Good looking boaters that won't break the bank?

[Jovan]

Spring is coming into its own and summer is around the corner... looking cool and FEELING cool is a challenge for any Floridian citizen. Thus, I think I should get myself the quintessential warm weather straw... the boater. Does anyone know of any that aren't too expensive, look good, and do the job?

 

[iammatt]

Boaters are generally pretty cheap, and almost always under $150. On the downside, they don't look good in today's world, no matter how much you (or I) might like them in theory.

 

[surely]

Where do boaters stem from? Think Venice .That's it:eusa_clap

 

[jake_fink]

This classic is on sale at Miller Hats:

My understanding is that there is only one manufacturer of these hats left - in Italy - and so price variance will be minimal.

 

[Jovan]

Hmm... I was hoping for more like $50 and under, but I guess I'd have to troll eBay for that. Thanks though!

 

[bolthead]

Hmm... I was hoping for more like $50 and under, but I guess I'd have to troll eBay for that. Thanks though!

ebay.

 

[jake_fink]

Hmm... I was hoping for more like $50 and under, but I guess I'd have to troll eBay for that. Thanks though!

Defintiely cheaper on ebay. Until everyone suddenly decides they're going to buy every boater they see and post, look what I bought on ebay did I do good threads; so buy them now while you're ahead of the curve.

lol lol

 

[RBH]

Defintiely cheaper on ebay. Until everyone suddenly decides they're going to buy every boater they see and post, look what I bought on ebay did I do good threads; so buy them now while you're ahead of the curve.

lol lol

lol

 

[Spellflower]

Somehow I don't think boaters will ever attain the kind of prices that fedoras do. But I've been wrong before.

Personally, I have no desire whatsoever to wear a boater. Even in films and old photos, I think they look kind of silly, but today they are REALLY hard to pull off. There is a guy who wears one a lot in my neighborhood. He has a full beard and glasses, and I think he wears suspenders too. You can see him sipping coffee on the bench outside the worker-collective coffee shop.

I also have a friend who wears vintage exclusively who is a fan. He was just telling me the other night that he's having trouble finding one that fits him proportionally. He's a very small man, and even though he can find boaters in the right size, their brims are too wide. He was asking me if I knew any hatters who could shorten one for him, but I told him that might be a tall order, even for Art. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Jovan]

Hmm, I guess eBay or asking members to give me their unwanted ones are my only options. Thanks guys.

I've never quite understood why they are all that eccentric or weird to people. Not all of them even have the blue and red ribbon, many have simple black bands. I think it's more the subconscious association of them with the guy at the county fair or the old fashioned ice cream man that gets people. Correct me if I'm wrong. After all, it's a very simple and straightforward hat. [huh]

 

[thunderw21]

Antique shops for boaters under $50.

 

[besdor]

The traditional boater is made in Italy today. Due to the downfall of the US dollar , look to see the price on a new one to be around 100.00 US . I have seen a copy made here in the US that will sell for less, but it isnt as rigid. Sort of a poor mans version. As for shortening the brim, no way unless you have a saw!! The typical boater has a 2 inch brim -how much smaller does one need?






Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Spellflower]

Like I said, he's a very small man! He offered me his grandfather's Stetson, as it was way too big for him. I would have loved to give it a good home, as it was a gorgeous hat, and hardly worn. But it was way too small for me. I forget the size, but it can't have been bigger than 7 1/8. My guess is my friend is around a 6 7/8 or so, but I'll have to ask.

Could he saw off the brim? Would that cause the whole hat to unravel?

 

[dhermann1]

I was looking at a couple of boaters on Ebay, just to see how they did. Here's one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...4999&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab=Watching
It went for $25. Now, I've been told that hats my size, 7, are usually bargains on Ebay, but I think this indicates that prices on boaters, or skimmers, as I tend to think of them, will not be too bad.
I have sort of mixed feeling on the whole cool or uncool question with these hats. If I could only find a Jack Dempsey fight, then I know I'd fit right in wearing one.

 

[Desdinova721]

Put me down as another who can do without them. I don't really want to look like a vaudeville act.

 

[NonEntity]

Like berets, people harbor strong associations with the boater, and they are often negative--vaudeville acts, sidewalk ice cream vendors, pilots of Venice canal boats--though I personally see nothing bad with any of those professions.

The fact is, a hundred years ago, the boater was by far the most popular style of straw hat. They were very common, and worn by all sorts of people at every station in life. The only valid association one can make with boaters is that they are emblematic of a certain period in time.

What does that remind you of?

Fedoras! Yes, fedoras. Or, baseball caps and knit pullovers excepted, ANY kind of hat on the head of a man today. They are all throwbacks to the past.

Wherever you are, stop and take note of the next twenty men you see. Any of them swearing a hat that's not one of the two I excepted? Probably not. I do this little census all the time as I travel about the country. Statistically, I have to count forty to fifty men before any one of them will have a hat on.

My point is, a hat on the head of an American male is an oddity, so, a boater, like any, will look weird to a lot of people. Why do we wear our hats anyway? Yeah, yeah, warmth, sun and rain protection, but let's be honest: We like the distinctive appearance they give us.

We like to express ourselves by wearing lids in a staggering variety of styles, carefully tweaking the crown and brim to make them unique, cocking them on our heads just so. All this is boils down to one thing: we enjoy being different.

So, Jovan, since you enjoy being different by wearing a boater, you get yourself one, buddy, and wear it proudly. I, for one, will still welcome you into the fraternity of Hat Men.

 

[dhermann1]

So true

As is often mentioned here, it's all in the air of confidence you project. But having a fairly suitable outfit would probably help. Ragged jeans and a T shirt would look odd with a skimmer. White flannel or linen trousers and an open collar white shirt would be perfect.
I'm VERY tempted to get one.

 

[skyvue]

I'm with Non-Entity. Fedoras have odd associations for the average person, too. The guy at the sandwich counter I patronize for lunch most days asked me last week, "Where's your detective hat?"

Watch enough movies from the 1920s and '30s, as I do, and the boater starts to look perfectly normal.

I don't own one, because I don't really wear clothes it would look good with during the warm months. But if I did, I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[Nick D]

I also would like a boater, I think it's an excellent summer hat. Actually, I'd prefer a boater over a panama [huh]

 

[Spellflower]

Why do we wear our hats anyway? Yeah, yeah, warmth, sun and rain protection, but let's be honest: We like the distinctive appearance they give us.

Absolutely! I just happen to like the distinctive appearance that a brown fedora gives me A LOT more than I like the distinctive appearance a boater would give me. I also don't like stingy brimmed, short crowned black fedoras, no matter how good the felt. I'm sure there are people here who do, and that's fine. I'm not knocking them. It's just not my style.

I would have to agree, however, that boaters are not as versatile in todays world as fedoras. Fedoras have fallen out of fashion, but they've had resurgences through the years so that they can acceptably be worn with a variety of clothing styles, not just vintage suits. Though detectives are the most common reference, people are also used to seeing fedoras on blues musicians, Michael Jackson, and Indiana Jones.

Boaters, on the other hand, aren't seen in contemporary pop culture at all except as symbols of the past. Consequently, they would look really weird with contemporary clothing (jeans and T-shirt).

Still, to anyone (including my buddy) who wants to give em a try, have at it! You'll make me less of a target for stupid comments!