Don't want a religious look

[Knifedaddy]

Hi all, I find here in NYC if you wear a fedora people think you are a hasidic jew or mennonite. Nothing against these groups but given this age of terror I don't want to be lumped into a group that has usurped the look for their own religious reasons. I just like the vintage look. How does one attain it without seeming to be an hasidic?
thanks!

 

[OldSkoolFrat]

Hi all, I find here in NYC if you wear a fedora people think you are a hasidic jew or mennonite. Nothing against these groups but given this age of terror I don't want to be lumped into a group that has usurped the look for their own reliious reasons. I just like the vintage look. How does one attain it without seming to be an hasidic?
thanks!

Avoid, "Black," Go for tan, gray, etc.

 

[Alon]

Dont grow sidelocks and a beard, avoid black fedoras, and wear your hat on an angle.

 

[OldSkoolFrat]

And get a contrasting ribbon and a small, but colorful, feather to go in the ribbon. But don't go, "pimp," either.

 

[Uncle Vern]

Wear a "Dead Kennedys" tee-shirt and kilts.

 

[OldSkoolFrat]

Kill, Kill, Kill the poor!!

 

[Spellflower]

I live in Brooklyn, and I often feel as though people are mistaking me for a religious jew, even though all my hats are brown. Last night I was wearing my Federation in Midwood, and looking for a bathroom. I went into a kosher pizza place and asked if I could use theirs, and I've never had such a warm response, with no mention of "customers only." I'm not sure if they just didn't notice the color of my hat, or if they're always that nice about it.

I think most people in NY see enough real jews that they know a brown hat with contrasting ribbon isn't what they wear. It was in Australia that everyone kept asking me if I was jewish.

If you really want to be safe, try a shorter brim. Also, unless you're dressing in vintage suits, dress casually.

fftopic:
By the way, I understand not wanting to appear to be a part of a religion you aren't a part of, but what's that got to do with terror?

 

[carter]

Let's be fair to both faiths.

There is far more that distinguishes both Hassidic Jews and Mennonites than their hats. Off the top of my head there are hair and beard as well as clothing. Unless you wear your hair, beard, and clothing in a manner that is identical or nearly identical with either faith, only a complete ignoramus would confuse you with either. That being said, I'd give short shrift to the the ignorant.

Nor would I consider it reasonable to state that either faith has "usurped the look for their own religious reasons". At the least, this statement implies that they somehow took the wearing of hats from the larger population and appropriated it for their own use. If you study this, you will determine that this is not the case.

 

[KilroyCD]

Being from a county in Pennsylvania where there is a very large Mennonite community, I can say that is the old order Mennonite men who generally wear the stingy brim fedoras. Because of their very conservative manner of dress, they have a vintage style to their day to day clothing. I frequent a Mennonite-owned store in my town to get much of my vintage-style clothing. It's hardly a case of usurping the look for their own religious reasons, as they were "vintage" before we were.

 

[MrBern]

Oy...

 

[Miss Brill]

Oy...

Yeah, holy cow.

 

[Fletch]

I'm changing the band on my charcoal grey Akubra Fed from black to cinnamon brown. It's a high-crowned, imposing hat and even more so in the dark grey. I think it will be more wearable with the new band.

 

[besdor]

This is one thread I dont think I should comment on!!





Steven- www.bencraft.com
Proud to work in Brooklyn NY
And we sell plenty of black hats too
Not just to religious people !!

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Steven, I heard one hat store say the best selling color is still black. Do you find that to be the case?

 

[Bebop]

Hi all, I find here in NYC if you wear a fedora people think you are a hasidic jew or mennonite. Nothing against these groups but given this age of terror I don't want to be lumped into a group that has usurped the look for their own reliious reasons. I just like the vintage look. How does one attain it without seming to be an hasidic?
thanks!

That's why I quit wearing my turban. I even went from white to black and people still gave me the evil eye. lol

 

[Spellflower]

There is far more that distinguishes both Hassidic Jews and Mennonites than their hats. Off the top of my head there are hair and beard as well as clothing. Unless you wear your hair, beard, and clothing in a manner that is identical or nearly identical with either faith, only a complete ignoramus would confuse you with either.

Never underestimate the complete ignoramus!

 

[Knifedaddy]

Nor would I consider it reasonable to state that either faith has "usurped the look for their own religious reasons". At the least, this statement implies that they somehow took the wearing of hats from the larger population and appropriated it for their own use. If you study this, you will determine that this is not the case.

Makes sense, thanks!

 

[Knifedaddy]

fftopic:
By the way, I understand not wanting to appear to be a part of a religion you aren't a part of, but what's that got to do with terror?

Probably nothing, just my own paranoia. Kindly disregard.

 

[halpap]

Spellflower:

I am sure the pizza shop people didn't mistake you for a Hassidic Jew, but they may have mistook you for an Orthodox Jew. There are many Orthodox Jews whose dress is not distinguishable from the dress of the population at large and who where hats of colors other than black.

 

[Delthayre]

I do say, "oy vey," an awful lot

I wear a black fedora and full face beard (as seen in this picture from 2004, although I trim my beard far closer and neater now), so I sometimes wonder if people think that I'm Jewish. I would expect the rust red color of my beard and blue eyes to dissuade them from thinking that, but I imagine that the mistake is still made from time to time.

I, to tell the truth, don't much mind being mistaken for a Jew. By and by it's a harmless mistake, so I would advise you to not fret about it.

I am from southeastern Pennsylvania, like KilroyCD, but from Lehigh County rather than Lancaster County, which so far as I know lacks an appreciable old order Mennonite population, although Amish jokes were sometimes made about my hat.