Fedora---The Gangster Hat?!

[jamespowers]

Ok, this is my pet peeve lately. I am tired of hearing the fedora referred to as a "gangster hat." If I hear it one more time I am going to either scream or punch someone who says it next. It was not specific to gangsters or mobsters. ALL people wore hats in the old days---not just gangsters. I do not look like a gangster in my hat. It is a fashion statement not a criminal misconception spread by Hollywood. The simple-mindedness of some just kills me.
Ok end of rant and venting. I feel better now. LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[Brad Bowers]

Drives me crazy, too. I get that when I wear a double-breasted suit with my fedoras. Sometimes, when I just wear a single-breasted, I get called a "Private Eye."

Brad Bowers

 

[Art Fawcett]

uhh James, get over it....it won't stop but you CAN start devloping return digs like " turn around & assume the position" or if it's a female you might want to get a little , lets say, creative?

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Brad Bowers
Drives me crazy, too. I get that when I wear a double-breasted suit with my fedoras. Sometimes, when I just wear a single-breasted, I get called a "Private Eye."

Brad Bowers

I only wear double-breasted suits so......
It really gets interesting when I am in a hawaiian shirt and a fedora. LOL
I really do not say anything to anyone about it but it does bother me once in a while. I suppose I could say something like "If you don't want to sleep with the fishes you will get out of here fast" or "Why? You got a job for me? I love jobs especially ones that involve a lot of screaming." LOL Nah, the last one would probably wind me up in jail or a nut house. LOL
Hmmm. A clever response to women, huh? You mean like "I do everything with my hat on" or "Get in the trunk; we're going for a little ride?" LOL No, wait, I think Ted Kennedy already did that one. LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[Engr-Chas]

I hear it all the time also..

Gangster, Mobster...Someone the other day, said "Hey Dick Tracy" (not like the hat was yellow??). But, other people say "Nice Hat" or just plain "cool". One woman said "that hat makes you look mysterious". :cool2: My feds always get me noticed, which is fine with me, I tip my hat and smile when people stare and they usually smile back.

Enjoy the spotlight!

Charles

 

[jamespowers]

Re: I hear it all the time also..

Originally posted by Engr-Chas
Enjoy the spotlight!

Charles

You have a point.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Someone once called me a young Frank Sinatra.

I wasn't insulted.

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Jack Scorpion
Someone once called me a young Frank Sinatra.

I wasn't insulted.

I wouldn't have taken that as an insult either. Don't get me wrong. I have had several good experiences that I have chronicled before. A woman said I looked "dapper" and the hat has made friends on its own. When I was straightening the brim someone took that as a greeting and said hello. All in all it has been great. It is just the few that can get to one. For instance type in gangster when searching on eBay and you will find it is used quite a bit to describe hats---sunglasses too but that is another story. LOL Sort of an accepted term I guess. I won't even tell you what my brother-in-law said about my new Allen Edmonds Chesters today.

Regards to all,

J

 

[havershaw]

I think I prefer the gangster thing to the Indy thing. Don't get me wrong - I started out in hats as a result of Indy - but it got tiring to hear the Indy theme get hummed because I was wearing a cream-colored fedora!

I've had people say I look like a PI or gangster a few times - more usually, folks ask my wife and I if we've just come from swingdancing. And of course, as I'm a musician, whenever I'm buying supplies at a music store, the new folks (in other words, the ones who don't already know me) always assume I'm in a swing band.

My favorite "getting shouted at" occurence happened in Hollywood, crossing the street, heading toward Amoeba Music - some older fellow pointed to me and yelled, "Howard Hughes lives!"

I have to admit, it was one of my proudest moments.

Weirdly, I went to a rock show recently to see one of the bands I had recorded recently at my studio. Despite some incredibly weird fashion (you can imagine), I was looked at as though I was a freak all night. Ah well. I guess if you've got less than thirty-five pounds of metal in your face, you're a freak. (In certain circles, that is.)

And by the way, my favorite "brush-off" retort:
"Take a powder, why don't ya?"

 

[fedoralover]

I get it too, from Indy, to Sam Spade, to Panama Jack if I'm wearing a straw. If people ask me if I'm trying to look like Sam Spade I usually say "No, not at all, but it's funny you asked because I thought you were imitating Jed Clampett". That usually shuts them up. One of my other comebacks is to just say " you know I've noticed that when it comes to fedora's there are 2 kinds of people, those that wear them and those that wish they had the courage to wear them." I do get more compliments than off handed remarks though. So it really doesn't bother me.

fedoralover

 

[MK]

Originally posted by Art Fawcett
uhh James, get over it....it won't stop but you CAN start devloping return digs like " turn around & assume the position" or if it's a female you might want to get a little , lets say, creative?

How about looking sideways at her with a raised eyebrow and saying to her in a low voice......

...."Once you have had a man with a hat.....you'll never go back."

 

[Nathan Flowers]

LOL! I'm going to use that one on the wife MK.

 

[jamespowers]

I have not heard the one about Howard Hughes. That is different. You should have yelled back: "I wish I had his money!" LOL
The Jed Clampett remark really makes me laugh. You can brign it up to date a little more though. I would tell them "No, not at all, but it's funny you asked because I thought you were imitating Kramer from Seinfeld".
I might prefer the gangster thing too. It makes sense. They would make fun of an Indy clone but they might be afraid that you are actually a mobster.
MK, you certainly have a good line there. Might be useful in the future.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Andykev]

My solution

When someone makes a smart mouth remark, a snyde comment......whatever...on my hat, "hey look, it's the Daily Planet", or "hey, it's Willie Brown"...

I just casually pull back my hand along side my belt, pulling back the drape of my coat, and reveal my gat. Usually the converstation ends. Eye contact is never made, and it's never a threat.

 

[jamespowers]

AndyKev, you certainly have an interesting way of dealing with them. I'll bet it works every time. LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[MK]

I reveal my gut.....is that the same thing?

 

[Andykev]

Well........

That depends on what Caliber your GUT is!!

 

[Imahomer]

Well, depending on your look, a gangster can come to mind!

 

[MK]

Re: Well........

Originally posted by Andykev
That depends on what Caliber your GUT is!!

 

[Michael Mallory]

I've never been called a gangster. I've been lucky enough to be complimented on my hat, or told that I look like I belong in it. (I once went into my bank without a hat and they didn't recognize me.) I've had only a few 'Indy' comments, but generally from people I know who are trying to give me a rhubarb. What I've come to enjoy are kids who smile at me and shout: "Cowboy!" I had one just last week, a cute little girl in the grocery store. I don't wear cowboy hats, but to a small kid, any hat with a brim is a cowboy hat.