year. Most is from Germany or Austria, but I do buy from some American importers from those countries as well.

German hiking boots and Air Force issue coats & jackets is another obsession of mine. So much clothing, so little money!

I have few proper hats or fedoras, but I do have a couple of German Alpen hats and one proper grey fedora by Jaxon. Not high-end, but it looks good.

Thanks for having me.

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Retread said:

I am learning that hats matter.
I have been interested in hats for decades, but have only wet my toes. Hats used to be very different, required to be really dressed, but still not ordinary. Now they are not not nearly as mandatory, so they are more extra ordinary.
I like simple special things. I have an Opinel pocket knife that can shave a layer from a sheet of paper.
I also love my Leatherman.
It isn't perfect for anything.
What is perfect about it is that it is "pretty good" at enough things that it I feel unprepared for the day without it.
I also like fountain pens.
Because...
Because they take work.
Because they are extra ordinary.

I have two real hats currently; depending on your definition of real.
One is mostly utilitarian, a Henschel Safari hat. I bought it this spring because I started shaving my scalp. It serves my need for sun and bug defense and has just a bit of style.

I wanted a more traditional fedora. I confess to liking "Indiana" hats but I would never wear a hat branded as such no matter the quality.
Today 08/20/2020 I received a black wool felt St Martin Short brim safari hat. To me it looks like a fedora.

I am struggling to figure out what exactly I like.
I know I despise some things people love. Some things I think I like at first seem less appealing after turning them over in my mind.
"Good wine is any wine you like to drink."
If I get a good enough hat, brush up on my German, get a bit more into Russian, and keep after Italian, I might be able to pull of the international man of mystery image...
...Nah. Spies are tall and handsome.
I want to avoid buyer's remorse.
I also want to avoid paying for a hat twice. I once bought a set of job interview clothes.
I paid for them twice; first at the register, then later when my wife saw how much I paid.

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Retread said:

...I am struggling to figure out what exactly I like...

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Retread said:

Wife: "You go shop, you see what you like, you pay for it, you leave. If you need to, you try it on. Simple."

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Boomerang said:

I heartily endorse Brent's advice about looking at lots of pictures of hats, and how they sit on a person's head. My tastes have changed too, and time spent on this site probably has something to do with that. I've found that I'm drawn to, and most comfortable in, hats that I wasn't even considering two years ago.

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