Help! I need an Island hat...

[griffer]

I am not really the island sort of guy, but it turns out I will be in the Bahamas at the end of this month.

I have this hat, but with a dark brown band.

My wife is not a fan of pork pies, though, but she likes my stingies and my fedora.

I am looking for recommendations for a nice straw hat that will keep the sun off and still make me appealing to my wife (or at least not embarrassing to my wife).

Also, I would like to acquire said hat soon, so any recommendations for hat stores in Mid-town NYC, where i work, Delaware Valley/Bucks County or Philly would be great. Or true sizing and reputable on-line stores.

Thanks in advance, since I know this information is buried in other threads, but I am hoping for a Cliff notes version condensed by veteran FL'ers.

 

[feltfan]

Thanks in advance, since I know this information is buried in other threads, but I am hoping for a Cliff notes version condensed by veteran FL'ers.

Why? It doesn't take long to search the threads.

 

[griffer]

Why? It doesn't take long to search the threads.

O, booo on you. And you are a self admitted feltfan, stay out of my straw thread!

I have been searching....

I have found some great leads for Arnold's hats in NYC, the Stetson Delray, etc.

But thanks for the help!

Anyways...also, are their noteworthy hatters in Nassau? I could just buy one there if it would be something special, or will it all be tourista stuff?

 

[MattJH]

Also, I would like to acquire said hat soon, so any recommendations for hat stores in Mid-town NYC, where i work, Delaware Valley/Bucks County or Philly would be great. Or true sizing and reputable on-line stores.

What about Hats Galore & More in Peddler's Village or Hats In The Belfry at Second & South St. in Center City, Philadelphia? They both have nice selections. Hats Galore & More has a much larger women's section, but I believe they have some straw fedoras as well. Hats In The Belfry in Philadelphia has a larger men's collection and I'm positive they have straw hats.

Also, I know you said straw, but are you opposed to a Tilley? They carry them in the lobby of the sporting goods store in Peddler's Village right above the Giggleberry Farm carousel.

 

[griffer]

Thanks, I have been to Hats Galore in Peddler's, but they only sell S,M,L,XL hats or worse yet, 'one size fits most'. I think its the same for Hat in the Bellfry, but it's been a while since I went there.

I would like to have a nicer hat, but as I type this, i may go back to peddler's village this weekend to look at the Tilley and the cheap hats.

I just had an image of a nice new hat flying off into the Atlantic....

 

[MattJH]

Maybe you could place some calls at the businesses located in the left-hand column here? It's a Google listing of hat shops in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas...

 

[art92101]

Ok its not a panama...plastic hat

I know this goes against all we discuss here but sometimes we need a beater hat. I do not own this but have been considering it.
http://www.noggintops.com/page.cfm?p=156
It looks better than a Tilley, and you have to look pretty close to see that its polypro. At 50-60 bucks if you lose it so what, is crushable and floats too. with a 3 inch brim good sun protection. I saw the real thing in a Phoenix Museum store for $80 bucks and it looked pretty good. I might buy it from noggin tops when the wife ain't looking.

 

[MattJH]

At 50-60 bucks if you lose it so what

It's comments like these that make me wonder if I'm reading and replying in the wrong caste system here. No matter how hard I try, I cannot be "so what"-ish with the thought of losing $50. No intent to offend you at all, art92101. The comment just struck me as being extremely foreign.

A beater hat, to me, is a hat you buy at a department store or Burlington Coat Factory for $12, not one you pay $50-$60 + shipping for. I think this has less to do with the monetary situation of an individual and more to do with the way one thinks about money.

 

[Twitch]

There might be a quality seller of such in the Bahamas once you get there.

 

[griffer]

It's comments like these that make me wonder if I'm reading and replying in the wrong caste system here...

Naw, it's all relative.

Look, a $20 or less hat that fits ok, would probably only last a season.

If a better quality one gets 3 or 4 seasons, then it's worth it.

I think what we are saying is that a quality hat you paid $60 and for wore awhile, hurts less to lose than a $200, $300, $400.....etc. hat.

That and this forum crosses all classes, but we don't have any castes.

 

[griffer]

I know this goes against all we discuss here but sometimes we need a beater hat...

good on ya! that is a great shore/fishing hat!

of course, i KNOW my wife will hate it!

 

[griffer]

Aw....crap.

I didn't mean to, but I bought another one.

Went poking around that hat shop and called to ask about the synthetic straw. Then I saw an Akubra. I need a travelling fedora also, this looks perfect- fold into roomy luggage or in the overhead on a plane without concern about crushing.

I still need a straw though....

http://www.noggintops.com/page.cfm?p=222