Hat Wearers: You're Just Trying to Be Don Draper. Stop It.

[CRH]

I'm holding out for the next Derby revival.lol
...

You're doing pretty good leading the revival so far, Mr. Bowers.

Maybe you just need some bell bottoms to get over the top.

 

[rlk]

It was so wise and witty I was ready to get rid of all my hats...until I was reassured by everyone here. I like to wear quality Stingy-brims and Derbies.
Slim brims with slim lapels...and on the cycle goes. Be individual by looking just like others.

 

[The Good]

Mildly amusing on some points, granted, but this article was such a generalization of people who wear fedoras and trilby-type hats, or wear styles that happen to be depicted in the show and are from that period. I'm not sure it's people trying to be Don Draper so much as people simply just wanting to wear the hats/suits/ties, etc...

I see this article as an attack on the stylistically-individual, particularly folks much like the majority of us here at the Lounge.

 

[Mario]

Neopyhte posted a link a few days ago to a thread on the somethingawful.col discussion board where you have lots of people raving on about how f****d up and 'retarded' hat wearers actually are. There are even photos taken from the Fedora Lounge to illustrate the point.

Most of you may have read through the thread but for those who have missed it and want to reconsider their passion for hats, realizing that they're full-blown dorks if they don't do so:

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3312808

 

[Pompidou]

These various anti-hat links, be they Fletch's or Marios, or any of the others that pop up now and then - they do some good. For example, in Mario's link, the take-away message is that you're going to look stupid wearing a hat if the only reason you're wearing a hat is to wear a hat. If everything about your being screams, "look at my hat," you might want to reconsider. This aught to be common knowledge, but it's not. Outfits aren't equal opportunity. You've gotta find a style that works for you, and go with it. Not everyone can wear the same hat and get away with it. I hate to say it, but a lot of times, the hecklers are right.

The greatest sin of either link is Mario's, where photos from this site were used as objects of ridicule. That's just playing dirty, but this is the internet. If you're not prepared to have your photo mocked, ridiculed, taken out of context and photoshopped into porn, you'd probably best stick to the news paper. There's no civilization in cyberspace, and there can be no pacts with trolls.

 

[Edward]

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3312808

Yeah, I've seen that .... and many more in several places when I've been using Google to search for things on here.Funny thing is that more often than not the folks queueing up to disparage the Lounge, in addition to seemingly just not understanding what folks here are about, are embittered, ex-lounge members desperate to prove how much cooler they are than the squares round here. Me, I lean to the view that if they can't let go of a forum they no longer post to and feel the need to ridicule it to get their jollies, well they're the ones with the problem. The only time it really moves beyond being pathetic, in my eyes, and becomes something I would be ticked off by is when the Lounge in general and individuals in particular are held up for ridicule on other forums by persons who continue to be active members of the Lounge while playing the "I'm too cool for those squares" card on other forums. Horrendously childish. Then again, I'd hate to think I wasn't an object of ridicule from that type. There are those by whom one does not wish ever to be respected as it could only possibly lower one in the eyes of anyone who matters.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

I was wearing fedoras long before that weiner was born. Haven't seen that TV show, can't think of a reason I would want to. I don't follow fashion, but every once in a while fashion seems to follow me.

Give the wannabes a little time and they will go on to the next thing. Rather like watching a flock of sheep move on to another area of the pasture when the grass is all gone.

Anybody notice that The Fedora Lounge was here before that TV show?

 

[Wyrd]

I have a history of wearing things others dont like me wearing. im not about to stop now . In the end, i wear what i wear because i like it, not to make a statement or be "in" with any group (well not anymore )

 

[Spats McGee]

Neopyhte posted a link a few days ago to a thread on the somethingawful.col discussion board where you have lots of people raving on about how f****d up and 'retarded' hat wearers actually are. There are even photos taken from the Fedora Lounge to illustrate the point.

Most of you may have read through the thread but for those who have missed it and want to reconsider their passion for hats, realizing that they're full-blown dorks if they don't do so:

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3312808

Oh, hey! We're listed as "the ultimate hat resource" about halfway down the page! Cool.

Anyway, I don't worry too much about posts like these, either the original article posted by Neophyte or this other thread that Mario linked for us. Maybe hats are "in," maybe they're "out." I don't much care. I like my hats. Was there something else to worry about here?

 

[Mocheman]

Oh, hey! We're listed as "the ultimate hat resource" about halfway down the page! Cool.

Anyway, I don't worry too much about posts like these, either the original article posted by Neophyte or this other thread that Mario linked for us. Maybe hats are "in," maybe they're "out." I don't much care. I like my hats. Was there something else to worry about here?

That's pretty much how I view it as well. Whenever I wear a suit or a nice hat I get nothing but good vibes and positive comments. I wear what I want and don't even think about what anyone has to say about it.

I raise a big ole cup o' meh to the article and that board.

 

[Neophyte]

The greatest sin of either link is Mario's, where photos from this site were used as objects of ridicule. T.

Hey, I found that first in the "What We Have to Put Up With!" thread! :rage:


Yeah, I found that to be very low-down.

I also wear a hat with just about whatever (you know, except shorts and sandals). I found that if I at least try to color-coordinate, no one asks any questions. I like wearing my hats, and when I'm out of college and have the money, I'm gonna get me some really nice clothes.

...Then again, I got all my hats this summer, and I'm about to head off to college... Oh God, the horror that awaits me!

 

[hatophile]

Frankly, I hope fedoras don't come totally back into style, that leaves more on E-bay for me!

 

[danofarlington]

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/don-draper-curse.php

"You can never bring back the fedora. Step away from the haberdasher. It's deadly. Millions of people have crashed and burned trying to bring back men's hats. It's not going to happen.
This is the country where airbrushing your own name on a puffy baseball hat was unironically popular for a couple years. Men's hats are not coming back."

And BTW, anybody who wears anything before it's a trend is an even more hopeless trendoid that people who wear something because it's a trend. Are we clear?

Fine about his opinion. If you're a writer you write, and being opinionated is essential. Hearing his opinion though I am not sure I would want to follow him to the fashion battlefield. I don't know what inner fashion code he adheres to, but it sounds rather constricted. He's got his sense of things and I've got mine. But let's have criticism and countervailing opinions--otherwise we are all greenhouse plants, liable to pass away when the outside door is opened. I'm not afraid to hear a counter view.

 

[KK]

Grandpa wore a grey c-crown every day of his life, except in the summer, when he wore a straw c-crown. Dad wore a grey c-crown, except in the summer, when he wore a straw c-crown, but he quit wearing hats in the mid-60s. I'm wearing a grey c-crown, except in the summer, when I wear a straw c-crown. My boys are starting to want hats of their own. What, is this author crazy, talking about hats like they were a fad? Hatlessness is the fad here, and a quick review of history shows it will soon die a well-deserved death.

 

[Neophyte]

Hats will come back, guys. Remember, though, that we're talking about THE FUTURE!

So, move out of the way baseball caps, fedoras, bucket hats, trilbys, beanies and all you others, make way for the energy dome:

 

[jsecunda]

Cognitive Content Anal-ysis

In this paragraph, the author brilliantly used inarguable logic to hammer home his point. Allow me to explicate.


"You can never bring back the fedora"
No one I know is trying to "bring back" men's hats as a fashion trend-they just wear them. Hats are not equivalent to ties-a non-utilitarian affectation vaguely going back to the renaissance ruff. Hats were invented to keep the sun off you in summer and keep your head warm in winter. BB caps don't do that well. That actual hats are aesthetically attractive (or can be) was always secondary to those functions.

"This is the country where airbrushing your own name on a puffy baseball hat was unironically popular for a couple years. Men's hats are not coming back."
This is also the country that seeks out jackets "autorgraphed" by their manufacturdes or designers. This is also the country that responded positively to the phrase "Tippeecanoe and Tyler too." From a strictly logical point of view, how jacket styles, autographed puffy baseball hats or the Tyler campaign slogan relate to an argument about hats coming back into style escapes me. We are still wearing jackets. We are no longer wearing autographed puffy baseball hats.

"And BTW, anybody who wears anything before it's a trend is an even more hopeless trendoid that people who wear something because it's a trend. Are we clear?"
If I understand this: 1) You are a contemptable trendoid when you wear something no one else is wearing that later becomes a trend because you clairvoyantly knew that wearing it first would make everyone want to wear it later; and 2) You are a (less contemptible) trendoid when you start wearing something because everyone else is. (There's a good Spongebob episode that exchaustively explores this topic.)

Are we clear now?

(I've heard more coherent arguments from schizophrenics while hanging out in a locked ward.)

PS-Madmen is a great show-give it a try:eusa_

 

[Sam Craig]

Should I throw my hats away?

I read the attachment and I have to say, it's just more of the same.

I remember it in the 70s, during the Urban Cowboy garbage

It came in every time there was a popular movie that got a few hangers-on to compete with us hatters for head wear

Some of these folks don't get it ... that we have always and will always wear hats, whether they are on TV, in the movies or whatever

We wear hats because ... dang, I can't remember why any more.

But if you leave the house without a hat on, your head will fall off and you will die.

It's just as simple as that.

By the way, KK is part of the ANSWER .... I have also started my sons and grandsons on hats

If we don't, we'll have no one but ourselves to blame

Way to go, KK!

Thanks,

Sam

 

[Joshbru3]

I watch Mad Men, I think its a good show, but then again I also watch movies from the 20's, 30's, and 40's. The author of the article is just a gerk, its that plain and simple. Why do people walk around the streets of Chicago in mohawks, "plugs" in their ear lobes, and torn up jeans? Because they like too. Anyone who follows new trends to a tee just because the general populous follows them is just a poser in my mind. If someone likes to wear hats, suits, ties, etc, then as an individual they should be entitled to do so without a problem. Even if they started wearing hats because of Don Draper, who cares, they are still wearing a hat. Where the influence came from is irrelevant considering that in the golden era, most young men started wearing hats because their father and grandfather probably did. Once they put a fine fur felt hat on their head, they understood that not only did it look good, but it put a little bit of class into their lives. There are many types of people in this world and everyone is different. I hope fedoras do become popular again, and people start dressing up as a daily thing. Maybe todays world will wake up and realize that most music, fashion, movies, and tv are crap today. If Don Draper starts this movement, more power to him and Mad Men.

 

[Undertow]

I'm not trying to be clever, or sarcastic...

...but who's Don Draper? A Google search turns up Mad Men, which is what you've all basically been saying. So I guess it's safe to assume he's a character on that show?

I don't have cable, and I don't watch TV with the rabbit ears either. And, unfortunately, no matter how vintage related a program might be, I likely won't see it. [huh]

I know I miss out on a lot of popular culture, which really just hurts me in the long run, but I guess I may actually live in a cave.

Or possibly under a rock?

 

[hatophile]

I'm not trying to be clever, or sarcastic...

...but who's Don Draper? A Google search turns up Mad Men, which is what you've all basically been saying. So I guess it's safe to assume he's a character on that show?

I don't have cable, and I don't watch TV with the rabbit ears either. And, unfortunately, no matter how vintage related a program might be, I likely won't see it. [huh]

I know I miss out on a lot of popular culture, which really just hurts me in the long run, but I guess I may actually live in a cave.

Or possibly under a rock?

If you're missing out on popular culture, you ain't missing much undertow!