Another gents shop stops retailing hats.

[PADDY]

The last shop in my main town (20 miles from me - I live in the sticks), which has been trading and selling hats since 1872, has just stopped selling gent's trilbys/fedoras as 'no one' seems to want them [huh]

A sad day. But a good one for me, as I bought one for £16 and negotiated on another (because the ribbon had a fade mark), so bagged it for £5!! These normally retail at £50 ($100) and are (I think, as it doesn't say) rabbit fur felt (really nice!). So got one in a steel grey (£5) and the other in brown.

The nearest city to me is about 30 miles away, and there is only one gent's shop left which sells gents hats [huh]

Just wait, and when the likes of David Beckham, George Clooney or Justin Timberlake start wearing a fedora/trilby, they will be scrambling for them!!

 

[carter]

Paddy, This is a sad day in Fedora Town but a glad day for you.

I'm bidding on a Trilby on Ebay UK. I'd probably do better in your neck of the woods. [huh]

Show us your bargains.

Brad Pitt seems to favor a porkpie from time to time.

 

[Laurence]

What are the manufactures

Show us pics and the company names of the hats

 

[feltfan]

Paddy,

You might ask them if they are selling their hat
equipment. If they have been selling hats for decades,
they probably have a lot of stretchers, brushes, ribbon,
old signs, and maybe even blocks, conformateur,
or steaming equipment.

 

[PADDY]

The £5 ($10) grey hat from this shop sale (photos)

 

[Edward]

Nice hats, sir - and at a great price too. You wouldn't find a cheap wool on a spitalfields market stall for that! Enjoy. It certainly is a shame to see places not selling hats so much. Here in London, I do see a lot of places selling hats, though usually modern style wools - even in the "old man" shops (a small number of specialists aside, though they tend to only stock the very high end stuff that is beyond the reach of most of us), it's hard to find anything in a fur felt - mostly you're looking at wool. Not that I'm anti-wool per se, I wear wool and they definitely have their place, but it would be nice to have both available, and I don't like the notion of the market shrinknig like that. As has been said, if a big name adopts the hat, maybe we will see more hats in the style again, though the probability is again that for cost reasons these will all be wool. I'd love to see Clooney adopt a hat look more - of those names mentioned, Clooney is the one I wouild care to be associated with the most. I don't care to be associated with Beckham at all, but to be fair his influence could bring the hat back in a big way (if only he wore a proper hat and not those ghastly tea cosies he seems to favour). Much as I may prefer Yul Brynner, I do know it's Beckham I have to thank for mainstreaming the shaven headed look to the point where it's the exception rather than the rule where I get asked if I am "a nazi" / "a gay" / have cancer. Whatever, I'd love to see quality hats more readily available - great as it is to be able to go onto the internet and plan purchasing an Akubra from the other side of the world at a superb price, I'd still love to have been able to walk into a shop and buy over the counter.

I wonder how much this move away from the hats is partly fashion, and partly due to the fur? I.e. my question is whether they could create an environmentally-sound faux-fur that would be as good for hats but significantly cheaper, which would make the hats more attractive both on grounds of price and to those who would prefer not to have animal skin on their bonce? The animal skin content is obviously going to be an issue for some, while not many folks who are simply looking for a hat for practical purposes are gonig to be easy to convince of the idea of spending what a fur felt hat costs when they've been raised on wool beanies and ball caps at less than ten dollars or equivalent. I could see this working well of someone like Stella McCartney pushed it in her collections, leading to it filtering down to the streets rapidly as happens nowadays.

ETA: What's the rain coat? I tend to prefer the db trench style, but that sb of yours looks sharp with the suit and hat... Is that a period piece?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Bottom line is it looks comfortable on your head.

 

[PADDY]

It is.

Bottom line is it looks comfortable on your head.

Which is always a prerequisite.

 

[deanglen]

The look, whatever the cost of the hat, is priceless! Excellent, hat..and photos!

dean

 

[J.T.Marcus]

mostly you're looking at wool. Not that I'm anti-wool per se, I wear wool and they definitely have their place...I'd still love to have been able to walk into a shop and buy over the counter.

Some of my best friends are wool.

There is indeed, something especially nice about walking into a shop, and buying over the counter.

 

[PADDY]

Absolutely.

Some of my best friends are wool.

There is indeed, something especially nice about walking into a shop, and buying over the counter.

There will come a time when most things will be bought over the internet, or its equivalent [huh] The only family owned shop or store is becoming as wiped out as the Dodo or Platypus.

Sometimes, I think I am the last of the Irish Dodo's[huh]

 

[J.T.Marcus]

PADDY, It's delightful to hear from you, and to get a little first hand news from where you live.

Some of my best friends are Irish dodos.

 

[carter]

Paddy,

That's a great look. Reminiscent of a WWII Foreign Intrigue film.

If you ever come to trial, my motto is:

"If the hat fits, you must acquit."

You do the Irish Dodo's proud!

:eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

Paddy, the internet does present a very significant threat to the modern high street retailer, which typically (certainly the smaller, independent places) can't afford to compete with the prices low-overheads online businesses can offer. It seems to me, though, that while we sometimes mourn the passing of 'real world' shops at the hands of the internet, the upside is that due to the much wider market a single internet store can reach as compared to bricks and mortar, a relatively minor interest group such as those of us who want to wear Fedoras can be surer that a good business will get enough custom to survive. Without the internet that might not be the case, result being that the local hat shop might close down or stop doing hats due to lack of demand without there being any alternative. Not the same as going in to a shop, but at least they're available.

J.T. - to clarify, I didn't mean to imply that wool is inferior per se (I'm very attached to my wools too - actually, I've been wearing one all week), just simply that what you will typically see on sale on the high street here are cheap hats that will invariably be made of wool, wool being a cheaper material than the fur. I'm inclined to the belief, though, that the best wool hats are probably as good as many of the fur hats out there.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Edward, I took no offense. Of course, Deanglen hasn't weighed in yet!

 

[deanglen]

Wool hats simply can't meet the performance and fineness of fur felt hats. Wool is a poorer cousin but they are part of the hat family, and I like them well enough, but there's a Stratoliner out there somewhere with my name on it, someday.

dean

 

[Jovan]

Their loss, your gain.

I'll make sure to revive the hat industry when I become famous in case the Beckhams, Clooneys, and Timberlakes don't.

 

[imoldfashioned]

You look so dashing Paddy (sigh!)--those are marvelous pictures!

It's sad to hear the shop is discontinuing selling hats, but such a nice bargain softens the blow.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Come on Paddy, knock it off! We want to see photos of you in your new hat, not some pics of some Golden Era Hollywood star.

Oh, hang on a sec . . . That is you in that suit and hat . . .

 

[Edward]

Edward, I took no offense. Of course, Deanglen hasn't weighed in yet!

Heh. Glad my comments were taken i the spirit as meant - nother forum I'm on we recently had all kinds of "fun" with crossed wires. Makes a guy a little overcautious sometimes!