Cool vid. enjoy ! Colin Blair from JJ Hat

[moontheloon]

a little bit of hat history with one of the coolest cats.... Colin Blair from JJ Hat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9nFEdw27js&app=desktop

 

[hatsRme]

Interesting vid, Moon. Thanks. Also interesting is how Colin keeps his pajamas around his neck for the presentation!

 

[Bob Roberts]

Fun n fast. Thx for sharing.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Interesting vid, Moon. Thanks. Also interesting is how Colin keeps his pajamas around his neck for the presentation!

Lol.

 

[moontheloon]

Interesting vid, Moon. Thanks. Also interesting is how Colin keeps his pajamas around his neck for the presentation!

the man is resourceful
always ready for a power nap .... anywhere ... anytime

 

[Frunobulax]

Nice vid, Moon. Hat history and Stetson history has captured my fancy, as I see parallels in the industrial history of Stetson and NCR, a major force here in Dayton at the turn of the last century. They have a lot in common regarding how they approached branding, sales, manufacturing techniques, worker treatment, and the like. John Patterson, founder of NCR, pioneered the modern sales force, and the NCR campus was akin to the Stetson campus, if much larger. At one time, even up to the 70s and 80s (Dad was laid off in '74), the NCR campus had an auditorium/theater that was one of the best halls in town, a library, in-house food service, a private park for the employees (and a nice one), and various other amenities. I need to pick up some books on John B. Stetson. Is there a definitive biography?

Also, not to be a wet blanket, but didn't Brad Bowers dispel the "Fedora was a woman's hat myth" in a thread recently?

 

[Brad Bowers]

Also, not to be a wet blanket, but didn't Brad Bowers dispel the "Fedora was a woman's hat myth" in a thread recently?

I made a recent post about it, but Robert (rlk) is the one who did the original research. I've just buit upon his work. I'm planning an article to post on my Hatted Professor blog, website, and Facebook page to help dispel this myth, as it's high time it was laid to rest.

 

[hatsRme]

You go, Brad!! In addition to the camaraderie, it's this type of exchange that I so enjoy here on the Lounge, as well as your HattedProf. site. Thank you so much for all of us! Will we ever have all the facts?

 

[tropicalbob]

Thanks for posting the vid, but it seems more an ad for Colin's shop than anything else (and good for him). N.B. Glenn O'Brien, "The Style Guy" at GQ, has been an outspoken proponent of men's hats for years, and his column is always common-sensical and very funny. I recently spent a few hours reading through it and really enjoyed his responses to the sometimes dopey questions.

 

[Frunobulax]

I made a recent post about it, but Robert (rlk) is the one who did the original research. I've just buit upon his work. I'm planning an article to post on my Hatted Professor blog, website, and Facebook page to help dispel this myth, as it's high time it was laid to rest.

Thanks, I enjoy reading your researched items.

Someday, we'll have to endow a grad student to pore over the FL and catalog everything. I feel 75% of that history may be contained on this site, but it's all scattered about the room.

 

[RJR]

Interesting video.

 

[g.durand]

I couldn't keep my eyes off Colin's hat. My first thought was it's a vintage Open Road or the like since it has wide brim and a wind trolley, but in an uncommon color. I expanded the view to full-screen and did some stop action to see the sweatband, where it says "Made in Australia". So it appears to be a Campdraft.

He may wear his PJs around his neck, but I like the way he wears his hat.

 

[moontheloon]

I couldn't keep my eyes off Colin's hat. My first thought was it's a vintage Open Road or the like since it has wide brim and a wind trolley, but in an uncommon color. I expanded the view to full-screen and did some stop action to see the sweatband, where it says "Made in Australia". So it appears to be a Campdraft.

He may wear his PJs around his neck, but I like the way he wears his hat.

I'll be stopping in to see Colin soon .... I'll get the skinny on that lid for sure

I too was very interested in it ... CD didn't even cross my mind because it looked so soft and pliable ... nice work on the stop action

 

[hatophile]

I thought Colin's hat might be one of the new Strats, but the color seemed unusual. I like how he wore it, too.

 

[rogerstg]

I liked Collin's hat too with the flat brim.

Also, since I'm usually the one hatted out of 100+ people that aren't, I avoid making comments about people's scarves or anything else they wear. :eeek:

I'm pretty sure I'm living in a glass house.

Roger

 

[hatsRme]

So if 99 out of 100 people aren't wearing a hat, I'll bet that even more aren't wearing "scarves" quite like that. But I've been wrong before. And anyone may comment on my lids. I have two daughters... I do receive comments. I simply go by my wife's guidance (from when I first re-introduced hats into my life) which says, "As long as you don't look like a cartoon." One must be confident, Rog!

 

[g.durand]

rog--if you Google "mens street fashion new york hats" you'll get images of lots of men wearing all kinds of broad brimmed hats with big scarves. I like the look myself. We're just poking a little fun, no harm intended.

 

[KingAndrew]

Frunobulax,

Your observations are spot on. There is a great story to tell about how the paternalistic "family" model of employer-worker relations evolved to today's "one-night-stand" kind of relationship. In the late 19th/early-20th Century era, it was not unusual for big factories to build company towns with attractive homes, parks,schools, and lots of company-sponsored activities. Hershey, PA is another example recently mentioned on the Lounge. I remember as a child in the 1979s, the company picnics, days at the amusement park, and other events my dad's employer (now SunTrust bank) used to have. Those things were gradually dropped, starting in the late 1970s/early 80s, which is about the time American wages stopped growing in parallel with productivity gains. So the same business forces were probably involved in both of those changes. On the other hand, when I worked at The Coca-Cola Company in the early 1990s, they still had many of the company-run activities and services for employees, so these things varied by company.

My aunt worked for NCR for many years as an auditor. Although she had an apartment in California, she was on the road constantly: 6 weeks here, 6 weeks there. She was able to see the world--as an accountant. Not just the whole USA, but Europe, Africa, and Asia.

And you are right that there is so much valuable material here on the Lounge. One concern I have is that so many of the older threads are losing the photos that the posts reference, which makes them less useful than they could be. But it is a definite gold mine for anyone wanting to know more about hats.

 

[Bob Roberts]

rog--if you Google "mens street fashion new york hats" you'll get images of lots of men wearing all kinds of broad brimmed hats with big scarves. I like the look myself. We're just poking a little fun, no harm intended.

+1. I wear a scarf whenever possible.

 

[Slacker Drummer]

Not one for patience, I emailed Colin at JJ Hat Center and got the following kind response:

Hi Kenneth,

Thanks for watching! I didn't do anything special to the brim in terms of ironing or anything like that. I just snapped the brim off to the side a little bit. So instead of snapping the brim from temple to temple you just snap it down from in front of your eye back to the temple on the same side.

I'm not sure that made much sense. It's difficult to describe. Let me know if I can help any further.

Regards,

Colin

And even kinder follow-up:

Here are a couple of pictures that might help give you a sense of what I mean.

https://instagram.com/p/1gAU59TJDl/?taken-by=sweeneythemad

https://instagram.com/p/0OCWGszJH-/?taken-by=sweeneythemad

Effectively a Hollywood snap as referred to in other threads on this forum.