GQ Guide to Buying a Hat

[MK]

.

yeah, surly being in a magazine like that it probably is just sort of a fad. It would be nice for hats to come back, but I think all of us here would feel slightly less special if that were to happen lol.

I would have to agree.

 

[tonyb]

Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky

So this evening I drop by the local Borders bookstore to check out that GQ piece and take in a cup at the in-store coffeehouse.

They had the September issue out, in a floor rack at the end of an aisle; the October issue, on the regular rack; the British version alongside it; and some "special" issue in the row above that.

I never did find the story. Finding the table of contents in these things is a challenge in itself. This has to be deliberate, right? It's sorta like shopping at Ikea, where the poor lab rat (er, excuse me, customer, I mean) is routed past just about everything in the store on his way through. And, I regret to acknowledge, it seems to work. I stop and look at stuff at Ikea that I had absolutely no interest in whatsoever before I saw it, and I looked at page after page of ads in the GQs in search of those elusive tables of contents.

It is indeed fortunate that Borders encourages its customers to take the stuff they are considering purchasing to the coffeehouse to page through. At least I was comfortable.

 

[Geesie]

I would have to agree.

Yeah, I do like how easy it is to look better than everyone else around me. lol

 

[Sefton]

Well, to answer the lady's question (#17 post,page 1); I can only speak for myself in this,but I don't have any reason to be critical about the hats or hat wearing advice part of the article. To each his own. If it helps boost sales for Optimo or other quality hatters I'm all for it. If its just a flash in the fashion pan that's O.K.,too. I like to see good looking hats on men-even if I don't like the rest of their clothes. One less ballcap in the crowd. The only thing that really bothered me about the article was the Sinatra bashing in the sidebar. The author has some issues with Sinatra to say the least. That part was just wasted space.

In a gentlemanly manner, the false nostalgist known as Sefton

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

It would be nice for hats to come back, but I think all of us here would feel slightly less special if that were to happen lol.

In a way, jp, "touché"...but I don't take it personally, not at all.
There's reference in the blog about the confidence needed to wear hats and, well, what these magazines seem to do -and I guess that's normal- is instill confidence in their readership. Model roles. How to look "right". I mean, before Madonna, no "decent" girl would be seen wearing underwear on the streets...
The conservative in me (and that's not an idle proposition) resents such blatant marketing intent on image building (leading to sales whilst separating the squares from the grooves), but -face it- where would "the world" be if it weren't for a healthy bit of plugging, and what's the point of being original if not recognized as such?

 

[Hoss & da Posse]

yeah, surly being in a magazine like that it probably is just sort of a fad. It would be nice for hats to come back, but I think all of us here would feel slightly less special if that were to happen lol.

I don't think we really need to worry too much about a "hat" resurgence until the articles in GQ and like magazines are referring to "this" year's hat styles, not just the fact that they still exist...[huh]

 

[besdor]

Any article that mentions or encourages hat buying and wearing is a plus. To get free press in GQ is very difficult today . The hat industry can use all the help it gets to survive.
I just wish we were mentioned in the article!!





Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Wow! A men's magazine featuring hats. GQ is really leading the charge on hats coming back.

Yeah, how 'bout it.

I recently purchased your Summer 2008 "Classic Style" magazine ("This is the last issue I will do in the red") from the stand at Barnes & Noble. Very nice publication and a shame it hasn't been profitable. I will be ordering as many of the back issues as I can and encourage others to do the same if they, as I have, missed out on this super periodical.

The headline in your ad for back issues tidily sums up the difference between the typical The Fedora Lounger and the GQ adherent: "Fashion is fleeting, but style lasts forever."

www.classicstylemag.com/shop/shop.html

 

[univibe88]

GQ has had a decent amount of hat coverage over the last 6-9 months. Often they just show models wearing hats in spreads dedicated to other things. Honestly, I think this "subliminal" placement is probably more powerful than articles dedicated to the hat.

They had an article dedicated to types of hats last fall. They also had a spread on New Orleans last month and talks about Meyer the Hatter.

On a different but related note, the spreads often feature models wearing tie bars. This has been going on for a year. GQ really seems to be trying to bring back the tie bar. I have noticed that Brooks Brothers has started selling them again in the last few months. Whereas, 6 months ago they did not.

If GQ can help influence the tie bar, perhaps they can influence the fedora as well.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Trickle Down

Can a resurgence of the Pilgrim brand be far behind? Yeah, probably.

 

[mineral]

Can a resurgence of the Pilgrim brand be far behind? Yeah, probably.

Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or did I really read "Dry Clean" in that screenshot?

 

[Lon Goval]

Dry Cleaners

I have an Open Road clone being cleaned and reworked at this time. The person doing the work has someone in the dry cleaning business do the actual cleaning of the hat, after she takes the hat apart. Isn't naptha something used in the past with dry cleaners?

Ralph

 

[AlanC]

At one time local dry cleaners would also do hat cleaning and blocking. My father said he remembers my grandfather's hats coming back open crowned from the dry cleaner. I suspect you'd be hard pressed to find one who could do it today.

 

[WildCelt]

Interesting article, but it was the comments that somewhat irked me. I mean, "Rod [Keenan] is the only man in America making custom made, hand sewn hats, an amazing craft in itself." What is that?

 

[Spats McGee]

Interesting article, but it was the comments that somewhat irked me. I mean, "Rod [Keenan] is the only man in America making custom made, hand sewn hats, an amazing craft in itself." What is that?

I saw that statement. I would call it dubious, at best.

 

[AlanC]

^He's in NYC. Flyover country doesn't really exist.

 

[jimmy the lid]

fftopic:

Alan -- GREAT new avatar! Weather Report -- "Heavy Weather" -- right? (Man, I have spent many an hour listening to that album...)

Cheers,
JtL

 

[mineral]

I have an Open Road clone being cleaned and reworked at this time. The person doing the work has someone in the dry cleaning business do the actual cleaning of the hat, after she takes the hat apart. Isn't naptha something used in the past with dry cleaners?

Ralph

I didn't know that the actual washing of the felt is similar to dry cleaning.

Nonetheless, for the reason that AlanC suggested, someone might be in for a bad surprise if they obeyed the instructions and took their $150 hat directly to a dry cleaner. But I suppose at least that way the buyers would be instructed against putting the hats in washing machines and driers?

 

[tonyb]

At one time local dry cleaners would also do hat cleaning and blocking. My father said he remembers my grandfather's hats coming back open crowned from the dry cleaner. I suspect you'd be hard pressed to find one who could do it today.

Many of us over, say, 50 or so, can recall signs in the neighborhood dry cleaners' windows saying "Hats Cleaned and Blocked." They were everywhere, it seemed. When I think of what likely became of most of that hat-refurbishing equipment, I just wanna cry.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Draper never looks right in his. The actor isn't comfortable with it, and it shows in spades.

I totally agree. Draper has a very awkward relationship with his lid. Too bad.

That being said, did you see the episode where Draper chastises another man in the elevator and instructs him to remove his hat? Gotta love that moment in the show.

Cheers,
JtL