Does somebody still wear these? Boaters

[carter]

Great picture, Douglas. Is the waistcoat part of a three-piece suit? If so, what can share regarding the suit?

 

[MisterGrey]

The only place I've seen boaters in person is on the shelves of my local Stein Mart.

I've seen singy-brim fedoras and at least one wool porkpie on campus; and have seen neon colored Homburgs used to accompany zoot suits (which are choice formal wear for high-school and college-aged Hispanic boys/men in my community). And I think it goes without saying with today's fashion trends that I've spotted innumerable newsboys and their variants.

So perhaps the only styles I haven't seen someone wearing in person are bowlers and boaters.

 

[Pat_H]

The only place I've seen boaters in person is on the shelves of my local Stein Mart.

I've seen singy-brim fedoras and at least one wool porkpie on campus; and have seen neon colored Homburgs used to accompany zoot suits (which are choice formal wear for high-school and college-aged Hispanic boys/men in my community). And I think it goes without saying with today's fashion trends that I've spotted innumerable newsboys and their variants.

So perhaps the only styles I haven't seen someone wearing in person are bowlers and boaters.

I've never seen anyone wearing a Homburg, although I find the idea of a neon one bizarrely appealing. I didn't know Zoot Suits were still worn anywhere. Anyhow, like you, I've seen Fedoras worn here and there, lots of Western hats worn in this area, an occasional odd hat like a porkpie, and I've even seen one individual who would wear a bowler while riding a motorcycle, but I've never seen anyone wear a boater. I have to conclude that, except for certain very specific conditions, boaters really are dead.

 

[Pat_H]

I've never seen anyone wearing a Homburg, although I find the idea of a neon one bizarrely appealing. I didn't know Zoot Suits were still worn anywhere. Anyhow, like you, I've seen Fedoras worn here and there, lots of Western hats worn in this area, an occasional odd hat like a porkpie, and I've even seen one individual who would wear a bowler while riding a motorcycle, but I've never seen anyone wear a boater. I have to conclude that, except for certain very specific conditions, boaters really are dead.

Now that I've said that, I realize that some 25 years ago or so, I did see somebody wearing a boater in this region. He was, however, cultivating a highly eccentric affectation, and he was wearing a green and white seersucker suit to go with the boater, and cultivated eccentric personality.

 

[St.Ignatz]

I used to run into an elderly gentleman at a Philadelphia hat store that always wore his boater in the summer. I believe he was either a gentleman's gentleman or buttled (?) at the Union League. He would go apoplectic at the sight of a baseball cap if it weren't worn between the foul lines.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Which begs the question: is this boater made of cereal flakes?

.

 

[carldelo]

I've seen boaters worn, by half to fully drunken revelers at the Princeton reunions. They sell (or used to) real Italian boaters at a store in town with loud orange and black bands. In spite of the band I sort of wanted one, although I couldn't afford it and it didn't come big enough for my melon. The best (worst, really) I ever saw was an older alumnus wearing the boater with an orange and black blazer while driving a vintage Porsche convertible painted in tiger stripes (!) down the main drag through town.
Ghastly.........but memorable.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Farrell's.

 

[jazzncocktails]

Boater rules:

Correct me if I'm wrong, gentlemen (and ladies), but while I've never worn one, I believe there are strict rules about when a boater may be worn: never before Memorial Day, and never after Labor Day. In fact, one caught wearing a boater after Labor Day would risk having the crown punched out.

Those were obviously American rules, probably created by the Ivy League schools in the early 20th century. The British had a different sense of the boater, I believe. But wear your boater with caution!

 

[Schofields]

sure do. ive got one with a royal blue, white and black ribbon.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Here's my grandfather, c. 1920, dressed with his sons (my father's on the right) as Detroit dandies down in the swamps of Central Florida:

 

[DerMann]

Correct me if I'm wrong, gentlemen (and ladies), but while I've never worn one, I believe there are strict rules about when a boater may be worn: never before Memorial Day, and never after Labor Day. In fact, one caught wearing a boater after Labor Day would risk having the crown punched out.

Those were obviously American rules, probably created by the Ivy League schools in the early 20th century. The British had a different sense of the boater, I believe. But wear your boater with caution!

Believe that goes for all straws, linen, and white.

Haven't worn mine since Labor Day (or around there )

 

[carouselvic]

There is also another unwritten rule. Touching my hat can lead to severe nose bleeds.

 

[job]

I am starting to fixate on Boaters. Can more of you show pics of yours and and tell me more about them. Thanks.