HELP I'm writing a paper for school...

[ArrowCollarMan]

I had to choose something from "material culture" for a paper and I decided to choose fedoras since I wear them all the time...I have to have an interview since its a "fieldwork" paper. Asking on the fedora lounge made sense to me. So, here are my questions:

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?
2. What made you want to wear the hat?
3. Where do you buy your hats?
4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

General but hopefully good questions, feel free to expand on them...I thought it'd be interesting to hear what other people think about the hat they wear. It is very iconic of the 20th century.

Also, if its not too much to ask, who are you and where are you from? what do you do for a living? I'd have to site you as a source for the paper and figured some of that information would help.

Thanks

 

[Jauntyone]

Good idea for a paper!

1. I wear a fedora because it looks the best of all the hats. It is still relatively easy to obtain. The all-round brim keeps the elements off of my face. It keeps my (thin) hair from blowing around into a tangle. The fedora means "grown-up man" to me. Also "ready-for-business". I particularly like the anachronistic aspect of wearing a hat and suit among the bejeaned "individualistic" masses. Wearing a really nice hat makes me stand out in a way that tatoos and facial jewelry can't hope to equal (not that I've got anything against these forms of self-expression).

2. Four years in the military habituated me to never going out without a cover. But even before that, I liked hats because they look so cool.

3. I buy vintage from Ebay, customs, and I would buy new from shops but there aren't many in Europe.

4. It's possible, but I don't wear a fedora to be part of a "club" of those who are in-the-know. I just like to have my head covered outside. I think lots of different types of people wear fedoras for as many different reasons, though I'm sure you'll find a few universals.

I am a lowly teacher of English who is from Illinois but now resides in the north of France (Picardy).

Cheers!

 

[ScionPI2005]

1. I initially started wearing a fedora because I wanted to dress like the gumshoes in all the film noir movies. Once I got my first few hats, I began to wear them for many more reasons than just because they made me look like a detective. I found they truly fit my personality.
2. By now I've gotten so used to wearing a hat most days that I would feel awkward if I left them at home.
3. There are two hat shops here in Albuquerque that I check out every now and then. Aside from that, Ebay, or other online stores; or even fellow Loungers.
4. I would say the likelihood of that is far greater these days than in the past, simply because fewer people wear hats like fedoras. While this is certainly not always the case, I do sometimes feel a connection with another individual I see wearing a fedora when we pass.

I'm a recent college graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminology. I have worked mainly non-profit in the field of investigations as an apprentice for almost four years, as well as the security field. I'm located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

[gtdean48]

1. I wear fedoras because cowboy hats in the business world are not as acceptable in Georgia as in Texas & Oklahoma. It means I'm keeping my head warm & dry to reduce sinus afflictions & sun off to prevent skin cancer
2. Initially started to keep rain off & hands free, won't use an umbrella
3. Lot's of places, western stores, on-line shops, hat stores, antique shops, flea markets, ebay
4. There is no personality behind a hat, it is in the person under it. Hat people recognize & relate to other hat people just like horse people, dog people, etc.
Since it is already plastered on the internet, this is me =
http://www.docusys.net/about_exec_DEAN.asp

 

[Inusuit]

Why a Fedora and what does it mean to me?

I have always worn hats, not always fedoras. I was raised on a ranch in eastern Colorado in the 1950s, so “cowboy” hats were very much a part of the culture of the time. Because I now live and work in Wyoming, my hats tilt towards western styles. I have a couple of Resistol westerns, one Akubra, one custom, and three Stetson Open Road styles. One OR (actually a Sovereign) retains the cattleman crease, the other two are more a fedora style bash. Until I hooked up with the Fedora Lounge, I would not have thought of the OR hats as fedoras. While there are some very nice hats with wide ribbons, stingy brims, or other more typical fedora features, I much prefer the wider brims and thin ribbons. And I like the OR style because to me it bridges the gap between the fedora and the western hat.

What makes me want to wear the hat?

As already stated, I’ve always worn hats of one kind or another. My dad, uncles, and grandfathers all wore felt hats spring and fall, straws in the summer and something warmer in the winter. When I got out of the army in 1970, my dad gave me a Stetson western hat as a welcome home present. I wore it or an OR for years, then slid into the convenience of ball caps for a lot of occasions. Now I wear an OR or a western every day when it’s warm enough. Cold days call for the heavy wool tweed paperboys, including one with ear flaps.

Where do I buy my hats?

One from a custom maker in Lusk Wyoming, a couple on Ebay, one found by placing a “wanted” ad in the local paper, one from a fellow Lounger. One western was a departure gift from a part-time job, another was $10 on sale at a local western store.

Hat affinity with others?

Has nothing to do with why I wear a hat, but I do sense some commonality with other hat wearers.

Who am I?

See above. I retired from the State of Wyoming in 2007 after 31 years in the natural resource field. I currently work for an engineering firm.

Good luck with your paper.

 

[Doctor Strange]

1. I wear fedoras partly because of their iconic familiarity from films and photos of the 20s-50s. Western and outback hats can't really be worn in this part of the country without seeming like a bizarre affectation (although nowadays, wearing anything other than a ballcap or watchcap/ski toque is seen as an abberation by most "average" people.) They are also practical for weather protection and make a stylish statement.

(I don't just wear fedoras; I also wear newsboy caps, a panama hat in summer, and Akubra country hats for hiking.)

2. I've always been interested in hats (I'm 14 in my taken-in-1969 avatar picture), but thinning hair and concern for skin cancer - and more interest in keeping off rain/snow as I've aged - has made me more serious about constantly wearing a hat in recent years.

3. Strictly new hats, bought online from dealers. I've never bought a used hat from eBay, and it's been a very long time (over twenty years) since I bought a hat in any kind of brick-and-morter store. And I generally don't frequent auctions, yard sales, Salvation Army stores, etc.

4. Maybe, in that we're all responding to the 20th century traditions, and the film characters reflecting those traditions, that a fedora represents. But there's such a diversity here in terms of politics, religion, and general life experience that I don't think that we can all be classed as "hat people" - we're all individuals who just happen to have an interest in hats and/or the 20th century.

I'm 54 years old, and have mostly always lived in the NYC area. I've been a technical writer working on software documentation for nearly 30 years, and am a divorced father of two kids, now in college and high school (neither of whom would be caught dead wearing a hat!)

 

[DerMann]

1. Fedoras are not the only hats I wear. Panamas, boaters, toppers even, but the fedora is the core of my head's wardrobe. The great thing about felt fedoras is that they are both aesthetically pleasing and practical. They provide a shade for your eyes, prevent sun damage, and I find myself feeling completely dressed with a hat (when I don't wear one I feel naked). It also doesn't hurt that they allow me to tip and doff my hat at pretty ladies on the street
This quote is great, too:
'The man who does not wear a hat cannot raise it to a woman, so loses his most courteous gesture.'
2. Completed my attire. Wearing a hat coordinated with whatever I'm wearing
gives me a more complete sense of being dressed. Not to mention it gets you noticed, both positively and negatively.
3. Pretty equally between online and in brick and mortar shops. It helps that my local hat shop is Miller Hats, though.
4. In today's world, there's at least a sharing of ideology amongst fedora wearers, and that is the ability to appreciate things now deemed as 'obsolete' by modern fashion and what have you. Free thinkers and all that.

I'm 18 and in college. I'm a Classics major and a Latin minor (if you say anything bad about Rome, I'm obligated to challenge you to a duel ), and I'll probably be a professor. During the school year I attend a small, all-male liberal arts college in Indiana. On breaks I live near Houston, Texas (raised there, too). No one in my family wears hats or is interested with vintage shenanigans like me. As far as dressing goes, most of my family detests dressing 'formally.'

 

[MattJH]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

I needed a wide-brimmed hat per my doctor's orders after active skin cancer was found on me. It has since been removed and my regular checkups have yielded no problems, but I am high-risk and need to protect myself from the sun. Luckily, I look just fine in a wide-brimmed hat and have purchased several ones to add variety to my headwear.

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

My affinity for not having cancer! After I got used to them, because I think they look good. There was no connection to a celebrity or movie. It was a purely independent choice to seek out the best wide-brimmed hats out there rather than buying a canvas Henschel or whatever, and it turned out vintage fedoras offered the best bang for my buck. It was only after I started wearing fedoras that I started noticing them in movies and on people in town.

3. Where do you buy your hats?

eBay and HatsDirect.

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

No. I think it's all in the person, not the hat. The hat can be an accessory to personality, but it doesn't manifest personality for the person.

Also, if its not too much to ask, who are you and where are you from?

My name is Matt and I was born, raised, and still live in Philadelphia, PA.

what do you do for a living?

I manage an IT consulting / troubleshooting department.

Good luck with your paper!

 

[Wolfmanjack]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

The fedora is my “basic” hat, but I also wear Homburgs for more formal occasions, flat caps when out for a stroll, boaters and Panamas in the summer, campaign hats in the field, and a balmoral or Glengarry with my kilt. I never wear a ball cap.​

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

As a kid growing up in the ‘40s, all the men I looked up to wore fedoras or other hats. It was part of being a man. I used to play with my dad’s fedora, shaping various creases into the crown. He would wear it in virtually any shape I created. What a guy.​

3. Where do you buy your hats?

My two most precious vintage hats, a ‘40s brown Stetson Whippet and a steel blue Royal Park “Custom Made” of the same era, were bought at a vintage clothing store for $10.00 each. I have a few from thrift stores, but most of my collection came from eBay. Some of these are fedoras I have transformed from western hats, i.e. “cowboy conversions.”​

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

Very much so. Whenever I see another man in a fedora (and this is very rare indeed), I know I am going to like the guy. Like me, he’s not afraid to be an individual.​

5. Personal Information:

I am a college professor who has lived all over North America and spent a good deal of time in France and the UK..​

 

[Dixon Cannon]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you? It a 'Golden Era' affinity and it's NOT a baseball cap.

2. What made you want to wear the hat? Had my Dad's old fedora but it didn't fit me. Saw the old pictures of him and decided that's what I wanted. The movies with fedora didn't hurt either. After the 'Aviator' I got serious about my fedoras.

3. Where do you buy your hats? eBay, almost exclusively.

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them? Yes. The FL is proof but when you pass others out in public there is a kind of 'bond of sympathy'.

-dixon cannon

 

[Wolfwood]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

Fedora is the hat of the golden age and at the same time casual and classy. And, as someone already said, it is NOT a baseball cap.

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

I was looking for my own style and sought inspiration everywhere. Then, I must admit, I remembered Indy and his hat and realised that I might enjoy wearing something similar.

3. Where do you buy your hats?

No real hatshops around where I live, so I buy them online. Hatsdirect and Akubra are my (and my family&relatives') trusted suppliers.

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

I must admit that I pay closer attention to other people who wear hats, and may even greet them with a nod when I see them. But I don't see it as getting as big as you get with motorcyclers (who greet each other on motorways etc.).

Also, if its not too much to ask, who are you and where are you from? what do you do for a living?

That 'who are you?' is a pretty difficult question and I cannot answer it at the moment. My name, however, is Marko Susimetsa and I live in Finland. I'm a project manager / researcher / teacher at a university of applied sciences.

 

[ortega76]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

I wear a fedora because it is functional (keeps my head warm in the winter or cool in the summer) and stylish. More importantly, I find it to be highly expressive. A fedora has more options for expressing my mood. I can play with the brim, change the band, even mess with the bash. Think of the simple black stingy brim. How different is the vibe you get from the wearer if it has a white hat band or a black one? Is the brim pushed playfully up all around? Is it snapped down in front for a more serious air? Think about the different combinations of these.

What does it mean to me? While it certainly has a connection to classic style, the fedora is really about me. It reflects MY style, MY mood.

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

Like a lot of people, I liked the way they looked in old movies. More concretely, I was in college when the 90's swing revival hit and a fedora was one of the ways I connected to the scene. I also became drawn to adding classic elements of menswear to my style as I moved into adulthood. A fedora is a wonderfully adaptable accessory. I can wear it with jeans and a t-shirt or a suit.

3. Where do you buy your hats?

Up until a few months ago, I lived in kind of a rural area so it was primarily on-line, but now that I'm in a major city again I have started shopping at brick-and-mortar stores in the city.

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

I think that fedora wearers are like anyone else- only more stylish, smarter and better in all measurable areas. Okay, that was a joke. I think that most fedora wearers have an appreciation for classic clothing, so I suppose we have a starting point for some good conversation. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I love anyone wearing a fedora. Take this board, for example. While I admire and respect everyone on this board, we may have radical differences of opinion on topics ranging from the acceptability of tattoos in a business setting to politics to the best width of a brim. Still, it's a start. A fedora makes for a few minutes chit chat at least among devotees.

5. What do you do for a living?

I am an account executive for a small business that offers printing and graphic design services.

6. Other personal information?

I am a South Sider (Chicago) and lifelong Sox fan (boo Cubs). I am a happily married man with a 9 year old step-son and a cat. My interests run the gamut from cigars to comics to mystery novels to rpgs.

Good luck on the paper!

 

[Godfrey]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

I wear one because I stand out without being showy and it makes sense to wear one from a health perspective (keeps you warm and keeps the sun off)​

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

Started when I was young due to a love of film noir - was pushed over the edge by Millers Crossing that sealed the deal.​

3. Where do you buy your hats?

Online and at my local Hat store​

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

Yes - it says something about the courage and self assurance of the individual.​

who are you and where are you from? what do you do for a living?

I'm a proud 8th generation Anglo-Australian who lives in Melbourne. I work in Financial services as a project manager.​

 

[Pat_H]

Why a Fedora and what does it mean to me?

I have always worn hats, not always fedoras. I was raised on a ranch in eastern Colorado in the 1950s, so “cowboy” hats were very much a part of the culture of the time. Because I now live and work in Wyoming, my hats tilt towards western styles. I have a couple of Resistol westerns, one Akubra, one custom, and three Stetson Open Road styles. One OR (actually a Sovereign) retains the cattleman crease, the other two are more a fedora style bash. Until I hooked up with the Fedora Lounge, I would not have thought of the OR hats as fedoras. While there are some very nice hats with wide ribbons, stingy brims, or other more typical fedora features, I much prefer the wider brims and thin ribbons. And I like the OR style because to me it bridges the gap between the fedora and the western hat.

What makes me want to wear the hat?

As already stated, I’ve always worn hats of one kind or another. My dad, uncles, and grandfathers all wore felt hats spring and fall, straws in the summer and something warmer in the winter. When I got out of the army in 1970, my dad gave me a Stetson western hat as a welcome home present. I wore it or an OR for years, then slid into the convenience of ball caps for a lot of occasions. Now I wear an OR or a western every day when it’s warm enough. Cold days call for the heavy wool tweed paperboys, including one with ear flaps.

Where do I buy my hats?

One from a custom maker in Lusk Wyoming, a couple on Ebay, one found by placing a “wanted” ad in the local paper, one from a fellow Lounger. One western was a departure gift from a part-time job, another was $10 on sale at a local western store.

Hat affinity with others?

Has nothing to do with why I wear a hat, but I do sense some commonality with other hat wearers.

Who am I?

See above. I retired from the State of Wyoming in 2007 after 31 years in the natural resource field. I currently work for an engineering firm.

Good luck with your paper.

Another Wyomingite? Well, that makes two of us here. It should be easy for us to spot each other, as there probably aren't more than a half dozen Fedora wearing Wyomingites in the whole state.

 

[Pat_H]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

I wear Fedoras, occasionally, as I've always liked the looks of them, and I've always thought them a very practical hat. I had an affinity for them as early as my teens, before any Indiana Jones film. I've always worn hats, as I grew up in a very rural area, where I still live, and only dispensed with hats for a brief period in my teens, which I'm paying for now. I wear Fedoras, when I do, as I like the way they look and in my opinion they look better in a town setting that a cowboy hat does, although I wear those too (and wear them a great deal out in the sticks).

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

See above.

3. Where do you buy your hats?

Cowboy hats I've bought from local Western stores or directly from the custom hat shop. I keep about three cowboy hats, including an open road, two of which see out in the sticks use.

Fedoras, on the other hand, are hard to come by here. I have one Fedora right now. I have had two at one time. The one I have now, I mail ordered from somewhere (no longer recall where). The other one I once had was a nice cream tan colored one that I acquired from a friend, who had bought it locally at a second hand store.

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

Not necessarily. It may say something about your personality, but if you wear them when they're generally uncommon (and I've noticed they're becoming more common), I think that the hat comes to you, as you don't follow trends, but follow what you like, which was your personality to start with.

 

[Pat_H]

Hat maker in Lusk

Where do I buy my hats?

One from a custom maker in Lusk Wyoming, a couple on Ebay, one found by placing a “wanted” ad in the local paper, one from a fellow Lounger. One western was a departure gift from a part-time job, another was $10 on sale at a local western store.

Inusuit, whose the hat maker in Lusk? I knew there was one in Shell, and there's one in Jackson, but I didn't know about one in Lusk.

 

[Inusuit]

Pat H. It's been a long time...

I'm not sure if he's still there. The name of the place was True Hatters, I think. His shop was on the main street through town. He did hats using vintage equipment part time in addition to his job as a policeman for Lusk. I bought a custom hat from him in 1995 to wear for Cowboy Action Shooting. He also did a renovation of an old Resistol for me. He had a stall on Wild Horse Gulch during Frontier Days, but he hasn't been there the last couple of years. It is a great hat, by the way. Fits me so well it has NEVER blown off in the Wyoming wind.

 

[Pat_H]

I'm not sure if he's still there. The name of the place was True Hatters, I think. His shop was on the main street through town. He did hats using vintage equipment part time in addition to his job as a policeman for Lusk. I bought a custom hat from him in 1995 to wear for Cowboy Action Shooting. He also did a renovation of an old Resistol for me. He had a stall on Wild Horse Gulch during Frontier Days, but he hasn't been there the last couple of years. It is a great hat, by the way. Fits me so well it has NEVER blown off in the Wyoming wind.

Some custom hatter was at the State Fair in Douglas, but I didn't get a chance to stop in and check the hats at up close. Just walked by, and didn't feel inspired.

People have good things to say about the hatter in Shell, but I haven't been there. I actually keep the number of good hats I have (and I always get the fairly good ones) down to a handfull, as I do wear them and wear them out, so I haven't been buying in awhile.

 

[Spats McGee]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

I'm a lawyer in Arkansas and keep my hair cropped really close. I needed something to: (1) keep my head warm in winter; and (2) keep my head covererd in summer. I'm leery of wearing a ballcap to court, so I needed something dressier. A fedora meets all of these needs. Besides, they're just plain cool!

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

See answer to #1.

3. Where do you buy your hats?

I've gotten several as gifts, but of the ones I've purchased myself: (1) one from Burlington Coat Factory; (2) two from Everything Australian. Sadly, there's not a good hat shop in Little Rock, Arkansas.

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

I don't think I'd go so far as to say "an affinity," but when I meet someone with a fedora on the street, it does make a good ice-breaker.

 

[carter]

1. Why do you wear a fedora of all hats, what does it mean to you?

I wear fedoras, as well as other hats, because it feels natural to have a hat on my head. Fedoras look good, provide good insulation and shade when needed, and can enhance any outfit.

2. What made you want to wear the hat?

See #1 above.

3. Where do you buy your hats?

On-line, Retail, Custom Hatters, Thrift Stores, jut about anywhere a hat can be found.

4. Do you think the personality behind the fedora creates some kind of affinity with all who wear them?

I think there is a certain recognition factor among fedora wearers. Wearing a fedora can be a conversation starter as well as inviting comments from people who like (hopefully) your hat. This often occurs in restaurants and men's clothiers.

5. It is very iconic of the 20th century.

The fedora is generally iconic for roughly the first sixty years of the 20th century. There have always been afficinados of the fedora but the fedora as a universally accepted everyday accessory of menswear had a sharp decline in the latter part of the 20th century.

6. Who are you and where are you from? what do you do for a living?

I'm a semi-retired executive living in Dallas, TX.

Good luck with your paper, ArrowCollarMan. I hope you get an A.