What will be the future grail hat?

[TomS]

Hi Folks:

I've been thinking, what hat will be the future *grail* of our hobby? What style, maker, or whatever will be on top of everyones list in say sixty years?

My guess is it won't be a particular style like a Stratoliner or an Open Road, but more likely a hat from one of the custom houses. I can see folks posting photos of their *new* hat from VS, Black Sheep, or Decker. Discussing the approximate date of manafacture on a hat from Maj. Moore, etc. Imagine the thrill of finding an NOS Optimo with the original box, in say a hundred years!

Maybe we should start putting a little slip of paper with the particulars on our hat purchases behind the sweatband for some lucky person to find down the road...

Best,
Tom

 

[gtdean48]

My guess, just like low-end Stetson models like the Whippet & Stratoliner of yesteryear seem to be Holy Grails today, those 60+ years in the future will be low-end stingy brims that Justin Timberlake & Leonardo DiCaprio wore in a movie or video. Since they aren't well made, pristine versions of them will be very rare.... What we are spec'ing now from the custom hatters are of the vintage ones we can't find....don't think that'll be what future hatoholics will be lusting for. JMHO

 

[Mystic]

My guess, just like low-end Stetson models like the Whippet & Stratoliner of yesteryear seem to be Holy Grails today, those 60+ years in the future will be low-end stingy brims that Justin Timberlake & Leonardo DiCaprio wore in a movie or video. Since they aren't well made, pristine versions of them will be very rare.... What we are spec'ing now from the custom hatters are of the vintage ones we can't find....don't think that'll be what future hatoholics will be lusting for. JMHO

or a mint baseball cap with the sticker still on the brim

 

[randooch]

Interesting question, Tom. I can't see mass-produced crap-hats ever becoming cherished vintage finds; they're simply to poorly made, unlike Whippets and the like. I'm with you, it'll be the excellent customs from VS, Tumwater, Powell, MM, etc.

Good idea, leaving a note tucked behind the sweat for future provenance. I'll get to scribblin' right away!

 

[hatophile]

The difference between what we are experiencing as Grails now and in 60 years may well be what happens with the "comeback" of the hat. As little as 50 years ago, the hat was declining as a part of men's wardrobe and within another decade was almost obsolete. Therefore for us afficianados, we cherish those well made mass- produced hats. Now we have a wardrobe article that is still has a somewhat tenuous hold as a routinely worn item, and the manufacturing standards are not as critical because it's not an everyday item for most men.

If the hat makes a major comeback in the next 10 years, say, maybe the manufacturers will make a longer-lasting more fashionable product, and those styles will become sought-after. If not, then the Grails will most likely be those wonderful custom-mades by our friends here on the Lounge.

 

[scottyrocks]

Sixty years ago, just about everything was better quality because that's just the way things were generally done. Not so today. And because so much was produced at those higher rates of quality, there is a lot that has survived to today.

People continue to buy the crap that is produced today and replacing it every couple/few years. I think the main problem in '60 years' is going to be locating much of anything that can survive 60 years. The only items to be able to do so will most likely be custom made items because those are many of the things of any quality whatsoever. Stuff is not built to last nowadays and the stuff that is built to last costs considerably more money, as in right up there with the custom goods.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I'll only be 112 in 60 years time......depleting fossil fuels, world population of over 9 billion & not enough food & water for everyone, fishless oceans, mass plant & animal extinctions, pollution, drought, rising sea levels & global temperatures, low levels of oxygen due to de-forestation & the die-back of phytoplancton caused by salinity & acidity changes due to the melting ice caps......I reckon any old brimmed lid that keeps the sun off will be THE hat to have



No one can accuse me of being a pessimist.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Three reasons I like Fedoras. One: Sun protection (but lots of other hats can do the same thing) Two: Style, watching movies with Carry Grant and Humphrey Bogart, Harrison Ford, class acts. Three: To stand out, my personality does not lend me to blend in and my wardrobe complements that.
If you really look at my reasons, the only reason I choose the fedoras over other hats is style. Sixty years from now the kids will be watching old movies/TV shows I would have to say Fitted New Era caps will most likely be the bee’s knee’s. I know I would prefer a Tigers hat with the green under bill Just like Magnum rather than the black under bill the new ones have and that’s only been thirty years. At the same time I am very happy they are not made out of wool anymore. My scalp itches just thinking about it.
My two cents worth.
Johnny

 

[facade]

I am assuming the parameters of the question are limited to fedoras/fashionable hat collecting and not to all hats.

Hard to predict what will happen in 60 years since the vast majority of those collectors aren't even born yet. Will there be a prolonged period in their youth where fedora wearing has a major resurgence? Collectors generally seek out things that are nostalgic to them and have inherint quality/value.

Modern fedoras with their lessoned quality and limited appeal aren't likely to drive future collectors. Nor are the works of custom hatters. While their wares meet the quality standard, their wares are generally going to an older clientelle, not the young who will eventually discard the hat and then decades later feel nostalgic about a brand from their youth. Custom hatters are providing product to meet the nostalgia many have for the decades when hat wearing was popular, they are not creating a new nostalgia. They simply touch too few lives.

Barring a major and prolonged fedora resurgence, collectors will still be seeking out the iconic Stetson hats. Though lack of stock will expand the collecting to anything Stetson, rather than just specific models.

 

[DelMonico Hatter]

My guess, just like low-end Stetson models like the Whippet & Stratoliner of yesteryear seem to be Holy Grails today, those 60+ years in the future will be low-end stingy brims that Justin Timberlake & Leonardo DiCaprio wore in a movie or video. Since they aren't well made, pristine versions of them will be very rare.... What we are spec'ing now from the custom hatters are of the vintage ones we can't find....don't think that'll be what future hatoholics will be lusting for. JMHO

There is truth in that. Public figures are pretty significant.

The real question I have is, "What would it take to bring back the hat or cap into the status of being a necessary item in the wardrobe of the everyday person?" gtdean48 is right that there won't be any history or nostalgia to look back toward in 60 years if not enough people are wearing them in the present.

I've thought about this many times. It's a question the industry as a whole ultimately would be responsible to address.

I'm much younger than your average traditional men's hat wearer, but hats and the style they accompany are important to me beyond just personal enjoyment. They represent something we've lost as a country.

Call me over-dramatic, but that's my two cents.

-Brandon

 

[TomS]

There is truth in that. Public figures are pretty significant.

The real question I have is, "What would it take to bring back the hat or cap into the status of being a necessary item in the wardrobe of the everyday person?" gtdean48 is right that there won't be any history or nostalgia to look back toward in 60 years if not enough people are wearing them in the present.

I've thought about this many times. It's a question the industry as a whole ultimately would be responsible to address.

I'm much younger than your average traditional men's hat wearer, but hats and the style they accompany are important to me beyond just personal enjoyment. They represent something we've lost as a country.

Call me over-dramatic, but that's my two cents.

-Brandon

You have a terrific shop, Brandon. I made the short drive from Hartford a few weeks back. I enjoyed chatting with the staff, and you had some gorgeous hats in the case along the back wall!

 

[Chuck Naill]

The real question I have is, "What would it take to bring back the hat or cap into the status of being a necessary item in the wardrobe of the everyday person?" -Brandon

It will take the experience of wearing a hat as a peice of clothing, not a novelty. I am receiving positive comments from my co workers and customers on my hats, but that it not why I wear them. I wear them because it is likely standing under a shade tree in Summer and inside a warm room in Winter. I think people forgot or were never told why head coverings were invented.

 

[job]

As some of us die off our nice hats will make it back to Ebay to be bought again. I think the grail hats might be the same. There just might be fewer collectors and even fewer and more expensive hats to be had.

 

[DelMonico Hatter]

You have a terrific shop, Brandon. I made the short drive from Hartford a few weeks back. I enjoyed chatting with the staff, and you had some gorgeous hats in the case along the back wall!

Hi TomS,

Thanks for the feedback - I'll pass it along to Mr. DelMonico. We're just here to make sure you get your lid

The store is great, I personally love it - crawling around in the back of the basement is like a time machine, since the store has been around for so long.

Come back any time.

 

[DelMonico Hatter]

It will take the experience of wearing a hat as a peice of clothing, not a novelty. I am receiving positive comments from my co workers and customers on my hats, but that it not why I wear them. I wear them because it is likely standing under a shade tree in Summer and inside a warm room in Winter. I think people forgot or were never told why head coverings were invented.

You're more right than you know. I am seriously suspicious that no one taught the younger generation enough on how to wear a suit, what kinds of outfits go with what, color matching, style, design, etc. You just throw on some old black suit to work, wear that french blue longsleeve shirt, wash rinse, repeat....

After I read a few of the old Stetson ads, it became blatantly obvious that much of the subtleties of Men's Style has seriously become an unknown subject in the modern era.