Dress Hats for Newbie - Summer and Winter

[wgiceman]

Is there such a thing as a dress hat that is made of straw; one that could be worn with my nicer suits during the summer? The suits range from dark brown, to british tan, to charcoal, medium and light gray, to navy and medium blue.

For these color suits, what color hats would be best? Who is a good manufacturer that I could research online?

Is there a particular style that is more dressier than others?

 

[HungaryTom]

Welcome to the lounge.

Summer?
Montecristi Panama hats are the pinnacle of straw hats - therefore they match your suits.

The finer specimens equal fine suits (higher price, a bit care is needed when wearing them BUT they have the class).
Their color goes with light suits and dark suits either.
The Classic Optimo and C-Crown block are timeless.
Panama hats are also elegant when the sun goes down.
The ribbon should be monochrome in order to be formal.
The straw boater was worn in the summer as a cheaper alternative, when elegance was the norm.

Winter?
Fedoras (silverbelly, medium gray, navy blue, black felt fedora) with a matching ribbon are more formal than a hat with a contrasting ribbon.

Homburgs are said to be more formal than fedoras.

Top hats were the most formal until they went out of fashion. But I honestly think they stay in the pantheon of elegance. Forever.
Few members wear top hats - they look very elegant but being elegant is in todays shabby world rather eccentric.

In any case it is the quality and finish that makes a hat really dressy.

As with building up your elegant wardrobe: building up a collection of nice hats takes careful gathering of information and time and also considerable amount of money.

Style rules in general are commonplaces - to find your very personal variations to them is the great fun.

Recommending vendors or artisans - you will find out yourself, read, read, read and enjoy.

Welcome to the lounge.

Tom

 

[frijoli]

Is there such a thing as a dress hat that is made of straw; one that could be worn with my nicer suits during the summer? The suits range from dark brown, to british tan, to charcoal, medium and light gray, to navy and medium blue.

For these color suits, what color hats would be best? Who is a good manufacturer that I could research online?

Is there a particular style that is more dressier than others?

Is this acceptable?