Hey, what about the feather?

[Lorne]

One thing I've noticed, every new hat ad I see shows a feather in the band of the hat. I never seen anyone wearing a hat with a feather in it though (I know I sure don't).

Are thousands of birds giving their lives, for nothing?


Lorne

 

[johnnycanuck]

sacrifices to the wind.

 

[Pilgrim]

I like a feather in my hat band - some don't. But I wear one on every fedora I have.

 

[besdor]

The feather went the way of the naru jacket . Feathers and pins were very popular years ago . There were a least six feather dealers in the US 20 years ago . Today there is only one or two .

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Both my modern Stetsons had feathers and little "Stetson" hatpins. They're in a drawer somewhere. I might wear one on a Tyrolean, but only during Oktoberfest.

 

[gekisai29]

I wear a feather in my black homburg. it livens it up a bit

 

[Pilgrim]

Since Besdor is in the biz, I won't argue with him - but I will note gratefully that my excellent local hetter, the Greeley Hatworks, keeps a cigar box full of different bound feathers under the counter. When I pick up a hat, they are always happy to let me take my pick and find one that complements the hat. I always take them up on it.

For ME, I like a tastefully bound feather in the hatband. Don't leave home without one!

 

[besdor]

FEATHERS

Guys , I love feathers in hats. It's just that they are getting hard to find . When I was a kid , my jobs was to put a feather and pearl pin in every hat . We had a box of feathers in every color . Today , we keep a small shoe box with feathers in them . Every so often , someone will come in and request a feather in their hat .
It's sort of like a pocket square for a suit . Years ago they were very popular . Now , you see a few people here and there with them , but overall it's not the "in " thing to do .

Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[johnnycanuck]

Ok I will bite, How do you keep it from blowing away?

 

[Pilgrim]

The bottom ends of the feathers are bound - you just slide the tip of the bound feathers down behind the ribbon, and they're not going anywhere.

This is one reason you don't see them on Open Roads - no ribbon to speak of, so nothing to hold them in place.

 

[the_great_humon]

My Opinion

In my opinion the feather looks good on hats with a smaller brim, less than 2".
I have a tan Cavanagh with a 1 7/8" brim and a black Lee with a 1 1/2" brim that I have feathers in.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

So where did wearing a feather in the fedora originate?

The only thing i've seen that's similar is a fisherman lodging his flys in the hatband. Or, in the case of my grandfather, directly into the felt.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Whole species of birds are now extinct in Brazil, thanks to ladies' penchant for feathered hats in the 19th and early-to-mid 20th century.

That's not counting the stuffed birds perched whole on ladies' wide-brimmed hats. An early 20th century horror show.

 

[mthatter]

erased by mt

 

[Berlin Buster]

In my opinion the feather looks good on hats with a smaller brim, less than 2".
I have a tan Cavanagh with a 1 7/8" brim and a black Lee with a 1 1/2" brim that I have feathers in.

I've never personally seen one on a hat with a wider brim than two inches, but I know the local suit shop has several matching the criteria humon posted, and they all have a nice little red feather with black speckling on it, tucked neatly under the ribbon.

 

[Pilgrim]

"I believe I've had one person ask for a feather."

My mommy says I'm special. Maybe that proves it!

 

[Cruiser]

What about the pearl pin?

I also prefer to leave off the feather, but I am curious about the origin and purpose of the pearl hat pin mentioned earlier in this thread. This isn't something I have ever seen in a man's hat.

 

[Rosie]

jumping in here

One of my uncles has a boat load of hats very similar to this one: (sorry, it's the only thing I could think of)

Kind of western looking but with a flat top. Anyway, He ALWAYS wears feathers in his hats, they very often are the color of his pocket square.

 

[Dinerman]

mine broke, ( I guess they get brittle) and the only hat store close to me sucks. Anywhere I can buy just the feather?

 

[thefedorastore]

I love the feathers and pins that are included in todays hats. I also add feathers to many of the boxes when a vintage hat is sold. I have a couple of bags of feathers, and I usually pick on that goes with my necktie when dressing out. Also, I have some two-tone summer weaves that a feather most definately looks good in. FWIW, I also admire hats without feathers, but I could never have a pillow without them.