Hats in the rain, do they bleed so to speak?

[memphislawyer]

22 degrees Celcius is 72 Fahrenheit or so. Yeah, I think the Saxon is a bit on the heavier side for a felt hat (but what do I have to compare that to, lol). It would have looked better today since it is a dressier hat. The Panama looks great with a suit, or totally casual but the coloring is not conducive to say a dress pair of pants and long sleeved shirt.

I went in thinking of wearing just one hat and that for the heavy fall and winter weather. Then I got swept up by the Panama discussions and then the Akubra. My wife says dont push it, but I am hoping that by my 50th in January, she will relent and maybe another hat or sell one of these and get a Fawcett is in order. Or if not, she will say I went through another fad.

 

[avedwards]

I think a light weight felt hat could be worn all year round. In summer (unless you live in an extremely hot area which I luckily don't) it can be worn. In winter I think a light weight felt is enough as I used to walk around the ski resort I go to in December with no head covering at all in -20C before I was into fedoras. A winter weight can help, but at least for me a light weight would suffice. As for colour, as I said I think a light to mid grey can be worn with anything, at least I see no need for a brown hat in my wardrobe.

I personally don't like panamas and as my skin never burns I'd go hatless if it got to the extent that even a light weight felt was too much. At the moment I therefore have my mid grey Stetson Chatham and my new lighter weight light grey fedora as my only two fur felts and unless they both wear out quickly I can't see any need for more hats at the moment.

 

[memphislawyer]

Well, Mr. Alan, I bought the Saxon before coming here as a member. The local hatter did exchange the black one I had for the Caribou I have now, and spent an hour fitting me in various hats he had. He had crushable wool, porkpies, a few homburgs, westerns, a few Borsalino, a couple of Dobbs, and, well, the Wife said Saxon looked the best. I did not even think to ask about weight or bleeding or anything. Just have wife pick out something I can afford and looked great on me. Now I know to ask about other collective experiences here before getting something!!!

Memphis is humid, and we get mild winters. I do work downtown so the office buildings can create a wind tunnel and then the Mississippi River, they say, can make it feel colder since the air blows across it into the downtown area. I have 180's ear muffs and most days even in the cold, can deal without them, though having them on for even a 3 minute walk to the Courthouse is nice.

Which brings me to another topic to start: Are your hat purchases really more about fashion than function?

 

[avedwards]

I think most people's are as a good fur felt will last several years at least.

As for the Saxon, I'd say wear it for winter but in humid summer you will sweat a lot (the thick sweat band doesn't help). If you choose to go custom then get a light weight custom, if not then get a light weight felt factory produced hat for summer. Your options for the latter are (though this list can be expanded):
-Akubra (the Sydney is one though it only comes in dark colours)
-Christys as their felt is generally thinner even on their dress weight fedoras
-The Susquhana Hat Factory (little known English maker) www.johnhalifax.co.uk although the website is not working atm but the owner told me he is repairing it

Above all though, don't bother with wool felts. So to summarise, I think that a light weight felt is a must unless you are a fan of straw. Light weight does not have to mean unlined though, it is more a case of the thickness of the felt which should be noticable when compared to modern Stetson fur felt which has rather thick felt.

 

[memphislawyer]

Yeah, I was gonna order the Sydney until it was a dark color and for a second hat, felt that the Stylemaster suited me better.

 

[avedwards]

From the pictures it appears a good choice. From the reviews it gets on here, along with any other Akubra, it seems a good choice. If you picked moonstone then also a good choice IMO as it's slightly lighter grey than carribou and has a slightly more blue tone to it. As for the weight, from what I have heard of Akubras I think it will be slighter lighter in weight than a Stetson.

 

[Socrets]

If you're looking for a cheap hat that doesn't bleed and can hold up in adverse weather conditions, I recommend getting an Akubra. The last I checked (around March 2009) Akubras were going around $80-$144 with shipping included.

 

[avedwards]

If you're looking for a cheap hat that doesn't bleed and can hold up in adverse weather conditions, I recommend getting an Akubra. The last I checked (around March 2009) Akubras were going around $80-$144 with shipping included.

Looking at the reviews of them, I quite agree with you. But the original poster's question was more a case of whether his Stetson will be good enough considering the mixed reviews, so as to see if another hat is really needed. In his case it is but more because of weather than rain resiliance as I helped him decide that a modern Stetson will do for his purposes as far as rain goes.

 

[Socrets]

Looking at the reviews of them, I quite agree with you. But the original poster's question was more a case of whether his Stetson will be good enough considering the mixed reviews, so as to see if another hat is really needed. In his case it is but more because of weather than rain resiliance as I helped him decide that a modern Stetson will do for his purposes as far as rain goes.

Ah. Well, I didn't get through the whole thread before replying so my bad. Anyway, in case he changes his mind, he now knows where to get his next hat from.

 

[memphislawyer]

Yup, a Stylemaster in Acorn, as moonstone is a bit too much like my Caribou, and I want to venture into a more casual hat. Although the threads on the Adams hats and just about anything Jimmy the Lid wears has me drooling.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Yup, a Stylemaster in Acorn, as moonstone is a bit too much like my Caribou, and I want to venture into a more casual hat. Although the threads on the Adams hats and just about anything Jimmy the Lid wears has me drooling.

Acorn... that's good. You have the two essential hats every man needs; one gray, one brown.

Now, get yer butt over to Ebay and find you some vintage!!! (Unless you're a 7 1/2. Then, please don't. )

 

[memphislawyer]

I found a third one - High Pocket's Resistol he had the brim cut down and then a new ribbon - like a creamy white or very, very light grey color. Looks sharp!

 

[Dewhurst]

I'm here, but it's a Stetson Chatham (pictured in my avatar) that I wear regularly.

Ah, darn! So close! [huh]

Which brings me to another topic to start: Are your hat purchases really more about fashion than function?

Mine are equal parts both. Here is how it works for me: I lay down essential "functional" criteria such as what can I wear it with, how much sun will it block, how durable will it be, etc., and then, working within those basic parameters, I start looking at style and "wow" factor.

I don't have any glamor hats. Even my best hat (the Biltmore everyone tires of me talking about) is a nice melding of beauty and function. It is an extremely nice hat and pretty dressy, but I wouldn't hesitate to take it on an adventure anyway!

 

[funneman]

I wore my Royal Stetson (early 60s?) during an Alaskan walking tour in a driving rain. My hat was so soaked that the water was pooling around the top of the brim and dripping through.

I placed it on the arm of a couch in our room and darned if the hat didn't look better after it dried.

I guess the rule of thumb here is that the older hats were made more for function and today's hats more for fashion.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

And I'm guessin' that if the older hats were ever prone to bleedin' (which I doubt) then they're all bled out by now and won't be doin' no more bleedin' no matter how much they gets rained on.

 

[Tone]

Has anyone never experienced a brand new hat that bled a bit of remnant dye upon its initial exposure to water (rain, etc.) only to find that it actually holds the color and doesn't bleed anymore from that point forward?

 

[avedwards]

Has anyone never experienced a brand new hat that bled a bit of remnant dye upon its initial exposure to water (rain, etc.) only to find that it actually holds the color and doesn't bleed anymore from that point forward?

I can't speak for myself but I think many say this is true. It's like shrinkage - a new hat will shrink slightly but once it's had its share of shrinkage it doesn't go any further.

 

[Dewhurst]

I can't speak for myself but I think many say this is true. It's like shrinkage - a new hat will shrink slightly but once it's had its share of shrinkage it doesn't go any further.

Yeah, some people make it sound like "modern" (hiss hiss) fedoras will bleed until they are as white as snow and shrink down to action figure size.

 

[avedwards]

Yeah, some people make it sound like "modern" (hiss hiss) fedoras will bleed until they are as white as snow and shrink down to action figure size.

I'm afraid I was one of those until I saw how good my Stetson actully was. I'd had the trouble that my first felt hat was a vintage homburg which was made of especially good felt (even by vintage standards). Sadly I outgrew it and underpriced it on ebay. Nothing short of one of the best custom hats can compare to that felt IMO but that doesn't necessarily make all modern hats bad as I originally thought.

 

[Torpedo]

Ah, good news then. Well I wore my Panama today with navy blue pants and a light blue shirt with some faint yellow stripes. No tie or coat. Somehow, the panama did not look right. I bet with my Saxon it would have.

This may well be because you are used to the formalness of the felt hat as compared to the straw, but the combination looks perfectly right to me. I am wearing straws mostly at summer, felt being unconfortable for me (although I wear them if the temps are cooler, here in Barcelona we have humid heat, as opposed to the more bearable -I think- dry heat). As said, nevertheless, straw hats are considered more casual, but I believe that unless of made of a rough weave or unusual colours, equipped with too fancy ribbons, or blocked in non-classic styles, straws are adequate with more dressy outfits, too.