They all think I am mad

[Kreissaege]

Family, colleagues etc
Why?
Because I started, somewhat out of nowhere, to wear hats!
Four month shy of turning fifty I decided it was time to wear them:
Because of my skin,
because I always hated Baseball caps: you can forgive kids wearing them in the most ridicoulos ways, but older men in an urban area look downright dumb in them IMHO,
because I simply decided to make them part of my (very casual and outdoorish) outfit.

So every very close acquaintance is giving me hell, only those who know me less good, like the personnel from the shops I go to, apreciate them.

So please support me by saying that I do right

P.S.: Today in my bookstore I got the comment "very chic" when I enterd with my Panama. And its a fine feeling when a good-looking woman around thirty calls you that at my age

 

[billyspew]

I got pretty much the same reaction, except I was 6 months shy of my 30th.
My brother still doesn't like to be seen out with me in one, everyone else now sees it as part of me. I think it was the tweed that pre-conditioned them.

 

[tortswon]

Your family will still love you if you wear a hat. Your friends will still like you if you wear a hat. But what chance do you have getting the attention of 30 ish women if you don't wear a hat? I think the answer is obvious, keep wearing hats! Best, Sam

 

[munchausen]

You're not crazy

I got that strange urge to make hats part of my life four or five months ago. Not really a movie or anything that did it (that I'm aware or), just the thought popped into my head. I'm sure like you, my immediate family thinks it a little odd. But I imagine after a while, it'll just be accepted as a regular part of you. What was it? It takes a human something like 42 exposures to become acustomed to something (too much Douglas Adams on the researcher's part).

But I digress. You're not alone and you're not crazy. Of course, that's assuming you're not seeking solace from us crazies. lol

 

[Mario]

I first started wearing hats back in the 1980's, albeit of the more stingy sort. Now that I was finally beginning to close in on my 40's, I started going through my back pages again (is that what they call nostalgia?) and suddenly found that I had renewed my love for hats - only this time my attitude is a different one. Most of my friends regarded me as a bit of a loony when I started wearing hats again, but by now, they have at least grown accustomed to it. The good thing is: Katja (my girlfriend) loves me in my hats!

 

[Duper]

I am a few years short of 50. I have been wearing a Tilley LTM5 or a Panama hat in the summer for the last 4 or 5 years. I also tired of the baseball caps and with the strong rays of the sun and my fair complextion and bald head it just made sense.

I have gotten some strange looks or inquiries from family and friends. They see me in the same hat 3 times and ask each time, "new hat"? Now that I am expanding my hat wearing to some recently acquired Akubras I think my friends and family have just accepted that I'm the hat wearing guy.

My take on expanding my variety of hats is that it is a pleasant hobby and it will also make for better choices for what ever the weather conditions or the style of clothes I wear.

I remember 25 years ago when my hair was really starting to thin, my older brother told me "Don't worry about it. If someone doesn't like you without hair, (meaning a young woman) they probably wouldn't have liked you with hair either." I think the same principal applies to hats.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

So please support me by saying that I do right

Gabba Gabba Hey! Pleased to meet you, you're one of us!

You are doing alright. I don't know about Europe, but in the U.S. I'm seeing more and more people wearing hats. If your friends and family don't quite get it that's OK, you're just ahead of the curve.

Welcome to the Lounge.:eusa_clap

 

[scottyrocks]

Although Ive been wearing fedoras for a long time, I still get occasional weird comments from people, simply because fedoras are so rare in society today.

What invariably seems to happen is that any people who had a weird reaction to me in a hat do get used to it (the hat), and it becomes normal to the point that I am questioned when I dont have one on.

As far as the inevitable questions:

'Why are you wearing that?'

I smile and say, 'Because I like it.'

I keep it simple, and it usually works.

 

[Mario]

What invariably seems to happen is that any people who had a weird reaction to me in a hat do get used to it (the hat), and it becomes normal to the point that I am questioned when I dont have one on.

As far as the inevitable questions:

'Why are you wearing that?'

I smile and say, 'Because I like it.'

I keep it simple, and it usually works.

Same here!!!

 

[tempestbella42]

i think a man in the right hat looks great! especially in a suit as well...
Im not well rehearsed on the different types...always been the womens side ive been involved in.....except when i had to wear my berri!
Ive never dated a guy weho wore hats either come to think of it, but not intentionally!
when i saw the post heading in put me in mind of when i first started wearing vintage....my mum was (and ia still!!) adermant its "just a Phase" lol:eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

 

[M6Classic]

I have worn a hat every day since 1975, when I walked into the old Herbert Johnson shop in New Bond Street in London and bought a Grosvenor fedora in dark grey. I fell hard for the salesman's spiel that it was the same hat that they had for decades sold to Bogart.

Many people now think I look strange when they see me on the very rare occasions when I am outdoors bearheaded. Further, there are many members who have known me for fifteen years at our synagog who are unaware that I am bald.

I have found that the seceret is...and it is really no secret...if you feel comfortable, confident, and unselfconscious under your hat people will not think it is part of a costume, rather that it is a normal part of your attire. It is as much how one carries himself as how he actually looks in a hat.

Buzz

 

[Socrets]

Are you sure they're not the crazy ones for not wearing hats?

 

[jazzncocktails]

So please support me by saying that I do right

P.S.: Today in my bookstore I got the comment "very chic" when I enterd with my Panama. And its a fine feeling when a good-looking woman around thirty calls you that at my age

Mahogany Bill is right, Kreissaege...more and more people are wearing hats, and as you've discovered, those that don't often feel compelled to comment on them, usually in the positive, in my experience. I've only gotten one "hey, Indy!" (which was said kindly), and many "You look dapper!" and other positive, sometimes flirtatious, comments, and often from ladies.

So, wear the fedoras and enjoy yourself. If you do that, others will catch on and the negative people will change their attitudes. Have fun--it's just a hat!
Steve

 

[Edward]

my mum was (and ia still!!) adermant its "just a Phase" lol:eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

Mine had that notion too.... thouh the forties-inspired stuff seems to go down a whole lot better than the rockabilly look..... no idea why, but cuffed denim draws all kinds of disparaging looks from Mater dear.... [huh]

 

[Dewhurst]

In order to assuage your fears:

You do well.

Keep donning those hats.

 

[Spats McGee]

1) You're not mad.

2) If you are mad, you're in good company with us here at the Lounge.

3) After a few months, the people giving you a hard time will grow tired of doing so, and you will be less self-conscious in your hats.

4) After a few more months, you'll also grow accustomed to (but never tired of) those "very chic" kinds of comments.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Inusuit]

I have found that the seceret is...and it is really no secret...if you feel comfortable, confident, and unselfconscious under your hat people will not think it is part of a costume, rather that it is a normal part of your attire. It is as much how one carries himself as how he actually looks in a hat.

Buzz

Yup. And the longer you wear it every day, the more comfortable, confident, and unselfconscious you will become. The only difficult part for me is deciding which hat to wear today.

 

[Dreispitz]

I got my first hat hat at the age of four or so for carneval. That was in the early seventies. In the mid eighties there was the Bogart Hat thing en vouge in Germany. I then got a lousy unpliable fedora and was disappointed, since it would not hold any crease. At that time, I did not know the reason The same was for a Borsalino, I bought while on an exchange with a partner school in Italy in Verona. Should be still around in the cellar

In 1990 I bought a pretty nice green Herbert Johnson fedora. My mother gave it to somebody while I was on my studies in England. A few years later, I bought a Herbert Johnson Panama together with my then girl-friend.

Last year - I am turning 40 this year - I bought three Borsalini at an outlet store for quite litle money. That was the trigger. The green Herbert Johnson one was by far better in many ways. I searched the internet, found this forum and now I am adicted to vintage hats as they come about and surpass eachother in style, design and quality.

Welcome to the club lol

 

[Paul-ette]

Bringing the Hat Back

You are not crazy. Though I have not always loved hats as much as I do now, since I was a young teenager I've been known to dress up everyday. This continued through college, and even now, I get people coming up to me asking "Were you the girl on the bus dressed like a cowgirl?" Or, "Did I see you walking down Geary dressed as a pirate?" Those are some of the more extravagant days, but usually I dress up classy, vintage, interesting, and it definitely took people some getting used to.

I think that when people look exceptionally nice, or different, it's a break on the eyes of the public, it spices up their day a bit.

I say go forth, wear hats, be merry.

The Ladies and I at Paul's are personally trying in every respect to "Bring the Hat Back."

~ Paulette

 

[rlk]

I got my first serious hat(a gray Stetson Fedora) as a freshman in college in NYC in the late 1970's and received many snide remarks at the time. It was later destroyed by a cat. My father did international business and brought home many exotic ethnic straw hats(and some Machetes way before airline regulations changed) but virtually never wore a hat unless out in the sun. I always had a couple of outdoor hats for hiking and landscape photography but didn't regularly wear a hat for many years. I'm not certain why I've been binging on hats in the last year or so and now wear a wide range consistently. Amazingly, I receive virtually no comments about the hats I wear these days--and I wear some more unusual styles including Western hats in the Chicago Metropolitan area. Mad? probably -but enjoying it other than financial restraint issues.