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[DRB]

Make sure you put your cigar out first!

 

[James007]

Pictures!

Pictures were taken buy seller, Just waiting to receive the hat! will take more once i have it!

 

[Dixon Steele]

What is the best hat shop in London? Im fed up of internet shopping..

 

[billyspew]

Really depends on what you're looking for?
There are a few take a look here.

Cheers,

Bill

 

[BanjoMerlin]

Can I use zippo lighter fluid to clean a dirt, stubborn (I've tried everything else already) spot from the brim of one of my hats? The man at the hat store here in Rome suggested that. I know there's naphtha but I'm not sure if both are the same thing...[huh]

Zippo lighter fluid is naphtha. It will often remove a stubborn stain. Put the lighter fluid on a cloth, not directly on the hat.

 

[150719541]

Make sure you put your cigar out first!

That is good, I am a National and Dodger fan, I´m sorry, but you can burn it, No mind. ¡¡¡

 

[senoreme]

Not Cool! From the Bronx, New York, U.S.A.

 

[hag]

yanks are evil empire as braves fans know; go rangers

 

[Neophyte]

Hey, I've got a question. I'm going to keep searching through the Lounge, but while I'm at it I figured I'd augment the search through this thread.
So here goes:

Is there a thread dedicated to the hats worn and distributed to the various Law Enforcement agencies around the world?

A member here posted a link to a website dedicated to Law Enforcement hats, and it got me wondering...Anyway, thanks so much for your time . Have a great day (or night)!

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

I bought my first Light color hat a couple of weeks ago. A Steston Open Road in the silver belly color. I love the hat, but I'm not to sure how much abuse it can take. I don't treat my hats bad but I wear them a lot. I got caught in the rain with my new hat and about freaked out. I took it off and went the rest of the weekend without my hat. My other hats are felts also in a variety of shapes from the Gus to the outback type. My Black Gus Resistol is 28 years old. It's black and I don't worry about it . I just wipe it off with a rag if it gets dirty. My Scala Pacific Dorfman (Sante Fe) in light brown the same thing. I want to make this OR my everyday hat. I don't want to be scared to wear it. I'm already thinking of buying another one just for special ocassion's. I'm I nuts or what?

 

[zetwal]

My view? Don't be shy about it. Wear it and enjoy it. Rain won't hurt it. But as you have observed, light colors do show dirt more easily. You can keep it brushed and/or sponged. If you can't stand any visible dirt on a light hat wear dark for those activities that are likely to get it especially dirty. And welcome to the Lounge!

 

[BanjoMerlin]

Rain isn't going to hurt your OR but if it is dusty the raindrops will leave spotty marks. So get a hat brush and get in the habit of brushing the dust off once a week. Light colored hats do show dirt more than darker hats so your OR will most likely get dirty if you wear it all the time. That's why men had "good" hats that were only worn on special occasions.

Wear it, enjoy it, that's what it is for.

 

[Neophyte]

I'm not to sure how much abuse it can take. I don't treat my hats bad but I wear them a lot. I got caught in the rain with my new hat and about freaked out. I took it off and went the rest of the weekend without my hat.

In my honest opinion, Open Road type hats were never meant to be babied. That said, if you want to save it for special occasions, there is nothing at all wrong with that. After all, that's just another reason to buy another hat, and there certainly isn't anything wrong with that lol.

I also believe that a little dirt goes a long way. It gives off an aura of experience. The same thing happens with banjo players that practice the clawhammer style, like myself: a lot of contact occurs between the thumb and the canvas "head" of the banjo. After lots and lots of playing, enough dirt and oil from the thumb will accumulate to make a dirty "smudge" on the head. As a general rule, the larger and darker that smudge, the better the banjo player lol.

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

Thanks for the welcome and advise. You all have good points. I will no doubt ease into wearing it daily for all conditions. I do have other hats to wear in bad weather, but as Neophyte said it's not meant to be babied. I will probably adhear to that advise. Thanks Fellas.

 

[SheBear74]

Hello Gentlemen I have a 15 year old son who would love to have a fedora. I was wondering can you wear them with more casual clothes, and if yes can you give me an example? I also need to figure out where to get one. Any advise is welcome, I would really like to get him one for Christmas

 

[Neophyte]

I have a 15 year old son who would love to have a fedora. I was wondering can you wear them with more casual clothes, and if yes can you give me an example? I also need to figure out where to get one. Any advise is welcome, I would really like to get him one for Christmas

I myself am 19. It's nice to see I'm not the only one in my generation getting into hats.

First you should find out his head size with measuring tape (I think if there's one of those new Lids stores in a mall near you, they might do this for you). You will want to do a bit of research on what shapes of hats will most compliment his features. Then you would probably want to assess his wardrobe (does he wear earth tones or blacks/blue/greys more? darker clothing or lighter clothing?), and finally how much you'd like to spend.

Many here will recommend Akubra (an Australian brand) hats as an excellent starter hat (heck, just plain excellent hats). However, many are intimidated by ordering from across the oceans, so here's a few stores you can check out:

TheFedoraStore
Hats-Plus
Hats in the Belfry
Noggintops
DavidMorgan
BenCraft Hatters

For modern production hats, the most commonly discussed brands are Akubra, Stetson, and Borsalino. These companies probably make the best modern sub-$200 products available today, unless you're willing to go vintage.

I imagine a 15-year old will need a hard-wearing hat that will take the abuse for years to come and still look good (judging by the way I treat my own hats, and I'm almost 20 lol). For that, I recommend Akubra or Stetson.

As for wearing with casual clothes, that's easy. Certain factors in a hat (color, ribbon-width, size) will contribute a casual appearance. For instance, here's a pic I posted a few days ago of myself wearing an Akubra Campdraft in the color bluegrass green, with jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt and proper shirt (it was cold that day), and a fleece jacket by Colombia. There's also a cool thread around here about fedoras and Hawaiian shirts, if you can
find it lol.

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask any more questions...the people here at the Lounge are a great and helpful bunch .

 

[SheBear74]

Neophyte, thanks so much for the quick response and all the info! My son has always loved suits, and dress clothes. He doesn't always have a place to wear them though.lol The Hawaiian shirt idea is a great one since we live in Florida. This is actually a picture I took of him and his brother wearing shirts that I made them. You can tell he does like the vintage look.

 

[Neophyte]

I certainly can. Lucky for him, that face shape ought to work well with both tapered and straight-crowned hats. He'll enjoy quite a bit of versatility, which is good, because apart from a couple Akubra and Stetson models, it's hard to find a modern factory-production hat with a straight-crown (as is so often praised here). Oh, and bravo on the shirts :eusa_clap, they look very cool!

I would love to post a link to the "Hawaiian Shirts and Fedoras" thread (I suppose you could just search it, as this is exactly the name of that thread), but unfortunately the recent update to the Lounge software has made inter-Lounge links a bit wonky. I'm sure they'll fix it up soon enough [huh].

 

[danofarlington]

I bought my first Light color hat a couple of weeks ago. A Steston Open Road in the silver belly color. I love the hat, but I'm not to sure how much abuse it can take. I don't treat my hats bad but I wear them a lot. I got caught in the rain with my new hat and about freaked out. I took it off and went the rest of the weekend without my hat. My other hats are felts also in a variety of shapes from the Gus to the outback type. My Black Gus Resistol is 28 years old. It's black and I don't worry about it . I just wipe it off with a rag if it gets dirty. My Scala Pacific Dorfman (Sante Fe) in light brown the same thing. I want to make this OR my everyday hat. I don't want to be scared to wear it. I'm already thinking of buying another one just for special ocassion's. I'm I nuts or what?

I don't know whether your Open Road is a vintage model, or a modern one. If it's modern it's stiff, and should not have any problem with the rain, other than possibly a coloration effect. I am wondering this myself, having bought a modern stiff Open Road, very pristine, wondering about what would happen to the color in the rain, but assume nothing. If it's a vintage, it has a flexible brim, and don't worry about the rain. The only possible effect is a wavy brim, which can be fixed easily by a hat shop (you can mail it to them) for a small fee.

 

[SheBear74]

If you don't mind me asking. Where did you get your hat? I really like the looks and the color!