Are We ???

[The Dame]

Are we truly people trying to keep hat making alive?

Or are we just a bunch of narcissistic ##### that like to look at ourselves in fine hattery?

If you gents don't mind a lady chiming in ... since when do they have to be mutually exclusive? Hats are not only functional, they're wearable art. No sin in that. You gentlemen may be tickled to know that in the latest issue of Playboy, there is a small blurb (p. 21) titled "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" which reports that menswear designers are increasingly including hats in their spring and summer lines. This is ascribed less to nostalgia than to the need to protect our pates from damaging sun rays ... which is, imo, a little short-sighted (both on Playboy's part and the part of menswear designers) since the need for protection from UVA/B rays is really necessary year-round ... nonetheless, it's good news for any fella interested in donning some spiffy headgear.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Mr. Lucky]

If you gents don't mind a lady chiming in ... since when do they have to be mutually exclusive? Hats are not only functional, they're wearable art. No sin in that. You gentlemen may be tickled to know that in the latest issue of Playboy, there is a small blurb (p. 21) titled "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" which reports that menswear designers are increasingly including hats in their spring and summer lines. This is ascribed less to nostalgia than to the need to protect our pates from damaging sun rays ... which is, imo, a little short-sighted (both on Playboy's part and the part of menswear designers) since the need for protection from UVA/B rays is really necessary year-round ... nonetheless, it's good news for any fella interested in donning some spiffy headgear.

Keep up the good work!

Nicely said! And I should have known! I do buy Playboy JUST for the articles!

 

[DOUGLAS]

I was walking around town this morning checking out what the flea markets had to offer. An older gentleman came up to me and said when you dress like you are you command respect sir. He then shook my hand and walked away.
I am wearing a DB 3 peice suit and a Borsalino. I didn't put this on this morning thinking that it was going to be commented on but it is for me a validation that I made the right choice. I wear what I can afford and what makes me comfortable. If that is going to project a certain image that someone will relate to then I am more than fine with that result.

 

[Fletch]

I don't think - and I hope we don't - define ourselves by our possessions. I've known people who didn't have much on the ball besides a bunch of neat stuff. Interacting with them ranged from vaguely disappointing to downright depressing. One reason: when your things are all you have, you don't want to share. Even to share the joy, if indeed you still feel any.

This crowd does not strike me that way. Quite the contrary - seems to me that instead of our possessions defining us, at our best we define our possessions. They are part of our joy, in a way that stuff from the mall never can be. We're picky - we quest for things - we study and learn. We take it further than just getting and having. Most important, we share.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Well there is no doubt and no offense taken here; I am undoubtedly a narcissistic ######## and totally self-absorbed miscreant. I've posted enough pictures of myself on this blog to prove it too. When I look around my society at large, I'm proud of my myself and my appearance - what Ayn Rand called 'rational selfishness'. Thank God for me and you who care enough about ourselves to make a good and well groomed presentation to our fellows. Believe me too, when I say I enjoy looking at you as much as I do the man in the mirror!

Shall I attach another great photo of US now!!?? lol

-dixon cannon

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I'm a narcissist. Pure and simple. Hats look good, and i like how i look in hats. If i didn't, i wouldn't wear them. Same with suits. I have no interest in keeping alive old traditions or "the way things were"[sic, ad nauseam]. I simply want to look my best. Call me shallow, cause that's what i am.


But hats say nothing whatsoever about "who" i am.


bk

 

[MAB1]

LOL

something's not all tightened down, that's for sure; I'm reading this while sitting at my desk wearing a terrific dark,dark green Borsalino-and a long sleeve white T shirt...

My brother calls all my fedoras "Uncle Ted Hats" because, Uncle Ted always wore a black Stetson fedora, white dress shirt (open collar), black suit coat and a pair of blue denim bib overalls. On Sundays he'd break out the suit pants and tie.

Slap me upside the head... I aint no different than Uncle Ted. That man was stylin and I didn't even know it. How am I any different in my blue jeans, T's and sweatshirts sporting a hat? I probably look more like Jed Clampett 'cept my hats are nicer condition.

 

[AlanC]

Narcissists or not, please remember to avoid language here that would make others uncomfortable. Also, political discussions and references are not allowed at the Fedora Lounge.

Policing this thread is just about half a step away from being more trouble than it's worth.

 

[MAB1]

Sorry if I offended anyone by laughing at myself. I used to laugh at Uncle Ted.

 

[The Dame]

Also, political discussions and references are not allowed at the Fedora Lounge.

Hmmm ... I missed the political discussion and references in this thread ...

 

[jimmy the lid]

I have been thinking lately (too much, Mrs., Blaine claims) that we define ourselves here entirely too much by what it is we consume, not only at TFL of course, but it may be that it comes into sharper focus here given the relative rarity of the commodity we are discussing. Not to be a thread killer, but does this occur to anyone else? [huh]

Interesting observation, Rick -- I'd be curious to know what thoughts led to this.

My own sense is that the posting that goes on here about "possessions" is, ultimately, a reflection of a collective love of hats that taps into something that transcends the hats themselves as items of consumption. Some of the posts in response to your question do a nice job of reflecting this dynamic. Sure, there can definitely be a "look at me" or a "look at what I just got" aspect to all of this. But this place serves as an invaluable encyclopedia of hats, and it has become such a resource by virtue of the fact that people have been willing to share their enthusiasm with others. Speaking for myself, when I post a lid in this forum, I try to present it in a way that will serve as a resource for somebody who is searching out info about certain kinds of hats, either now or sometime in the future. It's always nice to get "nice hat" kinds of comments, but that isn't the motivation. I have learned a lot -- and continue to learn -- by virtue of the fact that people are willing to share their lids here on the Lounge. I tend to think that the posting of our possessions here is motivated by the desire to participate in that kind of sharing. Just my 2 cents...

Cheers,
JtL