Hasidic Jewish hats

[Joshua London]

A fellow landsman? Or you just like the style (black, wide-brimmed, made for the religious market)? ;-)

 

[deadlyhandsome]

A fellow landsman? Or you just like the style (black, wide-brimmed, made for the religious market)? ;-)

They are all waiting to be shipped to a hatter for conversion into more traditional fedoras. I’m having one made into an Alessandria/Open Road thin ribbon. These hats are of good quality and can be found at attractive prices on the used market.


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[deadlyhandsome]

I found one more:

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[Joshua London]

...These hats are of good quality and can be found at attractive prices on the used market.

Beyond eBay, and I guess local shops, where does one find used hats? I wear a U.S. size 7 & 1/2 (head is 59.7 cm; 23 & 1/2 inches), I can rarely find anything in my size that is still in decent enough nick.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Beyond eBay, and I guess local shops, where does one find used hats? I wear a U.S. size 7 & 1/2 (head is 59.7 cm; 23 & 1/2 inches), I can rarely find anything in my size that is still in decent enough nick.

eBay is the best. They don’t come up every day, but they can be found if you look long enough. The larger sizes in any vintage style are hard to find. Since I’m going to convert them into more traditional fedoras and don’t want the really wide brims, I can reblock them up to my size at the expense of brim width.

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[Joshua London]

...Since I’m going to convert them into more traditional fedoras and don’t want the really wide brims, I can reblock them up to my size at the expense of brim width.

Makes good sense!

 

[hatsRme]

Beyond eBay, and I guess local shops, where does one find used hats? I wear a U.S. size 7 & 1/2 (head is 59.7 cm; 23 & 1/2 inches), I can rarely find anything in my size that is still in decent enough nick.

Hello, mein Josh, and welcome to the Lounge!
Depending on your location, you may have some (scant) luck in estate sales, re-sale or consignment shops, etc. It takes time and perseverance, though, especially considering your size.
Remember, you’re supposed to wear ‘em like your Rebbe! (Nu?!)

Zie Gezundt, man!!

 

[Joshua London]

HatsRme, aleichem sholom! ;-)
Thanks! I'll have to start checking such things out more frequently.
All best,
Josh

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Beyond eBay, and I guess local shops, where does one find used hats? I wear a U.S. size 7 & 1/2 (head is 59.7 cm; 23 & 1/2 inches), I can rarely find anything in my size that is still in decent enough nick.

Try the classifieds thread.
Post a WTB (want to buy).........
And wait for the responses.
B

 

[Dm101]

In my neck of the woods, black hat and beard are more likely to be mistaken as "Amish".

Thanks for the tutorial Aaron. I, like others here enjoy learning about other cultures, religions, customs. If hat wearing is involved, even more so...

Sharp dressed good lookin fellas...

 

[The Veg]

Another very late thanks for this thread! Interesting stuff. I always wanted a similar hat but with a less-tapered crown and maybe in a colour other than black, but that that's a discussion for another thread. I do like the high crown though, as I need a high crown to be able to wear a hat low enough to stay on my head thanks to my odd-shaped gourd (my Akubra Indy works but the top still touches my hair). And wide brims are just plain cool!

Another cultural-origin data point that I have heard is that the overall style of dress that you see on these guys basically is what was in fashion in their ancestral eastern-european countries at the time that their ancestors emigrated, and once over here the style just kind of stuck. There are many ways to be modest of course and that style just happens to fit, although in my opinion the way it gets noticed since everybody else in today's world dresses differently kind of cancels some of the modesty, but that's just my take.

Anyway, thanks again for all the insights!

 

[scottyrocks]

When you live for two main reasons - God and family, pretty much everything else is less than secondary.

Plain black and white clothing is about as modest as it gets, and if you're not one to keep up with trends (people who are extreeeemely devout), then you stay with traditional - what's been worn by your parents, grandparents, etc, clothing.

You know - Traditiooooooon, tradition . . . tradition!

 

[p51]

Another cultural-origin data point that I have heard is that the overall style of dress that you see on these guys basically is what was in fashion in their ancestral eastern-european countries at the time that their ancestors emigrated, and once over here the style just kind of stuck.

I never thought of that, but it makes a lot of sense.
To twist a funny quote from "Big Band Theory," I don't object to the concept of a higher power, but I am confused by one who would have a dress code...

 

[deadlyhandsome]

When you live for two main reasons - God and family, pretty much everything else is less than secondary.

Plain black and white clothing is about as modest as it gets, and if you're not one to keep up with trends (people who are extreeeemely devout), then you stay with traditional - what's been worn by your parents, grandparents, etc, clothing.

You know - Traditiooooooon, tradition . . . tradition!

Yeah, but if I were a rich man....


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[hatsRme]

Yeah, but if I were a rich man....

Oy.

 

[p51]

It's hardly PC, but I'll never forget something I heard when in the Army, a few Israeli Army soldiers (half of them were nice looking women) were walking by in uniform, and nobody but me recognized the nation.
"Sir, what country are they from?"
"Hmm... Israel."
"No kidding, sir? Well, Oy to the [M-F'ing] Vey!"
Every time the subject of Judaism in any form comes up, I always think of what he said that day...

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Oy.

Sorry, Charlie....Scotty started it.


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[scottyrocks]

Sorry, Charlie....Scotty started it.

Well, it's tradition, after all.

 

[abe ny]

On occasion the question of Jewish hats comes up, and since an off-topic post I made in a different thread generated a little interest, I'll share more here. Ignore it if you want; ask me any questions you want.

Realistically, when we're talking about black hats worn by Jews, we're talking only about the most Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox groups; the largest Jewish streams in the United States, Conservative and Reform Judaism have no tradition of hat-wearing, and even the Modern Orthodox generally do not wear hats (beside the kippah, or yarmulke, the skullcap men tend to wear).

For most of us, the broad-brimmed black fedora is the one that causes the most, "Hey, are you Jewish?" responses.

Tending to be 3"+ in brim, these black fedoras are not uncommon in traditional Orthodox communities or among a group of Hasidim called Chabad Lubavitch. They tend to be Borsalinos or Huckels (or other non-specific Czech/Polish hatmakers), and they're just fedoras. Mine's a Borsalino with a 3.5-ish" brim. A hat like this will set you back anywhere from $100-$400.

You'll notice the wide brim and a relatively high crown; brims tend to have a pretty good snap in the front, although they can be flanged any way you'd like.

Next, let's look at a type of hat called a "hoiche" or high-crowned hat. "Hoiche" is Yiddish for high. Most Hasidim wear a higher hat like this, with only a few of the courts favoring the lower-crowned "flacha" style of hat ("flacha" is Yiddish for flat).

You can see here the long nap of the felt and the stand-up bound-brim:

This one is made in China and imported through Brooklyn. The hat is really, really stiff, more like a bowler rather than a fedora. These hats are made to sit higher on the head than a fedora might, so keep that in mind if you're ever thinking of getting one. The resting line on your head plus the hard felt means they're not forgiving size-wise.

You can see how the ribbon cuts into the nap of the felt, making it look like a belt almost. The flacha hat is very similar, but with about 2" of crown taken off. These hats will run you $50-$200.

The final hat you might have seen or heard about is called a shtreimel. These are very furry, very special hats usually only worn by the Ultra-Orthodox, and only on Friday night into Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, or on Jewish holidays.

Made of fox fur on the outer round part and on the inner part, the shtreimel looks like a crown, according to some stories. Between the inner fur and the outer fur is a firm band of felt on to which the outer fox fur is placed to give the hat shape and structure. The inside, you can see, is a sort of velvet-felt combination.

Shtreimels are also worn higher on the head than a fedora. If you get one new--which I most certainly did not--you'll pay anywhere from $1500 to $5000 for one of these hats. Used ones come up occasionally on auction sites.

Remember, most Jews in the U.S., and indeed, non-Orthodox Jews throughout the world don't wear hats like these--or hats at all, truth be told.

So there you go! Hope that helps, and if you have questions, please feel free to let me know.

A

how you clean the high crown hats?

 

[Frunobulax]

how you clean the high crown hats?

Step ladder.