Could this be a sign as to the Return of the Hat?

[Undertow]

Oh, by all means! I would love to see more of the classic styles out and about, and perhaps this trend really will act as a gateway drug. One can only hope!

It's one thing to wear a decent hat that compliments your outfit/face (I don't own a single hat worth more than $100 so I won't even be a judge of what's decent) or perhaps one could even wear a hat to which they take a fancy; a point of self expression. However, it's another thing to wear just whatever, have no idea what it is, its purpose, or have any real interest in the thing and to only wear it because you're a consumer hungrily consuming. Most of these kids I see wearing the cloth hats have no class, no style; their attire has no soul.

Call me a grump, but bah humbug to these new hats.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

...perhaps this trend really will act as a gateway drug. One can only hope!

Here's to the 'gateway drug effect'! Bet the bartenders are gonna love this one.

.

 

[SamReu]

Spokes Man

Speaking of hats, the following article appeared recently in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

===

Guys, upgrade your wardrobe with a stylish yet simple staple
By MARK DAVIS
mrdavis@ajc.com

Sinatra knew.

A little more than five decades ago, the singer released "In the Wee Small Hours," an LP devoted to busted love and lost chances. Its cover featured Sinatra leaning against a wall, his heart as broken as one of his old records.

And perched on his head was a fedora, the definitive fashion statement.

He'd pushed that hat back on his head the way guys do when they realize they've done something dumb, the better to scratch their foreheads, or slap themselves.

Yes, Sinatra knew. He was a hat man.

Now others are following his example. And we're not talking baseball caps; those are for lemmings. No, this headgear comes in straw, felt or fur, in brims wide and narrow, in tan, black, gray, plaid, striped. There are nearly as many hat styles as there are heads.

Chip Stockton also knows.

More than 40 years ago, his dad, Ham Stockton, opened a haberdashery on Forsyth Street in downtown Atlanta. Among ties, shirts and other conservative attire were hats, some stingy-brimmed, others offering a bit more shade --- all for the discerning male.

Today, H. Stockton still offers a line of headgear for the discriminating noggin, although not as many as before, Stockton said. These days, the store sells hats that are considered part of "event-oriented" attire and start at $55.

"I get people who pick up hats because they want to go to the beach, or they are going golfing," said Stockton, 53.

But he has seen a slight shift in who is buying hats.

"The young hipsters are wearing them," said Stockton, noting that older fellows used to top their heads with a hat. "I do think [hats] are coming back, with this generation."

He may be on to something.

Justin Timberlake, who achieved no small amount of notoriety in Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," has found apparel that functions well --- a porkpie hat. It's a narrow-brimmed thing, jaunty as a pop tune, only longer-lasting. It looks good on him.

Hats can make the man, said Michael Key, publisher of Classic Style magazine, which celebrates the elegant, the timeless, and, yes, the hat.

He added that men once wore hats about as regularly as they wore shoes. If a guy went out, he plopped a fedora, homburg, newsboy or some other covering on his head.

Hats were so commonplace, Key said, that a guy without one was noteworthy. "If police were putting out an APB [all-points bulletin], they would say, 'Look for a hatless man, repeat, hatless man,' " if the suspect lacked a lid, he said.

Key, 45, began collecting hats about 10 years ago, and has about a dozen. The reason? "I liked the way they looked," he said.

Rick Linkwald can appreciate that. He owns the Executive Shop on Walton Street in downtown Atlanta. It's one of those rarities these days --- a store with a wide selection of brims.

Linkwald's hats range from $39 to $250 and include Stetson, Dobbs and Biltmore, among others. "We sell the same styles we always have," he said. "Classic styles."

And nothing sells better, over the long run, than the classic stuff, the sort of lid a guy can push back on his head and ponder the vagaries of life, the cruelty of fate. The mysteries of women.

Don't believe it? Check out Sinatra, leaning against the wall. Then imagine him without that hat.

 

[rockyj]

I like to see variety. A few less ball caps and a more "newsie" caps and fedoras would be nice.
The quality and price of hats in the past varied just like today. A custom 100% beaver hat is not a requirement for everyone. A stylish lid should be.

Yes! I'm with you. Less ballcaps! Especially when people wear 'em sideways:eusa_doh: