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[gtdean48]

A childhood friend of mine is expecting his first child in July. I was wondering if there ever was a tradition of giving a hat to a fellow as a gift for such an occasion. As I have no children, nor a wife, I am unaware of any such custom but I wished to ask.

I have given hats to key folks in my life, not really for any specific occasion except maybe their birthday...
Have quite a few Loungers that have bought hats to commemorate the birth of a child, so giving one seems like a good & generous gesture.

 

[WesternHatWearer]

Thank you Zombie_61 and GTDean48. I am grateful for the insights you have offered.

 

[Dennis Young]

This seems to work on other sites, so I figure that it deserves a shot here.

If you've got a quick hat question and don't see a thread for it, just post it here. Whether the question is about cleaning, anatomy of a hat, brands, etc., this is the place.

Here's one to break the ice.

It’s a great tradition too. I’d love to see some of these customs return.

 

[Rhino]

Dress Code question:

Is there a certain level of attire one must wear with a felt fedora? What's the acceptable "comfort level " before having to don less formal headwear?

 

[DJH]

You'll find a wide range of views on this, Rhino.
For me, there is no minimum requirement - I'm sure many would squirm, but I happily wear fedoras and cargo shorts in the summer - with jeans all year.

The guy that wrote the rules is long gone, so we can do whatever we want

 

[jlee562]

I'm with David on this one. "Wear the hat, don't let the hat wear you."

 

[Bob Roberts]

You'll find a wide range of views on this, Rhino.
For me, there is no minimum requirement - I'm sure many would squirm, but I happily wear fedoras and cargo shorts in the summer - with jeans all year.

The guy that wrote the rules is long gone, so we can do whatever we want

A hearty YES! to that.

 

[Dan Allen]

Back in the day I doubt that many would step out the door wearing some of the clothes seen today--with or without a proper hat.

 

[dnjan]

Dress Code question:

Is there a certain level of attire one must wear with a felt fedora? What's the acceptable "comfort level " before having to don less formal headwear?

I'll admit that I switched to a Tilley for my last visit to a nude beach, but in general felt fedoras work with almost anything (unless switching to straw to better accommodate hot weather).

 

[Rhino]

I guess I asked the "dress code" question because I feel a bit odd wearing a nice hat with my what-has-become-the-new-normal jeans/t-shirt/tennis shoes. So my answer was to start "caring" about what I wear again. For example, for church this morning, I donned a nice pair of slacks, a short sleeve button up shirt, my Allen Edmond loafers, and the fedora... It felt good to dress up for church again.. lol. I went from flying a desk for many years, with the commensurate office attire, to wearing a t-shirt and jeans as a bondsman--and along with that went my "I don't care what I leave the house with" mentality. I think I enjoy caring about what I wear again...

 

[RJR]

Do what works for you.....

 

[Zombie_61]

I'll admit that I switched to a Tilley for my last visit to a nude beach...

But did you still wear it on your head, or...never mind.

I guess I asked the "dress code" question because I feel a bit odd wearing a nice hat with my what-has-become-the-new-normal jeans/t-shirt/tennis shoes. So my answer was to start "caring" about what I wear again. For example, for church this morning, I donned a nice pair of slacks, a short sleeve button up shirt, my Allen Edmond loafers, and the fedora... It felt good to dress up for church again.. lol. I went from flying a desk for many years, with the commensurate office attire, to wearing a t-shirt and jeans as a bondsman--and along with that went my "I don't care what I leave the house with" mentality. I think I enjoy caring about what I wear again...

I'm very much a "blue collar/working class" guy, and I've never had a job that required me to even wear a tie, let alone a suit. In fact, in the last five years I've only worn a suit two or three times. As such, my usual is jeans and a tee shirt with the occasional Hawaiian/Aloha or other type of button-up shirt, and I wear my fedoras regularly as well. Now, I know there are some members here who wouldn't be caught dead wearing a tee shirt and jeans unless they were doing yardwork or some other activity that would ruin their "nice" clothes, and certainly wouldn't wear a fedora with them unless it had been relegated to a "beater/work" hat. But I've never been "fashion conscious", I'm 53 years old, I have back problems that leave me in constant pain, and at this point in my life I don't particularly care about what anyone else thinks about what I wear. Mind you, the clothes I wear are always clean and maintained (i.e., no holes, tears, stains, etc.) so I'm not a complete slob. But I do wear my fedoras as casually as I wear everything else.

 

[WesternHatWearer]

Dress Code question:

Is there a certain level of attire one must wear with a felt fedora? What's the acceptable "comfort level " before having to don less formal headwear?

I would say you are safe to wear your hat in whatever you feel comfortable in. I saw a young man in a western hat a few days ago at a sporting good store. Nothing shocking about that; but his attire had me puzzled. He was wearing a blue pull over hooded sweater, grey athletic shorts, black knee high soccer socks, and his feet were clad in nike flip flops. Atop his head sat a black western hat with a 5 inch crown, creased in a bull rider's fashion. In one hand was an Icee/Slushie and in the other was his cell phone, at which he was starring intently.
If the above "cowboy" is comfortable wearing his hat in public, the dress code for such hats must be out the window. Ha ha.
I would recommend wearing your hat in whatever you are comfortable in.

 

[B1ggles]

I'll admit that I switched to a Tilley for my last visit to a nude beach

Is it legal in the US to wear a hat on a nudist beach? Standards must really be slipping.

But, back on topic, I am always happy to wear a fur felt fedora with casual clothing, eg sweaters etc. But for some reason I feel less comfortable wearing my homburg unless I am dressed a little more formally (not necessarily a tie, but maybe a coat or jacket at least).

 

[hatsRme]

Is it legal in the US to wear a hat on a nudist beach?

The question might be "stingy or wide brim....?"

 

[Frunobulax]

Depends on how much shade you're looking for.

 

[javadave61]

I guess I asked the "dress code" question because I feel a bit odd wearing a nice hat with my what-has-become-the-new-normal jeans/t-shirt/tennis shoes.... I think I enjoy caring about what I wear again...

I've noticed that the addition of fedoras to my wardrobe has made me more conscious of dressing a bit nicer. I feel your concern. I discovered my love for fedoras because of the ridiculously long walk in the icy temperatures from my car into work. It started as a warmth thing. Now it's an obsession. So I'm wondering how I'll feel when the overcoat is off and the shorts/jeans/t-shirts are the norm.

And after all these years of advocating for more casual dress in church, I now find myself dressing up to match the glory of my hat. Now, all I've got to do is keep myself from saying,
"Why can't these kids now-a-days show some respect in how they dress?"

 

[gtdean48]

Dress Code question:

Is there a certain level of attire one must wear with a felt fedora? What's the acceptable "comfort level " before having to don less formal headwear?

I wear felt fedoras with t-shirts & jeans all the way to tuxedo. Lots of mine are thin ribbons which are "country" hats but do have some mid-ribbons that I consider "city" hats. I also have outback & western hats but no derbies/bowlers, homburgs, or top hats. I even wear some vented, featherweight felt hats with shorts. Wear 'em if you got 'em....

 

[tommyK]

Rhino, as you can see "wear whatever you want" is the consensus or wear whatever you're comfortable in. I do occasionally wear t-shirts, jeans and sneakers with a fedora but usually it's a button down shirt, often flannel, jeans and some kind of shoes or boots.
I also agree with gtdean48 that thin ribbons are more "country" or casual than wide ribbons and Homburgs. I pretty much only wear Homburgs to church. Maybe if I had a brown one......hmm.

 

[WesternHatWearer]

What thread contains all the links to other threads on the forum. I recall stumbling across it the other day. This thread had links to other threads such as, how to clean a fur felt, western, anyone?, how to post pictures to a thread, and so on. I found it useful but I cannot recall the name of it.