The Quiet Man's cap

[Wasz]

I introduced my girlfriend to the John Ford classic a couple months ago. It has become her favorite movie. Anyway, I keep searching for a hat, she thinks it would be a little strange to walk around with me wearing a hat... Not a major issue, I'm already a little strange, and I'm having trouble finding a hat that I don't look like a doofus in anyway.

She meanwhile comes up with the idea that I should get a hat like John Wayne in the Quiet Man. I figure, it can't hurt to consider it. My search fu turned up one thread, but only one of the links in it still worked so I thought I'd ask if anyone had found a good match yet. Thanks.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

There are loads of posts on newsboys, Gatsby, page, Apple - whatever that particular cap's called where you are. Use the search function. As for looking for them locally - you'll want to ask for newsboy or Gatsby since those are the more common names for that style of cap.

 

[Corky]

Is this tweed cap from Lock & Company...

Is this tweed cap from Lock & Company close enough?

http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/Tweed_Caps-c42.aspx

or try

http://celticclothing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Irish+Caps&Store_Code=CCC0001

 

[Inusuit]

Try this place....

I have been wearing two of their caps for over 20 years. Excellent quality and made to your specifications, including your choiced of fabric.

http://www.hatterdashery.com/

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Though made in the '50s, the movie The Quiet Man took place in the 1920s. (Perhaps the early '30s.) In any case, John Wayne's cap is a 1920s throwback ... as is his suit in the film. The costumes were deliberately harking back to an earlier era.


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[Brad Bowers]

Some historical background:

Wayne's cap was a Cavanagh, bought from the shop on Park Avenue. John Cavanagh was reportedly pleased that Wayne was observed to take good care of his cap during the film.

I've never found out if his other hats in the film were Cavanagh, but it wouldn't surprise me.

You could always buy one of the new Cavanagh caps. Not screen accurate, but the thread of history is there.

Brad

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Brad, that's fascinating! By 1952, few American men were wearing flat caps in public ... except for golfing and driving. By then, flat caps were becoming narrower, and their construction was changing too. Fabrics such as open weave nylon were quickly becoming the rage, though checks and tweeds also lived on. By the late '50s, flat caps were strongly associated with the "Ivy League" style, and had a leather strap on the outside back.


It's very interesting to see that in 1952, you could still go into a Cavanagh shop and get a cap that looked quite a bit like a 1920s one. My guess is that Cavanagh continued to offer them to a (declining) traditional clientele ...


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[Subvet642]

She meanwhile comes up with the idea that I should get a hat like John Wayne in the Quiet Man. I figure, it can't hurt to consider it. My search fu turned up one thread, but only one of the links in it still worked so I thought I'd ask if anyone had found a good match yet. Thanks.

Bookster makes flat caps in a variety of styles and tweed fabrics. This one looks a bit like the "Gun Club" tweed.

http://www.tweed-jacket.com/Tweed Caps and Hats/Tweed Caps and Hats.html