The Dumbest Comment I Ever Heard

Al Niente said:

Most of the time, people are very complimentary of hats. But, as I perform in the opera orchestra, we are required to wear tuxedos. Coming to work in a black coat and black Biltmore fedora, one of my collegues comments "You look like a Nazi!" I ignored it the first time, but the second time he said it, I responded by saying that I could not relate to his comment as my Mother, who is French, lived through the air raids, my daughter is a duel citizen of US and Germany, her great grandmother hid a family of Jews in her home, my French grandfather was a Partisan in the mountains fighting the Nazis......and many of my friends are Jewish and I even write Jewish music from time to time. Amazingly, he told me I looked like the Nazi in the first Indiana movie. Some people just don't get it.

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Indy and a Nazi in the same comment. :eusa_doh:
He gets it---wrong!

Hi Al welcome to the Fedora Lounge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like your fellow musician wants to have a solo career.

So last Sunday my wife and I were out walking into town, and were waiting to cross the street. I was in a grey db suit and fedora, and Cassie was wearing a vintage pattern red polka-dotted maternity dress with her hair in a snood. As the light turned and the cars went off, the window went down in the lead car and the driver yelled out "You look like a right..." (I'll stop there, though he didn't).

Every now and then when I'm in a suit someone'll yell at me from the road. I can almost never understand what they're saying, though it's often something along the lines of 'G'day mate'. Do people get ruder with their head sticking out a car window, or just bolder? It's not just suited, sometimes people will yell insults at me out of a car when I'm kilted (though sometimes they'll yell compliments, too, for both).

Nick D said:

It's not just suited, sometimes people will yell insults at me out of a car when I'm kilted (though sometimes they'll yell compliments, too, for both).

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A friend and I were once walking along the river in Inverness in the 80ies dressed in the then typical navy blue blazers and light colour pants. Two elderly local gentlemen were yelling at us: "why don´t you weare kilts?!"

Funny, two young Bavarians are asked to keep foreign traditions up alive lol lol lol

Dreispitz said:

A friend and I were once walking along the river in Inverness in the 80ies dressed in the then typical navy blue blazers and light colour pants. Two elderly local gentlemen were yelling at us: "why don´t you weare kilts?!"

Funny, two young Bavarians are asked to keep foreign traditions up alive lol lol lol

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I've had several old/elderly men look at my tan fedora, which I have been wearing frequently of late. On just a few of them I think the look in their eyes is a combination of a shrug and "Why would you wear that." No one has said anything openly though, but if one did ask me "Why do you wear it?" I think all I'd say back is, "Why did you stop?"

Basically, many people are not extraordinarily happy. When these types are in a situation(s) that they are not happy about, feeling trapped, using family and work as the two most common examples, they tend to vent in whatever inappropriate way that presents itself. The frequency and likelihood of this is also related to education and SES (socio-economic status).

Nick D said:

Do people get ruder with their head sticking out a car window, or just bolder?

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Yes, the fact that they are in a car and can drive away leads to the feeling of anonimity and safety. It's part of human nature to wish to have no consequences for ones actions. This is added to the percentage of people that are ill at ease to agitaed at those that are not like them.

Some people have compulsions that cannot be held in, then again maybe we could all simply yell back "Another Tourretts Syndrome sufferer! How awful for you!"

My apologies to anyone that does have it!

For the life of me I will never understand people that feel it is okay to make negative comments on a strangers clothes. What are we in junior high school?!

BigSleep, I agree with the notion that it's juvenile to reacte to clothing, but I also see it as a constant and unchanging facet of human nature.

I will grant that insults from strangers are never acceptable, but even the polite can be taken aback by someone not following the standard norms.

People predominantly reacte to the unusual with commentary and looks, whether polite or insulting. They are expected to have an opinion about it, whether it be music, art, architecture or fashion, and the choices of this forum qualify as unusual, i.e., not the usual choice for appearance these days.
Society does not see even the modern suit as anything but a business uniform, and not just any business, but big business, like finance, law and politics. The people of today don't see a tie and coat as dressing nice, they see it as dressing up, putting on a uniform, and if you don't practice the accepted trades for that uniform, it's odd to them to see you in one. When you go to a funeral or a wedding, you "have to" dress up, it's a rule, and people are discarding even these rules. They think comfort trumps appearance, ignorant that the two are compatible.

Now, taken to a higher degree, when you begin to incorporate the elements of vintage like a watch chain, a fedora, that sort of thing, you are really in left field. Lawyers and media newsmen and politicians and CEO's don't even wear that stuff with regularity. Can you find an example here and there? Sure, it's not common, not by a long shot. The only place society sees that stuff is in movies and film.
You aren't dressed up to them, you are wearing a costume.
Some may like it, some may think it's silly, some may be even be threatened by it in a weird way, but it's still a costume to them.

They didn't choose to see it that way. Society taught them that. Today's average person sees a three-piece suit with a trenchcoat and a fedora exactly as they see a frockcoat, celluloid collar and top hat - costume, to be taken as seriously as a giant fuzzy football mascot's outfit.

It changes a person at a time, but until the television and the movie screen teach them that regular people can and should dress with originality, class and comfort, you will be appreciated by a few and generally dismissed by most as an oddball. I've been dressing more or less in vintage since high school and I'm 40 now. 20+ years has shown me that it's worth it to be individual and dress as you wish, but to also remember that we are in Rome, but not doing as Romans do. The plebians and patricians alike will take note, for good or for ill.

The one thing that might change things? The economy. When poverty sweeps a culture, the people strive not to look poor, but professional, well-kept, with an air of self-respect and dignity. The age of pajamas and torn t-shirts, of jogging pants and hoodies at the mall, of the self-indulgent and lazy modern man, may be coming to an end.
It may also be simmering to a boil. I don't know, but it appears that the children of Gen X don't like looking like slobs, and are showing signs of disgust with casual wear as they enter the work force. This forum is one of the hold-outs they may turn to.
Keep the faith.

Wow. Guess I've had that on my mind for awhile.

Spatterdash said:

The one thing that might change things? The economy. When poverty sweeps a culture, the people strive not to look poor, but professional, well-kept, with an air of self-respect and dignity. The age of pajamas and torn t-shirts, of jogging pants and hoodies at the mall, of the self-indulgent and lazy modern man, may be coming to an end.
It may also be simmering to a boil. I don't know, but it appears that the children of Gen X don't like looking like slobs, and are showing signs of disgust with casual wear as they enter the work force. This forum is one of the hold-outs they may turn to.
Keep the faith.

Wow. Guess I've had that on my mind for awhile.

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I think the economy will have an effect, but not necessarily the one you expect. The cheapest pseudo-fedora lounge clothing I've seen is the Merona line at Target and that was $20+ for a single polyblend vest, possibly more if you got cotton (which didnt look as good imho). On top of that it's just plain hard to find non-jeans that actually fit, I own one or two pairs of khakis that "fit" me and they are so horribly baggy that it looks like I should be wearing suspenders attached to a hoola hoop rather and a red tennis ball over my nose.

When it comes down to it dressing up just isn't economically practical for anyone below a certain age and wage, and that line is decidedly above the average state and community college student. Even getting a few generic three button polos costs as much as a semester's books for me, and I'm fortunate to have parental help with that.

What I DO see, in both the sense of expecting and actually seeing happen, is a slowly spreading backlash against the pants-around-knees style motivated by a line of thought a friend of mine best summed up as "the more visible yours is, the more likely you are to be one". At least down here in florida I'm seeing a lot more people wearing what I guess you could call respectable-casual: dark jeans that aren't overly baggy, polos that aren't excessively long and with the collar down, and actually wearing their pants where they belong rather than falling off.

I doubt a full resurgence of the golden era will happen though, at least not until it's financially reasonable to buy a working wardrobe and physical expectations of people drop to the point where they don't need to worry about whether their clothes will stand up to trucking a 60+ pound backpack a few miles back and forth across campus every day of the week.

So, I don't have television, listen to classic rock radio stations when I do at all, and never look up news on the internet. I didn't realize that yesterday was Michael Jackson's memorial service, and wore my Fedora. A friend took one look at me and said "oh, is this because of Michael Jackson?" :eusa_doh: I just looked at her and said "That's a disgrace to this hat. They've been around a lot longer than that."


why, oh why.:eusa_doh:

John in Covina said:

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Yes, the fact that they are in a car and can drive away leads to the feeling of anonimity and safety. It's part of human nature to wish to have no consequences for ones actions. This is added to the percentage of people that are ill at ease to agitaed at those that are not like them.

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When I read Nick's post, I said to myself, "Quick - let me get an explanation in, before John does!"

Grrr. lol

So I'm wearing my black Fed IV (tear drop bash and tight pinch), black leather jacket, dress pants and reading my work emails on my BlackBerry while I'm waiting to get a hair cut. Guy looks at me and says "How come you're doing the Amish look?" Amish? With a BlackBerry? Ugh.

FurFeltFedora said:

So I'm wearing my black Fed IV (tear drop bash and tight pinch), black leather jacket, dress pants and reading my work emails on my BlackBerry while I'm waiting to get a hair cut. Guy looks at me and says "How come you're doing the Amish look?" Amish? With a BlackBerry? Ugh.

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Maybe he meant Reformed Amish.

Hey, he meant the Amish look! Really, now . . .

FurFeltFedora said:

So I'm wearing my black Fed IV (tear drop bash and tight pinch), black leather jacket, dress pants and reading my work emails on my BlackBerry while I'm waiting to get a hair cut. Guy looks at me and says "How come you're doing the Amish look?" Amish? With a BlackBerry? Ugh.

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Don't feel bad. I lived in PA, moved, and didn't have tv, and occasionally wore a skirt....they asked if I was amish....while I was standing there in jeans and a T- shirt:eusa_doh:

People just don't get it...

FurFeltFedora said:

So I'm wearing my black Fed IV (tear drop bash and tight pinch), black leather jacket, dress pants and reading my work emails on my BlackBerry while I'm waiting to get a hair cut. Guy looks at me and says "How come you're doing the Amish look?" Amish? With a BlackBerry? Ugh.

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Did you ask him why he was dressed like everyone else? Or, if you really wanted to mess with him you should have said "How come you're doing the "masses" look? Don't you get bored copying everyone else?"

Why does does Indy follow me around everywhere?

A few days ago I was due to be in court (for work experience, not to be tried) so I wore a plain blue suit with a grey fedora which I took off once in the building. On the way there a passing driver rolled down his window and shouted what I believe to be Indy. While I am aware that in Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones does briefly wear a grey fedora and a blue suit I don't see how this comment stands as the combination is in no way his trademarked look and he only wears it for a total of one or two minutes between two scenes.

Then again, the Indy comment seems to be following me around. First when I wore a grey overcoat and grey fedora, then a beige suit and grey fedora, then a Hawaiian shirt and grey fedora and now a blue suit and grey fedora. Why always when I wear a tapered grey fedora? Strangely I never get it when I wear my brown leather jacket, when it would seem more logical.

I never really get negative comments when I wear a fedora and suit. However, where I live in Brooklyn I normally just see people staring at me. I've gotten compliments from people, one woman at my school in Manhattan said I looked very "Revolutionary Road" when I was wearing my gray-pinstripe double breasted suit and gray fedora. Some other student once asked me how I do it, meaning wear a suit every week to which I replied something like "it's easy". Even when I was dressed modern, a small brimmed fedora, sport jacket, tie, jeans and bucks, people stared at me. I noticed most of these people look like everyone else, t-shirt, jeans, flip-flops/sneakers. I noticed when I'm Manhattan I don't really get stared at when I'm in a suit and hat, but in Brooklyn that's another story.

MJ and Facebook

I hear you on the Jacko story Caity Lynn!

While I do strangely get the occasional comment about my green flatcap (apparently your not allowed to wear them if your under 60) I was horrified to get a "Hey, Michael Jackson!" this week while wearing my newly modified black fedora for the first time. I was so surprised that all I could manage was a weak "hey..." in response. The worst part was that the guy was wearing a beanie and a hoodie :eusa_doh:



I also posted this pic of the same hat on my facebook icon and have not stopped getting rude comments! Mainly in jest, but a week later I'm still getting them. I'm tempted to post a few of my more obscure hats in the future just on principle!

Maybe as FFF found black hats just attract that sort of derision?