How did you start wearing hats?

[Beowulf67]

....The number of people wearing hats in the Rockford Files was odd -- nobody wore hats in L.A. in the '70s. The costumer must have been a hat fan.

I was too young to notice when I first watched the show, but watching it now I think they kind of wanted a "noir" feel while still having a laid-back '70's California thing going on.

But that's just my $.02 adjusted for inflation.

 

[byronic]

hmmm....interesting...i grew up watching re-runs of 50's and 60's tv shows and films that were usually even older, i think my wearing hats and old fashioned clothes was a subconscious throwback to that era, at first anyway, its definitely a conscious thing now.

 

[5thprofession47]

When I started working after college I got a job as a photographer and was expected to dress nicely for work. I found that I really liked suits and ties and the entire "look". Others responded well to it too and I built a decent collection of nice clothing. One of my main influences was my grandfather who wore bespoke suits. Another influence was my girlfriend at the time who really helped me with picking the right look.

Most people my age tend to be so casual as to not care one way or another what they are wearing or how they look. Sloppy and unkept was not for me. Being dressed nicely with a hat is the new rebellion. You walk into a bar like that and few will be likely to miss it.

 

[Brett McKay]

I've always been fascinated by hats. My first hat was sort of a cheapo fedora at Dillard's. That was about 7 years ago. I recently found a cool hat shop here in Tulsa in the historic African American community and bought a nice Dobbs straw fedora. When fall comes around I'll be going back to get a felt one.

 

[Hoc]

Figured this was the right place to start with my first post. I got into hats after reenacting for a number of years, particularly WWII events. You're out of uniform without a lid of some kind, and it got to feel that way in my daily life, too. I've worn a lot of baseball caps, but then started wearing various fedoras and other "proper" hats I found at vintage stores.

I typically wear a brown Akubra Federation (yeah, I was pointed to this list by a fellow COW member), an olive fur felt hat of unknown manufacture, or a Panama, depending on weather or choice of clothes. Then there's the closet shelf full of hats that go with my uniform collection.

Nice to see I'm in good company with folks interested in classic styles, and I'm looking forward to learning a lot.

Steve
Issaquah, WA

 

[Edward]

The Pogues! One of my favorite bands.

Can't beat 'em. Irish (and Scots) folk as it should be - not the sanitised version that has been peddled to tourists and the middle classes for years on end.

As a child I wore a number of baseball caps - my folks encouraged us to keep our heads covered from the Sun. There was a brown fedora (that I wish I till had - I'm sure it was a really nice quality fur, from what I can remember), fifties style, two inch brim, that I rescued from a jumble box, right around the time that I first discovered Indiana Jones. Wore that hat playing around a lot. Wish I still had it (though I doubt it would fit now!). I gave up on baseball caps by about sixteen - apart from when out hiking for my Duke of Edinburgh Awards - as I felt I looked stupid in them. That was it for me, until I hit Uni. Hooded coats being on my "uncool" list by then, I opted for a cap as an alternative to an umbrella. Back in Belfast in the early 90s - and I'm sure it's still the same - by the time the rain would be heavy enough to be bothered with a brolly, the wind was strong enough to make it a major hassle. Thus arrived the first in a long line of corduroy Breton style caps, which I still enjoy. Great for a more casual look, also work really well with a blazer and trousers. From the age of 17 I had also had a black wool trilby that I wore on occasion, mostly for dress wear, or with black tie. A couple of years ago I got more into the idea of wearing a brimmed hat with a suit, so that hat saw more action. By this point, I had several caps as well. Then in June 2006 I finally shaved my head completely (I'd been thinning for years, and it was long overdue), and now from wearing a hat when in a suit / cold / in the sun some days, I never leave the house without one. Actually, I now feel naked without a hat on me outside. More often than not, it's a brimmed hat, unless I'm going for a specific casual look that requires a cap, or it's just soooo windy a brimmed hat is a bad idea! My favourite hats are probably my Federations (brown deluxe, reg carbon grey), though I now have about ten or twelve fur felt hats, inside just over a year. More to come.....

 

[59Lark]

my first fedora

My first fedora would be my fathers biltmore, sold my harold heath department store in tillsonburg, it was a famous 3 generation three story dept store in tillsonburg and it closed last year after 90 years. The town did not have the money since tobacco was declared non grata by our goverment and the next generation didnt want to take over the business. The end of the line its now pricey apartments and a coffe exspresso shop, so its ends. The fedora is still in my hands but it fits my six year old daughter its far to small for me, its a six something and i wear a seven and five eights. The hats started for nearly twenty years ago and my first one was a korean fedora from woolco, and it was soon replaced with a biltmore, grey with blue feather and soon a tradition of a new fedora every fall. I would find the factory outlet and buy a new second , since I wear it every day, they grow tired and usually have a barn hat, save the old one for doing dirty work and a new one every fall, then biltmore got rid of those outlets and i started buying MAGILL, from montreal, Canada. No one here has mentioned ever this co, some old independent Canadian hat manufacture, Bobby Lee hats royal style 137w colour caribou, now for ten years every oct, i get a new hat. This year my haberdashery is closing after 50 years and no more hats, since no one is replacing or taking over the store , he has made arrangements for me to order my own hats from the company since i own a business , they will allow this, but i will have too order four at a time. That might be pricey but a cost it will be less, I also wear straw hats in the summer but have a lot of trouble find good straw hats maggill doesnt have what i consider nice straw hats and i wish in the summer i could afford a biltmore or the time to go to guelph. Thank you 59Lark.

 

[MCrider]

How did I start wearing hats? I've always worn hats of some kind. When I was in High School, I sometimes wore a white Greek fishermans hat (made out of lightweight cotton, not the real wool ones) and even wore a cheapo Australian digger hat with a fake leopard print band (thankfully no known photos survive of that one). But like I stated in my introductary post it was a year after I left school (1980) that I decided to give myself a present. It is a Foreman and Clark and the sweat band marked Deluxe Quality.

[/IMG]

It went into retirement after Raiders of the Lost Ark came out and people started calling me Indy. I carried this jewel around the globe without wearing it (actually I did once or twice when stationed in Greece) and only recently cleaned it up and began wearing it again. Since then I have several other hats that see more frequent use, but when I'm in a jaunty mood, I pull out "The Hat" and go out smiling a big smile.

 

[Joe_Frances]

Two things: practicality and aesthetics started me with fedoras and bowlers.

First, I moved to the suburbs of NYC, and it gets cold on the platform in the winter. I found it utterly silly to see guys in suits and topcoats with baseball caps. Additionally, when I occasionally saw a man in a fedora I was intrigued. Ultimately, I took some Christmas money, and bought myself my first fedora. Strangely and amazingly, I found out it keeps me warm in the winter, and looks great.

I was hooked. So, for a couple of years I took Christmas money, and bought hats. The ladies love them, most guys don't notice or think the hats are weird, because most guys are lemmings, and would never do anything that is acceptable to the masses.

Not being a herd follower in the slightest, it made sense.

 

[Florida_Marlin]

Wearing Hats since I was a Kid

I was born in Italy to US parents (military), then moved to various bases in the US while my dad was alternating between US assingments and vacationing in SE Asia. While he was on his "Tours", we would go back to my parents home in South Mississippi, out in the woods.

So-- between the military influence and wearing any surplus hat/helmet I could get my hands on--and watching western shows on TV, I grew up wearing hats.

When my dad retired from US Army in '75, we moved back to Mississippi. It was cowboy hats and ball caps.

I started wearing a wool pinch front, kinda a rough imitation of an "Australian Outback" hat to hike about 10 years ago. I started wearing driving caps when I started losing my hair.

Then, my wife of 22 years bought me a panama fedora while on a trip to St. Augustine. So, now I wear a panama most of the time.

So, in summary, a lifelong hat wearer, finally coming around!

 

[MississippiLong]

what part of MS are you from? I grew up in the delta....i was drawn to hats for a different reason (blues)

 

[stibbons]

Figured this seems as good a place as any to introduce myself. Hi!

I was another one of those kids who spent most of their time growing up wearing hats. Baseball caps or bucket hats in summer to keep the sun off, and beanies in winter. Oh, and who can forget the old ice cream bucket with eyes drawn on the back to scare the magpies away during swooping season..

Wasn't until I was planning a trip to far north Western Australia a few years ago when I decided that I should probably get a Real Hat (I totally capitalised it like that in my mind) for the extra protection. That led to my first Akubra, a bran-coloured Coolabah.

Back in Sydney, the Coolabah spent a lot of time lurking in the closet. I eventually discovered that it was great for keeping the rain off, but the extra wide brim and bush style felt very out of place in the big city so it didn't get a lot of wear. It's only been relatively recently that I realised how much I enjoy wearing it though, and decided the only way around it was to buy another hat. So I'm up to three Akubras. As well as the Coolabah I've got a green Turin. And right now I'm very much taken with my most recent purchase, a grey International.

My other recent hobby is bicycling, which means that most days I now wear a bicycle helmet to work instead of a felt hat. I ran across this forum while wondering how I'd be able to carry a hat on a bike. Still don't have a definite solution for that, but found lots of useful information about hat boxes, and I think I've figured out what I need to do.

 

[brylcreem boy]

I've always been fascinated by hats. My first hat was sort of a cheapo fedora at Dillard's. That was about 7 years ago. I recently found a cool hat shop here in Tulsa in the historic African American community and bought a nice Dobbs straw fedora. When fall comes around I'll be going back to get a felt one.

Brett if you don't mind me asking what's the name of the store, I'm looking for my 1st straw fedora.

 

[mannySpaghetti]

One influence was my father who wore a lot of straws when I was a kid being that we lived in Hawaii. He also loved those old time gangster flicks like "Public Enemy", "Bullets or Ballots", "Scarface"(1932) and "Key Largo" to name a few which we would catch on occasion. That's when I knew I really had to have one. Gangster movies was the biggest influence. I was like 13-14 at the time I think, but I never did get around to buying a fedora because all the ones I ever came across were ugly stingy's. Even then I felt they were cheaply made, 'cause they just didn't "feel" like quality. Akin to those that can be rolled up and stuffed in your pocket I suppose. Then "Indiana Jones" came out around that time as well and seeing Harrison Ford rockin' that fedora and seeing how good he looked in 'em, just kept the fire burning for me. In high school when asked what I wanted for my birthday from a girlfriend, I tried to prod her into getting me one. It never happened and not until a little over a year ago did I actually get my first fedora at age 39; a ca. 1940's(I think) Dobb's "Fifteen" I got off of ebaY for $45. I love that hat and it's totally different then the others I own having a center crease, no binding and a bow in the rear as opposed to the side. Through this forum, when I was cruising it a few months ago up until now, I started to understand a lot better what was good, mediocre and poor and now I feel much more confident about what to purchase and whether it's a good deal or not. Like I said in my introductory post, "I just can't have too many!".

 

[Wolfwood]

I was actually trying to find my own style a few years back, having got tired of not feeling at home in anything I had worn for the first 30 years of my life. My eyes found Indiana Jones and although I didn't want to copy the style I got some tips from it - most noticeably the hat.

Don't laugh, but for me it was the Australian TV series McLeod's Daughters. My wife and daughter were watching it and I noticed the tough looking hats the characters were wearing.

Do you happen to know the models of the hats used in the series? My sister's interested in the hat that the main character (I suppose), Stevie McLeod, is wearing and I hoped to track it down to make a gift of it for her.

 

[gtdean48]

Can't remember not wearing hats...my grandfather bought me & my older brother ponies when I was 4 & he was 6 & had to have a cowboy hat, which was usually one of his fedoras since cheap kids' hats couldn't stand up. Of course caps with fertilizer & tractor companies were the norm all thru high school & college. I got into US War Between the State reenacting after college & again used grandpa's fedora as a slouch hat, an old Open Road that I wish now I had treated gently. I moved to the big city for a job & had a good rain hat for those days & keep my head warm, always had a quality Resistol on the hook, especially when the Urban Cowboy fad came & went. All my friends were buying them but I just brushed mine off! Still have lots of caps, westerns & snap brims (never really called them fedoras much) & will from now on! Just cranking up the quality of them as time goes by... gtd

 

[panama jack]

My grandfather and father always wore fedoras when I was growing up. I remember trying them on and re-bashing them. They didn't seem to mind...at least I think they didn't.
As I got older I never wore a hat. It just wasn't my thing. When everyone started to wear baseball caps I thought it would be something I would try since my hair started to thin out on top anyway. One good sunburn cured my from going hatless.

This past summer I went to St. Martin for a vacation and wanted to bring a hat but not a baseball cap so I purchased my first straw hat which was an inexpensive Stetson Retro. I enjoyed wearing it.

Since then I have found this web-site and enjoyed reading everyones comments and it's a great place for information. I have purchased a medium grey Akubra Stylemaster which I'm still waiting for and recently won a vintage Stetson Mallory on e-bay which I love.

At 58 I think I have grown out of the ball cap style. Not that I won't wear one ever again because I probably will when I'm driving my car with the top down. I wouldn't want to loose one of my nice fedoras.

pj

 

[trailrunner]

I guess the first time a wore a hat was about twenty years ago. I was a teenager and I wore one of my grandfather's hats on a few dates. I seem to recall it being a fedora with a pork pie set to the brim - although I had no idea of that at the time. It didn't stick though, not as a part of my regular wardrobe. I started wearing akubra and fedora styled wool felt hats when backpacking a few years after, but only recently have I added a hat to my everyday wear.

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

The first thing I ever asked for in a store was an old man tartan bucket hat when I was a very young lad. My family calls dapper old men who haven't to given in to the times "Chollies". This was and is (it's hanging on my wall still) my cholly cap. I insisted on wearing dress clothes, tie included, to school everyday. Times change, so does fashion sense. A few years ago I insisted on stealing my dad's dad's flat cap (never met the man, died when my dad was in highschool). Last year he gave me two of my own. That summer it was straw hats. I just recieved my first fedora, and now my dad is looking for one too. It all comes full circle, huh?

 

[jlagman]

I guess this is a good way to introduce myself; my name is John, I'm currently 22 years old, I live in Toronto, and I just purchased my first (and perhaps my last, but who knows?) felt hat, a Tilley Fedora, a few weeks ago.

Several years ago my dad purchased a Tilley Hat but wore it less and less as time went on. About a month ago, I found it along with some older photo albums with pictures of him wearing it. As I read the brag tags and user manual incuded with the hat, the sentimental side of me warmed up to the idea of having a hat of my own and perhaps passing it down as a family heirloom. Tilley's reputation for ruggedness, customer service, and lifetime guarantee is what attracted me to them, plus I liked the idea of supporting a local business.

From Humphry Bogart to Warren Beatty to Harrison Ford, the Fedora has always portrayed a classic sense of mystery and intrigue, which is why I was so attracted to its design. Coupled with some of the features included with my particular hat, I've enjoyed the experience so far and have become a proud owner.