Giant Pith Helmet Thread of Doom

[BellyTank]

Hej JEEP- nice one.
I have a small collection of Pith Helmets.
Difficult to date- probably late '40s or '50s but could well earlier.
Looks like it's had some use though.
Pith Helmets were made on a large scale as souvenirs of India too.
The Christmas paper is a little confusing...
That style was a typical civilian one- Bombay Bowler.

KBH.
B
T

 

[cooncatbob]

Here's one I scored at the local flea market about 15 years ago. It's dated April 1942 on the inside.

 

[NonEntity]

Thank you so much for bringing up the pith helmet topic. I wanted to, but as a newbie, I don't want to start too many new threads.

As a kid and teenager, I went through an Africa/safari phase and searched for years high and low for a genuine pith helmet. I never found a real cork one of any kind, but what I would have been delighted with--still would--is one in the same general shape as yours, Jeep, only with a narrower brim in front and longer brim in back that gives a slimmer line, having a leather chin strap that wraps up over the front brim, an actual puggaree, and khaki-colored--the kind Brits wear in the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weismuller from the 1930s. I'm NOT talking about the much taller ones worn by troops and tropical explorers during the Boer War era.

Does any one here know if they are still making such a pith helmet or where I might find a vintage one?

I ended up getting a plastic one, at Sears, of all places, in the more rounded oval shape like cooncatbob's that look Heidi MacDeidi on my small head atop a tall slim frame, though I still occasionally wear it.

 

[DblCoronaMS]

Do a Google or Ebay search and you'll find a bunch, both new and vintage.

 

[lairddouglas]

My Third Pith

I was on holiday in California this past week and stopped in at the Carmel Hat Shop. There up on the wall was a beautiful Victorian Style Military Pith Helmet. Just like from all those great British Colonial Movies ie Zulu, Zulu Dawn. I had previously found Pith Helmets in Toronto and Milwaukee in Army/Navy Sporting Goods stores. No I do not mean the plastic helmets the Postal Service uses nor the Civil Defense Helmets issued during WWII and Korea. I mean Pith then covered in fabric.

I was very happy with my purchase. Though it was not so much fun hand carrying it aboard the plane back to the cold Midwest.

 

[RBH]

Welcome to the Lounge lairddouglas !
i have always loved the look of those style pith helmets, please post us a photo if you can!

 

[cooncatbob]

worthlesswithoutpics

 

[BellyTank]

lairddouglas...

...if you do a search, here on the Lounge,
you'll find a lot of interest in vintage Pith Helmets and quite a few photos
of our collective collections.

Welcome.


B
T

 

[jkingrph]

I have one called a "pith" helmet. It's an old surplus GI model, I think really a dense cardboard but covered with Kahaki twill on outside and a green on underside brim and inside crown. It has a suspension type sweatband, lace adjustable and is really comfortable for outside work on a hot day.

 

[NonEntity]

Sounds like a really great find, lairddouglas.

If I'm following you correctly, the one you found is the British military style, with the tall crown and relatively narrow, dramatically downsloping brim. What color is it? Does it have the suspension type of sweatband or some other configuration?

I've been searching for a vintage Indian style or the somewhat but distinctly different Woolseley style pith helmet for years, to no avail. They are the styles most often seen in the 1930s Tarzan films and other early "Great White Explorer" themed safari movies.

Heck, I'd be happy with a vintage French style pith, the shorter-crowned, wide-brimmed type. I really don't know why, but it's that French style shape that has been replicated in those plastic ones that you mention the U.S. Postmen (correction, Postpersons) wear, those straw mesh ones you see in garden shops, and virtually all the modern non-pith pith helmets.

Love to see photos of your fortunate find.

 

[vivaciousvivo]

Do you or would you wear a pith helmet?

I found one and don't know whether to waste time on this one or not.....It is painted green...drab light green...and I find it kinda cool!

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u143/govivo/ebaypic2534.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u143/govivo/ebaypic2538.jpg

Your thoughts? Would you wear a hat like this?

You guys are the best!
Thanks for your time!

Viviacious

 

[lairddouglas]

Would You - Could You - Wear a Pith Helmet

By Jove - A right smart look - Of Course - Provided you are up to the challange of being the only person wearing one at most events.

I love mine - First one was a styrofoam helmet - was white so I thought why not paint it tan -----> At 13 what did I know about paint turning styrofoam into goo.

15 years later got my first real pith helmet in Toronto at a sporting goods store going out of business ... now up to three.

 

[KY Gentleman]

If you like it...go with it! I don't think I would wear one now because I prefer fedoras and western hats but its not a bad looking pith helmet...

 

[Erik]

"Do you or would you wear a pith helmet?"

As anything other than a costume or novelty piece? No.

 

[rgraham]

Yes, I do.
Stylish, no. Silly looking to most, probably. Best hat ever made for the conditions it was meant to conquer, absolutely. I have several, but my favorite and most effective is an old WWII model. It's weighs very little, and certainly keeps the sun off you. It's durable and takes a beating. I still have one I bought as a kid over 40 years ago.

I also own one I bought off ebay about ten years ago. It's a Wolseley that was worn by a Sargent Rumble of the Canadian Army between the two world wars. It's the coolest style, with a fantastic pugree that really puffs out. It's is my favorite hat in my collection. It's too small for my head, and way too valuable to me to wear.

I have a couple I bought not long ago that originated from Viet Nam. These are pretty heavy, and just don't look quite right.

 

[donCarlos]

I´d like to have one, but it would have to come with flight tickets to some exotic country. It´s slightly inappropriate to wear here...

 

[BellyTank]

Hi Vivaciousvivo.

I wouldn't wear one exactly like that.

I have several vintage Pith helmets- I like them.
They are evocative of a past era- adventure and discovery and at the time and in the warmer climes, were a very practical item.

For most folks, they will be a costume item. I'm a collector of many things though- I have many items of apparel that I will not wear often, or at all.

The helmet you have linked to is not a true Pith helmet, it is a tropical helmet woven from some type of straw. A "Pith helmet" is fashioned from the "pith" of one or two types of tropical trees, and has a cloth cover added.

In the British colonies, the pith helmet was often referred to a s a "Sola topee(topi)", Sola being a plant (native to SE and S Asia)providing the pith, Topee being the Hindi(indian language) word for a hat. Often wrongly but understandably seen as "Solar topee"(sun).

But the Pith Helmet is the perfect topping to a vintage adventuring or travelling outfit.
Accurate looking copies of classic styles of military and civilian pith helmets(real pith) are available on eBay for small money- they generally have adjustable(for size/velcro) sweatbands. Vintage ones are also fairly common but the condition is sometimes very poor- you see many for sale which are a little squashed or have lost their shape to some extent.


B
T

 

[Alon]

I think it'd look swell with a pair of khaki shorts on a trip to the Orient. I'd also have a train of peacock feathered coolies behind me carrying my baggage and the like.

 

[DrSpeed]

I'm sorry, no, I wouldn't dare.
You'd have to have an incredible amount of natural flair and panache to pull it off and not look like a caricature or dressed up.
On the other hand, Vivacious, perhaps you are, or know someone who is, capable of making it work!

 

[RBH]

I have one I got at Banana Republic over 20 years ago... wear it seldom but I have to say its a cool looking lid.