Bespoke: The Mens' Bowler Hat Revisited

[hatflick1]

Interesting site.
http://harlembespoke.blogspot.com/2011/04/bespoke-mens-bowler-hat-revisited.html

 

[bostonbrewer]

Thanks for the link. I myself have never run into someone wearing a derby. It's a pity since it's such a nice hat. I'm hoping for the comeback.

 

[dhermann1]

This is great! I work right in this neighborhood, and there are fascinating things going on un Harlem these days. I went to a Battle of the Bands at the old Alhambra Ballroom last week, part of the Harlem Jazz Shrines festival. Very cool.
This may inspire me to wear my derby to work some day. There's a guy in my Bronx neighborhood who sells jewelry on the streets of Greenwich Village, who wears a really nice Stetson bowler with his 2 foot lon dreads. Also a very cool look.
Yeah, bowler hat.

 

[Wolfwood]

I was rather surprised to see Jason Momoa (the star of the upcoming Conan the Barbarian movie) wearing a bowler/derby during one of this interview rounds:

 

[hatophile]

Wow, he's a big dude! Good one to play Conan. Bet nobody messes with his hat!

 

[bowlerman]

Wow, he's a big dude! Good one to play Conan. Bet nobody messes with his hat!

That's what I'm talkin' about.

 

[Wolfwood]

Another shot of Momoa in a different setting - seems that he's actually wearing that hat (and it was not just a one time thing):

 

[mercuryfelt76]

Thanks for the link. I myself have never run into someone wearing a derby. It's a pity since it's such a nice hat. I'm hoping for the comeback.

I have seen the odd bowler here and there but it's always someone wearing it with modern (usually steam punk, emo or goth) clothes. Even though London is where the bowler was invented I think I'm the only person here who wears one... and boy do I get some funny looks and even nasty comments. I should have been born 100 years earlier!

 

[feltfan]

I was in London a couple of years ago and saw quite a few bowlers in a few days.
As I recall, a few sellers at the Borough Market wore them.
I believe I saw them on people in the antiques trade and other 20-something retailers, too.
Certainly a few on the heads of people in the tourism business.

Saw a few Irvins too. More than I've ever seen here in the SF Bay Area.

 

[mercuryfelt76]

Feltfan: when you say a few in the tourist industry you probably saw me - I'm a tour guide. I also see the wardens at Oxford University wearing them. It's nice to know you saw a few in London too, I'm always looking but I don't see many. Thanks for reassuring me I'm not the only one

 

[Godfrey]

... and boy do I get some funny looks and even nasty comments.

Nasty comments? Why would the bowler get any more attention than a fedora or the like?

 

[mercuryfelt76]

Nasty comments? Why would the bowler get any more attention than a fedora or the like?

Because the bowler has automatic associations with wealthy bankers and the ruling classes. However I get a lot of comments whenever I'm wearing any of my hats. I always wear a 3 piece suit and bow tie with my hats and I do attract a lot of attention anyway. But I do get complements too, I just don't understand people's need to make their opinion known.

The bowler, being that it's famously a London tradition it will always be seen as over dressing unless you have a dress code or reason to comply with. I see a lot of fedoras/trilbys in London but the bowler is just too cliche here that it seems to take some nerve to pull it off. I don't care about public opinion, I think the bowler has an elegant brim curl and a neat uncreased crown which gives it a certain tidy look which sets it apart from other hats. The bowler is generally regarded around the world as a icon in classic English style. Although many other countries have worn the bowler it is still regarded as an English stereotype by most people these days. I guess the English don't like it when you conform to stereotypes. I think it's judged as a weird patriotic fashion statement. I think it looks dapper and I get the impression ladies appreciate it more than men.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

Dear mercuryfelt76, Living in London you have a great advantage that would turn many green with envy who wished to own a real bowler, that being able to be properly fitted for one at the worlds oldest hat shop that made the first one, that being non other than James Lock & Co. 6 St. James Street. S.W. 1. When I was in London my first visit was to this venerable firm founded in 1676. Being fitted was a fascinating experience. They put a device on your head that punches the outline of your head on a small card. This fascinating instrument undoubtedly was made sometime in the late 19th century. Armed with the information provided on the punch card, they then steam your hat to the proper shape whilst one waits, which only takes about 15 minutes, and affords one a chance to muse the purchase of another of their fine selection of hats. They then provide you with a nice sturdy hatbox to carry and store your hat in when not being worn. As you most likely know, the proper name for the hat is a “Coke,” as Lock made the first one for a Lord Coke, and that is how they refer to and list it. I am proud to tell others “I have a Coke that is the real thing.” Sorry about the cola pun but I never miss the chance for getting one in. Since you are such a natty dresser, do you now, or have you ever considered wearing starch collars? They do take a little getting used to, however they really raise the bar and add a finishing refinement to ones sartorial statement.

 

[mercuryfelt76]

Thank you Auld Edwardian, I've been to Lock's many times, they know me in there. They ironed my top hat and stretched my homburgs, no charge. Yes they invented the bowler and it was for protecting the head from tree branches when horse riding... they still display the original bowler hat in the shop! The device they put on your head is called a conformateur and whenever a celebrity went to the shop they used the conformateur and got them to sign the paper. They framed a few of them on the wall in the shop and they have the signatures of Winston Churchill, Diana, Charlie Chaplin, Charles deGaul, Evelyn Waugh, Oscar Wilde, Laurence Olivier and others. They also have the original paperwork when measuring the head of Lord Nelson and the hat worn by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo!!
I have bought a few hats in there but never a bowler, I should really but it's expensive and I will one day. Next time I'm there I'll take some pictures and post them here.

No I've never worn a starch collar but I'm looking for some, plus you need the shirts too. As soon as I find some I'll take pictures and post them on the Lounge.

 

[hatflick1]

Two Great Bowler Shots

This is an interesting article, although, ahem, old hat, to most of us.
The photo of the pile of sale bowlers t Portobello Market is a favorite. I wish it were larger.
http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Bowler-hat

 

[Auld Edwardian]

Dear mercuryfelt76, Yes you are indeed correct that the first Coke was made for protection from tree branches whilst riding, being very stiff, and they have the added advantage of holding up in the rain, not that I would deliberately allow my Coke to be rained on mind you. Also, you can easily get starch collars in “The Land of Hope and Glory” from another venerable old firm founded in 1894 called Luke Eyres, which is located in Cambridgeshire. Their web address http://www.luke-eyres.co.uk/(qotz1v55cd00dlfxiec0fv2j)/Pages/ProductCatalog/HomePage.aspx and “tunic shirts” as they are properly known can be found at shops that supply barrister’s garb. After all these are the same shirts, only they wear "Barrister Bands" whilst in court, and change collars when they are not. When getting a tunic shirt I would recommend getting one with double cuffs as it allows one to be expressive with cufflinks. Cufflinks can be a bother to learn to get on single handed at first, but since we already share the skill of wearing bow ties, I know you can master this skill if you have not already done so. As to the starch collars, the rule of thumb is to get a collar that is a ½ larger than you now wear. If you do not it will feel like a dog’s choker collar and you most likely will not even be able to get it on. You will also need to get a set of collar studs; the stouter one is used in the back and the taller one for the front. Here is a link to another useful site with instructions on how wear starch collars. http://www.bownsbespoke.com/lukeeyres.htm. I must warn you however that at first you might feel as if even the late Harry Houdini could not get one of these on, no less get out of one! Since you seem to want to go down this route, look on eBay and win yourself a nice old leather collar box to store them, as it will help keep them clean when you are not wearing them, and stud box to keep your studs in so that a gremlin doesn’t steal them when not being used. I hope this information is of use and interest to you. Best Wishes

 

[feltfan]

Because the bowler has automatic associations with wealthy bankers and the ruling classes.

I don't think so. While I grant you the public's knowledge of hats is a sad thing to contemplate,
the bowler was the hat of most folks back in the day. The top hat or homburg might be associated
with bankers and the ruling class.

I believe the reason people notice bowlers more than fedoras is that:
- they are less common
- they are less varied
- they are seen as archaic, a thing of a long gone era, and they were replaced by the fedora

I find it quite difficult to mix a bowler with modern clothing, but easy to mix a fedora with
almost anything.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I suppose it depends upon which side of the Atlantic you reside. I agree that in America, the public's perceptions of the Derby today aren't associated with the upper classes, yet it sounds like it's exactly the opposite in Great Britain.

I wear my Derbies with anything, jeans included, and get nothing but compliments, or "Where can I get a hat like that?" Keep in mind, Pueblo is a blue collar town.

Brad

 

[feltfan]

I wear my Derbies with anything, jeans included, and get nothing but compliments, or "Where can I get a hat like that?" Keep in mind, Pueblo is a blue collar town.

Brad

Pictures please, Brad.

 

[Bernie Zack]

Keep in mind, Pueblo is a blue collar town.

Brad

I have only been wearing one for about 7 months. However, I, too, wear it with everything, and get more notice (and compliments) with the bowler than I do with any other hat (although I have bee wearing my straw boater for about a month, and get many compliments on that one as well.

Pueblo, the Pittsburgh of the Rockies! I've still got cousins there, used to be steelworkers. Cousins in the canyons west of Trinidad, too. They used to be coal miners. They're all still waiting for CF&I to reopen! Great town!