Alternatives to a fedora

[qwerty]

Let's face it, in today's world there is not much place for fedoras. Hats are mostly forgoten and only several kinds of hats are widely acceptable. Let's change it.
What is a good hat that kinda looks like a fedora but that can be used today as everyday hat. That hat needs to be practical as well as beautyfull, rugged as well as sophisticated and it needs to be just right for today.
What is that hat?

 

[Pilgrim]

Here are the options I see in today's world:

1) The fedora - still the best style, and contrary to your assertion, you're not alone in wearing one.
2) Western hat. (No feathered hatbands unless you're a rodeo queen, please.)
3) Baseball cap, your favorite team
4) Baseball cap, your alma mater
5) Baseball cap, with a logo you think is cool

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Yes, I'd put it very similarly:

1. Fedora
2.
3.
...

124. Folded paper
125. Propellor hat
126. Baseball cap
127. Western

 

[Lorne]

Alternative to the Fedora?

The only viable alternative to the Fedora, is another Fedora.

And it you don't like Fedoras at all, you can stay the hell inside!


Sorry, that was my Fedora talking...


Lorne

 

[RedPop4]

Pilgrim, I'm right there with you, well, except for the Western. Substitue Western for a cotton bucket and we're good. I wear those buckets for dirty work, and just fooling around going somewhere dirty, like Lowe's or Home Depot.

 

[johnnycanuck]

practical, beautiful, rugged, sophisticated and not a fedora. Depends on what you are looking for in a hat.

A well maintained Tilley (washed regularly) looks good and fits in well almost anywhere you go. beautiful - I wouldn't go that far but it does look good, sophisticated - not really but it does have a air of being well traveled. the rest of the criteria it meets. It also has an advantage of being readily available in local stores.

Akubra definitely fits the bill. Anything from the Country production line. I have a black "Down Under" and a Santone fawn "Snowy river" hat can go with anything I am wearing. Except maybe a suite. Only criteria it would not meet would be Sophisticated and that depends on the model you buy.

Cowboy hats are not my favourite. But by the criteria they fit the bill. If I see a group of actual cowboys wearing them the hats are almost always black. Its like a uniform. they look like they got a group discount. Just my opinion.

Johnny

 

[Havana]

I don't really buy the premise of this post. I think fedoras are perfectly practical for everyday wear. The best alternatives vary by your location. In rural areas, a western hat would be a good choice. Still, they're typically bigger than most fedoras. Avoid black. Enough of that already. If you're more urban, try a pork pie or stingy brim. The wide variety of Australian style hats from Akubra seem to go well just about anywhere.

 

[Magus]

Let's face it, in today's world there is not much place for fedoras. Hats are mostly forgoten and only several kinds of hats are widely acceptable. Let's change it.
What is a good hat that kinda looks like a fedora but that can be used today as everyday hat. That hat needs to be practical as well as beautyfull, rugged as well as sophisticated and it needs to be just right for today.
What is that hat?

Well...if you have beauty included I have to agree with the comments regarding fedoras. Beyond that if I am not in a fedora then I let the situation dictate. Cold weather and travel I wear a 8 panel non-stretch wool cap or a beret, both stylish in their own way and warm to boot. If I am doing water/beach activities then a medium bucket hat or surfer/lifeguard wide brimmed cloth hat with a chin strap works best. If there is a hat I am going to throw on to run out to the store our work in the yard etc...rather than using the typical ball cap I prefer more of a fishing cap. the kind with the crown that fits against your head and has a slightly longer bill. Hemmingway wore a version of this but with an exaggerated bill.

To me...each hat has their own use/beauty/reason for being.

M

 

[David V]

Alternatives to the fedora:
In no particular order. Each to be worn at the appropriate time.

the Homburg
the Derby/Bowler
the Straw Boater
the Straw Panama
the Trilby
the cloth cap
the Twead Hat
the Twead Cap
.
.
.
.
.
.
the baseball cap.

 

[jml90]

If you don't like fedoras why join The Fedora Lounge

 

[RBH]

The only alternitive to a felt fedora ...
is a straw fedora...

'nuff said

 

[Marc Chevalier]

If you don't like fedoras why join The Fedora Lounge

Wait! Are you saying that this website ISN'T for fans of the 1882 play by Victorien Sardou? I've been had!

 

[qwerty]

If you don't like fedoras why join The Fedora Lounge

Do not misunderstand me. I love fedoras. I have one. And I wear it from time to time. But very often I just want a hat wich does not atract so much attention when I am walking down the street. So that's why I asked the question I asked.
One more thing. I did not buy the story that all of you wear your fedoras on regular basis. It seems to me that your fedoras spend more time inside of the house then out. And that when you wear it on the street same things happen to you as they happen to me. (do not tell me that you were never followed by the pollice just becouse you wore a fedora)

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Newsboy caps, though a little trendy these days, are a very nice substitute. Though very informal and not to be worn with a suit for example.

Baseball caps for sports only.

Fedoras for every day use. You'll get yelled at by morons, you will not fit in, but they look great and protect the head from heat and cold.

bk

p.s. Followed by the police? Really? Is this a Serbian-specific police tactic? Do all your criminals wear fadoras?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

qwerty, I think you are correct. There are some people around here who really do wear their fedoras all the time ... but the vast majority of Loungers do not.

Men in their forties and beyond can get away more easily with wearing a fedora in public. So can men with beards, for some reason. (Bearded men can also get away with wearing bowties. I've never understood why.) It also helps if you're balding or completely bald. And guys in their late 'teens and twenties can wear stingy brim hats without any hassle, thanks to folks like Mr. Britney Spears.

So, where does that leave guys in their late twenties, or thirtysomething? Basically, it leaves us exposed to strange stares and stupid comments. While some of us don't mind (or even see our fedoras as badges of defiance), most others don't want the hassle.

I use my fedoras (a) at home or in the yard, and (b) at nightclubs featuring swing bands. If and when fedoras become more popular, I'll start wearing them in public more often. Meanwhile, they grace my walls and make me feel good.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Don't leave home without it!

I never go out of the house without a hat on. Not even to the mailbox or trash dumpster. Period. I only wear fedoras, for the most part, but once in a while I will put on my homburg, just to be different. My Montecristi is used mostly in the summer. I never wear a ball cap, tilley, bucket, or what have you, always a dress hat. That's just me. I have yet to run into any trouble or rude stares and comments while wearing a hat, and most people are rather complimentary.

Brad

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I have yet to run into any trouble or rude stares and comments while wearing a hat, and most people are rather complimentary.

Ah, but that's because you have a mustache. You get some of the teflon benefits that beard-wearers enjoy.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Ah, but that's because you have a mustache. You get some of the teflon benefits that beard-wearers enjoy.

I'm also turning 40 this year, but with my head full of grey hair, I look older than that. I suppose I've been "getting away with it" for years now!lol

I've always secretly hoped that folks just think of me as eccentric.

Brad

 

[Marc Chevalier]

And from the photos I've seen of you, fedoras look "right" on your head. What I mean to say is, they don't seem costumey or outlandish on you.

 

[RedPop4]

Explain the beard thing?
I wear what's popularly called a goatee, more accurately an Imperial.