What Hat Are You Wearing Today ?

[Judgmentalist]

I have an Optimo Rex. "A. P. 1" (Artist's Proof 1). Zoom in on the ribbon. Graham Thompson told me it is very special. He and I designed the hat together. It is made of Orylag fur. Amazing hand. View attachment 799448 View attachment 799449 View attachment 799450 View attachment 799451 View attachment 799452 View attachment 799453 View attachment 799454

Yessir, I saw that one. What a gorgeous hat!

It was very high in my wish list. Out of sheer morbid curiosity, did you happen to bring it to New Jersey?

My wife and my accountant are hoping the answer is no lol.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Good morning here are some hats I have been wearing about the past couple of days.

Equadorian Panama Hat Co. Milan.

Gannon Wanderer (silverbelly and charcoal trimming).

Mallory

Mallory Classic.

A Knox Vagabond.

Cheers, Eric -

 

[jba972]

Good morning here are some hats I have been wearing about the past couple of days.

Equadorian Panama Hat Co. Milan.

Gannon Wanderer (silverbelly and charcoal trimming).

Mallory

Mallory Classic.

A Knox Vagabond.

Cheers, Eric -

Hi. Are all of your Gannon Wanderers essentially the same? I feel like I've looked at your Wanderer pics and feel like I'm looking at different hats at times.

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Yessir, I saw that one. What a gorgeous hat!

It was very high in my wish list. Out of sheer morbid curiosity, did you happen to bring it to New Jersey?

My wife and my accountant are hoping the answer is no lol.

No, I didn't. Next trip.
Look, this is an AI description of Orylag .

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Hi. Are all of your Gannon Wanderers essentially the same? I feel like I've looked at your Wanderer pics and feel like I'm looking at different hats at times.

The Gannon Wanderers I have commissioned are to be inspired by the Stetson fedora of said name. A mid-ribbon 2.5" brim and taller crowned fedora with a bound ribbon. Almost all of the Wanderers use a charcoal ribbon treatment. In the Gannon thread I shared a group pic many years ago of the many Wanderers on my hat tree. Since then my tree has had more Gannon additions, but that would be a good reference. I have commissioned hats from other inspirations.

The Gannon fedoras I have aquired over the years showcase the hatters growing skills. From the first to last, the hats have gotten better. Better in all ways. Check out his website and enjoy the Gannon thread!

Cheers sir.

Eric -

 

[Judgmentalist]

No, I didn't. Next trip.
Look, this is an AI description of Orylag . View attachment 799457

Thank the lord lol.

Perhaps another time, although I shudder to think what the asking price would be for this one. I'd love to have a hat with Dr. Max stamped on the sweat that I could show off to other hat nerds.

 

[M Hatman]

Today: One of my hands down favorite hats!

 

[Edward]

Has been a couple miserably warm, humid days here in East Texas. Got the Patio roof project finished, Bear the Lab got a good bath and is white again (a soapy squirming 92 lb Lab is a chore), and even smoked up some ribs. Was 80 degrees and 95% humidity at 6am, so one more hot one today, and then we get a weak cool front and a little tropical storm with wind and rain moving up from the gulf tomorrow night. Way too warm for even a modest weight felt. Been giving a couple of the Hemp Stratoliners some wear time on those rare times I was out in the sun.

View attachment 799199 View attachment 799198 View attachment 799195 View attachment 799197 View attachment 799196

Here in London we're over the hump of the latest spike in heat, though it tells you a lot about the insanity of our weather this year when 26C today is a blessed relief, as is the fact it's gonig to be "only" 29C tomorrow.... Very much not looking forward to next week, when from midweek and into the weekend it'll be an unbroken run of days over thirty. And it hasn't rained in.... I don't know how long, but it feels like at least two months. Oh well. At least I have some nice straws to wear... Recently picked up a Stratoliner in the same colour as this one, it's a lovely hat to wear. I like what you've done with the ribbon.

Akubra Squatter Open Crown
Finally getting some much needed rain.
View attachment 799360 View attachment 799361 View attachment 799362 View attachment 799363 View attachment 799364 View attachment 799365

I think this is the first Squatter I've seen in the wild. Similar dimensions to the Federation, aren't they? Hasn't realised they were unlined, though. Which I quite like, actually. Reminds me of a lot of Sixties era hats I've handled over here from various British brands (many of those had a very subtle snowflake-style venting design, but many were also unvented, but still unlined by design). Very nice.

Rather colder in Tassie at two degrees Celsius. Hat is a custom rabbit felt

View attachment 799369 View attachment 799370 View attachment 799371

Great ensemble - I envy you your current weather.


While mostly WFH currently, I did today drop into the office to do a bit more on the slow process of sorting everything out after an in-building room move. Took the opportunity to give a new hat its first run out of the grounds of Marlowe Towers:

This is a What Price Glory 'Saigon Cowboy' hat. These were worn by various US personnel across SE Asia in the 'Nam era, particularly popular with helicopter pilots (the brim can be worn studded up on both sides, facilitating the wearing of radio headphones over the top). Locally made and purchased items rather than issued kit. The overall shape of the hat is somewhat influenced by local perceptions of cowboy hats, as well as a tropical issue hat that the French wore during their stint in the Indochina conflict (among other locations). This has more body than the French hats, though. As these were not an issue item, but a local, theatre-made product there is no single, 'correct', pattern, but the WPG version replicates one specific design entirely.

It's very much a Brundlefly of a hat. Construction would put it in the same family as the Daisy Mae, but the additional crown-space vs the DM, and markedly stiffer feel, puts it somewhere closer the feel of wearing a more structured bush hat. Not *quite* the same as wearing a furfelt, but the feel is much closer that than a Daisy. About three years ago, I picked up a Daisy Mae from Bronson, in blue denim, and a second in their camo pattern. Bought those on a whim, really, (alongside a couple of A3 caps). I'm not sure why - I didn't much think I'd take to them. They intrigued me, though, I suppose because they were a forerunner of the Nam-era Boonie hats I wore in Summer way back, over twenty years ago now. Much to my own surprise, I really took to them. They proved to be an excellent thing to travel with, for throwing into the suitcase to wear casually in hot sun at destination. I quickly started wearing them a lot more in the heat at home too; the perfect thing for taking the dog out in the early morning, or running a few errands in jeans or denim battledress on a warm weekend. Or camping. Anywhere I'd wear the likes of an A3 cap, really, but with the added benefit of the brim to keep the sun off the back of my neck and head, where I am otherwise prone to burning. (I once spent a full day during an unusually hot, mid-September weekend in the outdoors, wearing a Glengarry; removing the hat in the evening, I looked like a man with high blood pressure wearing a white Yarmulke.) This Saigon Cowboy hat is not what I'd reach for first with a collar and tie, however it wouldn't look too far out of place with slacks and an open neck shirt, in environments where the Daisy Mae would look a bit "ballcap with a suit", so to speak. The exact midpoint between a Daisy Mae and something like an Akubra Cattleman.

I'm guessing it's this unusual, inbetweeny nature that drew me to trying one of these. It's post-1959 origins (albeit very much based on earlier designs) makes it somewhat of an outlier in my wardrobe, but it fits perfectly in with the more 'field gear' end of my look. It's other big plus point as an outdoors hat vs the Daisy Mae is that it feels very much that it will cope with a hefty rain, whereas the Daisy Mae would of course soak through. I hope I'll get the chance to try it against Summer rain at some point this year.

Beyond the styling, WPG have made an excellent job of the quality of this hat. A tiny, minor gripe is that on this specific model, the loop that stands in place for a ribbon bow is no the right hand side rather than the traditional left if I wear the hat with the join in the leather sweatband to the back, as is conventional. I could just wear it the other way around of course (the hat externally is identical both ways around). That said, I didn't actually notice it for a bit, and I'm sort of leaning now to the notion of treating it as one of those charming idiosyncrasies that crop up in a field-made, cottage-industry product designed to service the style choices of incomers rather than locals. The chin-cord, as per the original after which this one is patterned, is permanently sewn in. I'm halfway tempted to just snip it off, but for now I'm leaving it on and letting it hang behind my head, as it could prove handy for hanging the hat up in an outdoor environment.

The crown is lined in a bright orange fabric; it doesn't seem unreasonable to speculate this was inspired by the orange 'survival lining' of an MA1:

I have heard it said this was a common request, as in some airfields guys wearing these would flip them inside out so as to be readily identifiable to their own comrades as "friendly" from the air. No idea how much truth there is in that, because, hey.... the internet. Nonetheless, it's a cute detail.

On the whole, I'm really pleased with this; another quality produce from WPG... and at USD55 plus postage, quite the bargain. Not much more than some Daisy Maes sell for (and significantly cheaper than a DM from any of the big Japanese names).

If you are looking at these, the one thing I'd suggest is sizing up. I'm virtually always, with precious rare exceptions, a 57 in a hat, though with caps I often size up to a 58 to allow for 'wool shrink' over time. When I bought my brown Daisy Mae from WPG, intuition based on experience led me to opt for a 58 / 7 1/4, which turned out to be a good choice - snug, without being too tight. For this hat I again went with a 7 1/4, and again it is snug but not too tight. In truth, I was tempted to go up to a 7 1/2, and I think I could probably wear that fine, but I didn't want to push it and find it was actually too big at this distance, with returns being expensive and a hassle. The hat does have a leather band that could be stuffed, but a pad wouldn't work as well with this as with a fedora, say, so this remains the safe option. With a very small amount of wear, it's breaking in nicely. I've not yet had occasion to wear the brim studded up at either or both sides - a helicopter headset is not something I foresee in my future. That said, should I undertake a hike in this hat on a breezy day, I might try studding up the sides as an experiment to see whether it deflects the wind better.

All in all, a fun, casual hat that's a bit of a curio but also very practical, and has an interesting historical story behind the design. Recommended.

 

[Judgmentalist]

Today: One of my hands down favorite hats!
View attachment 799485 View attachment 799486 View attachment 799487 View attachment 799488

Beautiful. 7 1/2 LO you say? We should be friends. ; )

 

[blewnote]

Today: One of my hands down favorite hats!
View attachment 799485 View attachment 799486 View attachment 799487 View attachment 799488

I'm resuscitating one of these at the moment, lovely hat from the 40s that just needs a little TLC to return to service. It's not as pristine as yours, (the whole hat showed up looking like it had lost a wrestling contest) but the felt only needs a spot cleaning and the sweatband, while showing signs of use and age, seems to be solid. The main issue is trying to remove all the crinkles from the crown, as I don't want to attempt removing and reattaching the sweatband. Am thinking of posting in the what are you working on thread to ask for tips to help get the open crown more perfect without reblocking.

Not my size so some lucky feller will get it when I'm done with it.

 

[RickP]

I like these hats with this extreme rake front to back.

Reminds me of the Gangster character in the Bugs Bunny Tunes cartoons

 

[Judgmentalist]

Reminds me of the Gangster character in the Bugs Bunny Tunes cartoons

Yep that’s what I was going for lol

 

[mayserwegener]

Hückel Weilheim "Derby", possibly late 1950s. Looks like it was never worn so in NOS condition. I found this Homburg Hat back in 2025.

Sold by famous hat store, A. Breiter München, Stammhaus / Original Store, Gegründet / Founded 1863 and still in business.

Unusual 57 - 57 1/2 cm sizing.

This article is by one of the founders of Hückel Weilheim. It appeared in the January / February 2008 edition of "Geschichte und Kultur"

Sketch

(1946) Company started in a garage in the middle of Weilheim. A sketch by Ing. Christianus drawn as it looked in 1946.

Firm J. Hückels Söhne Neutitschein Czechoslovakia (up to WWI Austria Hungary)

The company J. Hückel's Sons , Neutitschein was founded in 1799 by Johann Nepomuk Hückel. It was harder to start a company the back then. In 1938 , when the war begins , branches Ratibor , Skoczów and Vienna branch were at the company at the main plant in Neutitschein , about 4,000 workers and employees ( at the company they were called officers) employed.

My father was already manager in Ratibor. He and his brothers Anton and Randolf had already completed their apprenticeship with success in Hückel . After the war the factory was nationalized and then was called "TONAK “. We were expelled and managed to relocate to Bavaria. By chance one of the owners Mr. Fritz Hückel had a summer house in Ammersee in Holzhausen near Utting.

When we arrived in Bavaria via Berlin my father met with Mr. Hückel who made a loan of RM 1,000 to start a new company . My father, mother, and brother Roman moved into a furnished two room apartment in Weilheim / Upper Bavaria. My father then set up a meeting with the Mayor of Weilheim to discuss a possible location for the business.

At Marienplatz Weilheim there was a department store Buxbaum. The acting director Mr. Trieber offered us a garage in the backyard and a small room in the department store as an office. I first took over all the office work while my father tried to hire some employees who have previously worked in the company. The first to arrive was former employee Mr. Mark who with my father would work to clean and shape hats.

The garage had only an old iron furnace (unfortunately it only had two legs instead of 3) for heat . Mr. Trieber gave us a clothes rack made of wood that Mr. Mark converted to a dry box. In the garbage area behind the town cemetery we found an old boiling pot which a plumber on Krumper street converted into a useful to us steamer for the hats. The Wegener hat factory gave us old blocks and flanges. We arranged with Mr. Trieber for a collection point in the department store take in used hats that needed cleaning and reprocessing.

Then came the day of opening and we got to work. We even found a hat seamstress (which is not found today) from Ratibor. I then washed the first hats in our basin. We had nothing and had to improvise a lot. We got detergent - where I do not know - and I attempted to clean the hats. I had every hat treated separately, because it was almost entirely dark colors, the bleeding made them off colored. When the hats were almost dry I put them in the workshop where Mr. Mark continued the cleaning process. Mr. Ing. Christianus , who was also a long time employee of the company came , made drawings of the shop after work (see sketch on following page) . Officially, I was female hat worker but I was not allowed to say that I have never done this job before. Office workers back then were hardly needed.

My father tried to continue to labor from home. In Dingolfing now Mr. Karl Zenner (in Neutitschein he was head machinist) , acquired old hat machines and got them in working order. This took a long time but the machines were eventually shipped to Weilheim where we had acquired the Dornier factory building. The Dornier factory space was converted to hat making. Meanwhile, the repair of old hats had proven pitiful. We also had a hard time buying rabbit fur felt for the new hats.

Several more former employees joined the company and we left the garage and went into the great hall of Dornier. We expanded the production and business flourished. We also signed up former representatives of the company that had former customer contacts.

 

[EL-Jimenez74]

Hückel Weilheim "Derby", possibly late 1950s. Looks like it was never worn so in NOS condition. I found this Homburg Hat back in 2025.

Sold by famous hat store, A. Breiter München, Stammhaus / Original Store, Gegründet / Founded 1863 and still in business.

Unusual 57 - 57 1/2 cm sizing.

This article is by one of the founders of Hückel Weilheim. It appeared in the January / February 2008 edition of "Geschichte und Kultur"

Sketch

(1946) Company started in a garage in the middle of Weilheim. A sketch by Ing. Christianus drawn as it looked in 1946.

Firm J. Hückels Söhne Neutitschein Czechoslovakia (up to WWI Austria Hungary)

The company J. Hückel's Sons , Neutitschein was founded in 1799 by Johann Nepomuk Hückel. It was harder to start a company the back then. In 1938 , when the war begins , branches Ratibor , Skoczów and Vienna branch were at the company at the main plant in Neutitschein , about 4,000 workers and employees ( at the company they were called officers) employed.

My father was already manager in Ratibor. He and his brothers Anton and Randolf had already completed their apprenticeship with success in Hückel . After the war the factory was nationalized and then was called "TONAK “. We were expelled and managed to relocate to Bavaria. By chance one of the owners Mr. Fritz Hückel had a summer house in Ammersee in Holzhausen near Utting.

When we arrived in Bavaria via Berlin my father met with Mr. Hückel who made a loan of RM 1,000 to start a new company . My father, mother, and brother Roman moved into a furnished two room apartment in Weilheim / Upper Bavaria. My father then set up a meeting with the Mayor of Weilheim to discuss a possible location for the business.

At Marienplatz Weilheim there was a department store Buxbaum. The acting director Mr. Trieber offered us a garage in the backyard and a small room in the department store as an office. I first took over all the office work while my father tried to hire some employees who have previously worked in the company. The first to arrive was former employee Mr. Mark who with my father would work to clean and shape hats.

The garage had only an old iron furnace (unfortunately it only had two legs instead of 3) for heat . Mr. Trieber gave us a clothes rack made of wood that Mr. Mark converted to a dry box. In the garbage area behind the town cemetery we found an old boiling pot which a plumber on Krumper street converted into a useful to us steamer for the hats. The Wegener hat factory gave us old blocks and flanges. We arranged with Mr. Trieber for a collection point in the department store take in used hats that needed cleaning and reprocessing.

Then came the day of opening and we got to work. We even found a hat seamstress (which is not found today) from Ratibor. I then washed the first hats in our basin. We had nothing and had to improvise a lot. We got detergent - where I do not know - and I attempted to clean the hats. I had every hat treated separately, because it was almost entirely dark colors, the bleeding made them off colored. When the hats were almost dry I put them in the workshop where Mr. Mark continued the cleaning process. Mr. Ing. Christianus , who was also a long time employee of the company came , made drawings of the shop after work (see sketch on following page) . Officially, I was female hat worker but I was not allowed to say that I have never done this job before. Office workers back then were hardly needed.

My father tried to continue to labor from home. In Dingolfing now Mr. Karl Zenner (in Neutitschein he was head machinist) , acquired old hat machines and got them in working order. This took a long time but the machines were eventually shipped to Weilheim where we had acquired the Dornier factory building. The Dornier factory space was converted to hat making. Meanwhile, the repair of old hats had proven pitiful. We also had a hard time buying rabbit fur felt for the new hats.

Several more former employees joined the company and we left the garage and went into the great hall of Dornier. We expanded the production and business flourished. We also signed up former representatives of the company that had former customer contacts.

You always post some amazing hats, and then take the time to add in the history of them as well. Amazing, it truly adds to my appreciation of both your hats, and your posts. Thank you