Considering a Stetson Open Road, what pairs well with it?

[Frunobulax]

I have a feeling many modern folks who wear hats, if presented with the kind of hats we prefer around here, might think they were cheap or less desirable because they view those stiff, pressed hats a more "sturdy."

 

[RossRYoung]

And also prefer a hard hat to their caps

 

[Rmccamey]

I have a feeling many modern folks who wear hats, if presented with the kind of hats we prefer around here, might think they were cheap or less desirable because they view those stiff, pressed hats a more "sturdy."

I concur, but I would also frame it as just one more item that is disposable. I don't get the sense that most hat wearers outside the Lounge consider hats lifetime articles to be passed down to their heirs.

 

[dkstott]

I concur, but I would also frame it as just one more item that is disposable. I don't get the sense that most hat wearers outside the Lounge consider hats lifetime articles to be passed down to their heirs.

There is a bit of disposable mentality in today's everyday hat wearers.

But there's also the issue that our heirs arent going want all of our hats. Especially a large collection of them. They may possibly want 1 hat to remember us. But they probably won't want a collection of them.

I remember when my dad died, it was an overwhelming task of clearing out the house for my sister and I. We made a resolution that we'd never make our kids go through the same thing.

There's a lot of things that our parent's may have collected that we have no use for. My mom collected Hummel figures. Neither my sister nor I wanted 2 curio cabinets full after she died. We each kept 1.

 

[Rmccamey]

There is a bit of disposable mentality in today's everyday hat wearers.

But there's also the issue that our heirs arent going want all of our hats. Especially a large collection of them. They may possibly want 1 hat to remember us. But they probably won't want a collection of them.

I remember when my dad died, it was an overwhelming task of clearing out the house for my sister and I. We made a resolution that we'd never make our kids go through the same thing.

There's a lot of things that our parent's may have collected that we have no use for. My mom collected Hummel figures. Neither my sister nor I wanted 2 curio cabinets full after she died. We each kept 1.

Yes sir, I agree. Just went through that with them MIL and I want to minimize the crap I have accumulated to avoid that very thing. I know my daughter "might" want to keep, at best, a hat or two of mine. My point is that I regard most of my hats as having utility beyond the present, as heirloom articles.

Ps, my MIL was into ceramic lighthouses. We threw away dozens that she pampered most of her life.

 

[jlee562]

With regards to the crown height, my hypothesis is that they're trying to find proportions that will look flattering on the widest variety of people possible, since hats are no longer as customizable in that regard. I.e. how many times have we seen the hat wearer "evolution" to wider brims and taller crowns here?

 

[Rmccamey]

Or maybe they are just trying to reduce costs by using less material!

With regards to the crown height, my hypothesis is that they're trying to find proportions that will look flattering on the widest variety of people possible, since hats are no longer as customizable in that regard. I.e. how many times have we seen the hat wearer "evolution" to wider brims and taller crowns here?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

There is a bit of disposable mentality in today's everyday hat wearers.

But there's also the issue that our heirs arent going want all of our hats. Especially a large collection of them. They may possibly want 1 hat to remember us. But they probably won't want a collection of them.

I remember when my dad died, it was an overwhelming task of clearing out the house for my sister and I. We made a resolution that we'd never make our kids go through the same thing.

There's a lot of things that our parent's may have collected that we have no use for. My mom collected Hummel figures. Neither my sister nor I wanted 2 curio cabinets full after she died. We each kept 1.

My 86 year old mother-in-law has cabinets full of Lladro figurines that she knows none of her children want. She knows they’ll be sold or donated with a few kept as remembrances, and she’s fine with that. Her joy was in collecting them and they were always a safe gift to give her as she lives a simple life and is notoriously hard to shop for. In the end, the material possessions we leave behind don’t mean much. I’d love for my kids to sell off my hats etc. and all take a trip together and have a great time. I’ve thought about leaving a description of each hat for them to use on eBay along with en estimated value…not sure I want to confront the grand total.

 

[Frunobulax]

I reject the notion that material items are not of lasting or meaningful value. I know that's the "correct" thing to say because being "materialistic" is considered some sort of original sin. Humans are tactile creatures and touching something that has touched the past can have a deep meaning. To reject such a notion is to reject our humanity.

As an example, I own the family Bibles from both sides of my family. They belonged to parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, and have family records in them. When I go, my niece will get them, and she'll be thrilled to have them. My mother's recipe box, with her own handwritten notes on 3x5 cards is a special thing.

I marvel, for example, that one day she sat down and handwrote the recipe for Elephant Stew on a 3x5 card (feeds 3500). I have an image of Mom sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a Salem, jotting down a joke recipe. That's priceless.

If you tell your relatives your possessions are not meaningful, they'll believe you.

/end threadjack.

 

[belfastboy]

I reject the notion that material items are not of lasting or meaningful value. I know that's the "correct" thing to say because being "materialistic" is considered some sort of original sin. Humans are tactile creatures and touching something that has touched the past can have a deep meaning. To reject such a notion is to reject our humanity.

As an example, I own the family Bibles from both sides of my family. They belonged to parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, and have family records in them. When I go, my niece will get them, and she'll be thrilled to have them. My mother's recipe box, with her own handwritten notes on 3x5 cards is a special thing.

I marvel, for example, that one day she sat down and handwrote the recipe for Elephant Stew on a 3x5 card (feeds 3500). I have an image of Mom sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a Salem, jotting down a joke recipe. That's priceless.

If you tell your relatives your possessions are not meaningful, they'll believe you.

/end threadjack.

Thank you for your words! I have a collector's mindset and from that multiple 'collections'. Marie Kondo says to look at each of your possessions and shed the ones that don't bring you joy. I do that and throw nothing away (except worn out tshirts!) because each piece brings me joy....that is why I bought the damned thing in the first place.

 

[belfastboy]

With regards to the crown height, my hypothesis is that they're trying to find proportions that will look flattering on the widest variety of people possible, since hats are no longer as customizable in that regard. I.e. how many times have we seen the hat wearer "evolution" to wider brims and taller crowns here?

I hope Stetson never starts to service the niche markets. As a custom hat maker niche markets are what keeps me going. It is interesting as I also serve a niche market that finds mass produced hats all have crowns that are too high and want something lower.

 

[M Hatman]

It is interesting as I also serve a niche market that finds mass produced hats all have crowns that are too high and want something lower.

LOWER?!?!?!?!?!?
The most mass produced hats are Trilibies in all types of fabric, felt, etc............WHAT do they want..... close fitting baseball caps with a brim all the way around?

 

[belfastboy]

LOWER?!?!?!?!?!?
The most mass produced hats are Trilibies in all types of fabric, felt, etc............WHAT do they want..... close fitting baseball caps with a brim all the way around?

A big part of my work is talking them out of sub 4" crowns!!!!

 

[M Hatman]

I just knew someone would be selling these......

 

[belfastboy]

A big part of my work is talking them out of sub 4" crowns!!!!

My target market when I started out was either non hat wearers or bucket hat/baseball cap guys and then off the shelf cheaper hat wearers that would never consider a custom made fedora.

So I work with a great many, mostly local, newbies to the wide world of hats. I consider myself a hat evangelist bringing the world of hats to the unbaptised masses!

 

[belfastboy]

I sent a fellow home just last week with a 2 1/4" Trilby......after talking him off the edge on his desired Pork Pie stingy. The deal I struck with him.....wear it for a month and if he doesn't like it he can bring it back and I will trim it down and rebash as a Porkie.

 

[belfastboy]

I understand this to mean that the memories and connections to the past are of value rather than the thing itself. The genealogy and insights in our ancestors is also of real value to me. I do try to embrace the whole “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” ethos, but memories and connections are of inestimable value to me. I didn’t mean to say the function of the “thing” isn’t of value, but the thing itself isn’t of any lasting worth to me. I certainly can’t speak for others.

My father left his five children various things in his will, and we all received at least one of his guns. My father was a competitive shooter from childhood (high schools in California has rifle teams in his day), a veteran, a hunter, and a peace officer. Guns were part of his life and part of our upbringing. My youngest sister asked me to watch over the rifle she received and she shared the handwritten note my father included with it. She said the rifle made her feel a continuity of family and a real connection to the past as the rifle had belonged to our great grandfather. As I put the rifle in my safe I realized that I had bought the rifle at a gun show in the 1980s and it had no connection to our great grandfather and my dad had confused the rifle with another. The fact that it was not the same rifle that our great grandfather handled wasn’t important, it was the thoughts and feelings my sister associated with it.

While I try to embrace the warning of “to be carnally minded is death,” I’ll also admit a streak of hypocrisy. I do like my “things.”

My tempering thought is to ask myself the question: "Do I have things or do my things have me?".

 

[Frunobulax]

I understand this to mean that the memories and connections to the past are of value rather than the thing itself. The genealogy and insights in our ancestors is also of real value to me. I do try to embrace the whole “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” ethos, but memories and connections are of inestimable value to me. I didn’t mean to say the function of the “thing” isn’t of value, but the thing itself isn’t of any lasting worth to me. I certainly can’t speak for others.

My father left his five children various things in his will, and we all received at least one of his guns. My father was a competitive shooter from childhood (high schools in California has rifle teams in his day), a veteran, a hunter, and a peace officer. Guns were part of his life and part of our upbringing. My youngest sister asked me to watch over the rifle she received and she shared the handwritten note my father included with it. She said the rifle made her feel a continuity of family and a real connection to the past as the rifle had belonged to our great grandfather. As I put the rifle in my safe I realized that I had bought the rifle at a gun show in the 1980s and it had no connection to our great grandfather and my dad had confused the rifle with another. The fact that it was not the same rifle that our great grandfather handled wasn’t important, it was the thoughts and feelings my sister associated with it.

While I try to embrace the warning of “to be carnally minded is death,” I’ll also admit a streak of hypocrisy. I do like my “things.”

Then you are misconstruing my point. I'm saying the physical thing is of equal value to the memory. It's a physical manifestation that exists in the real world, like we do. We're not ethereal beings existing in the cosmos non-corporeally - we are not Organians. Our need for physical things is primal and necessary.

Oh, and to keep somewhat on topic, here's an Organian wearing a hat.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I'm saying the physical thing is of equal value to the memory. It's a physical manifestation that exists in the real world, like we do. We're not ethereal beings existing in the cosmos non-corporeally - we are not Organians. Our need for physical things is primal and necessary.

I agree Jim. Otherwise museums have it all wrong & no need to exist. Family heirlooms & anrtifacts are totally different from hummels & beanie babies. Heirlooms & artifacts by their mear survival have earned a life of their own. Be it to me to be the one to take that life away.for future generations such as your niece or a grandchild. I’m proud of my ancestors who came before me & I hope to meet them someday. I’ll hear their stories firsthand then, making their heirlooms & artifacts all the more valuable.

 

[StoryPNW]

Well, I went to the store thus afternoon. Couldn't wait! I didn't get any pics, but tried in several OR hats. Im a 7 ⅝ long oval. The OR did not sit down far enough on my head for my liking. It felt like the crease was balanced on the top of my noggin. It did feel right on the forehead and back. I also tried on a ¾ to see if it would be lower, but to no avail. I like my hats lower, almost touching my ears. The hats were really nice. I looked at a distressed Royal Deluxe and really liked it. I did orefere the RD over the 6X if I was to get one, but I couldn't get past the shallow fit.

I'm going to look into a Greeley Johnson County. They've got my head profile on hand and can make ine to fit me nicely. It'll cost a little more, but I prefer that for my big 'ol mellon head.

I was excited to find a hat store in Arizona today, AZ-Tex Hats, it was a cool store and they had a variety or Stetson, Scala, and Resistol hats. Unfortunely all of them were sadly uninspiring, aside from one or two of the outback styled Scala Panama hats. Compared to vintage or custom hats they all felt stiff, unfinished, or just poorly made. The off-the-shelf varieties are pretty sad these days.