How did you start wearing hats?

[Lincsong]

On again , off again with me. It has been all about my mood the last 20 years. I just came across a Dorfman Pacific newsboy cap I bought in 1985. It was a medium! But then again, I was only 130 pounds.lol

 

[Sir Dobbs]

I had many times complimented on a certain Dobbs fedora my dad had in his collection. He ended up giving it to me and it has since become a standard part of my attire.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

"Gittes, two Ts and an E!" Jack Nicholson in Chinatown cinched it for me bigtime. Those superb fedoras he wore were, in my opinion, the epitome of classic style. Hats off gentlemen to Anthea Silbert, costume designer extraordinaire!

 

[MasonM]

Hello. New here, first post.

I've been wearing hats of all kinds since I was a little kid. I've always enjoyed wearing hats and never go out without one. I have and wear everything from ball caps to cowboy hats but my favorite is an old grey fedora I picked up in a thrift shop several years ago.

While I enjoy wearing suits, when I'm at home here in Florida during the summer it's too hot to wear them and I normally just wear shorts and a polo shirt of some sort. In this case I usually wear my fedora style khaki safari hat and carry my wooden walking stick (straight cane). The sun is merciless here and going without a brimmed hat is just not a good idea.

Anyway, as I said I'm new to this board and look forward to reading the posts of like-minded folks.

 

[undertaker]

I have worn hats for years. I saw pictures of my grandfathers in their old felt fedoras and instatly fell in love. I bought my first when I was about 10 from a Salvation Army store. Now I have a dozen from fedoras to skimmers, to homburgs, and all points in between.

Regards,
JS

 

[stylin]

{Whew! Gret to be back!}

Anyhow, I started wearing fedoras about 4 months ago. I happened to see a young guy come into my video store with one on. I liked it and thought that I could pull of the look also. So after some thought and research having found the fedoralounge here, I bought one and haven't looked back.

 

[The Duke]

Well, I always wore newsboy caps, but the first hat I bought was a porkpie because of Lester Young, Then came the fedora, the bowler and the optimo straw hats for the summer.

 

[mysterygal]

I've always liked hats on other people's heads, but thought one on me would look really ridiculous. About 5months ago, I went to Eugene with MK and his wife to check out this vintage store and tried on some of the hats, more for a joke and a good laugh than anything else. Anyways, looked in the mirror and thought, 'dang, I look good!", after that I was hooked

 

[skillbilly]

When I was a wee lad, I wore newsboy caps quite a bit.
It wasn't until the very early 80's when I wore my first
Dobbs fedora as part of my Break dancing ensemble
[did i say that out loud!?!}.

 

[Tudor]

As a youngster I wore a cowboy hat. My mom tells the story of me running into the house on a windy day looking for my “Cowboy” to keep my hair from blowing around (I had a burr haircut at that time). Later on I wore my grandfather’s newsboy cap and in High school I wore a brown felt fedora. The fedora was a great hat to wear when hiking in the rain. Some weeks it rained everyday in my favorite mountains of Northern California. Once the “Raiders” movie came out I stopped wearing my fedora for a while, I think I just got tired of being called “Indy” or being accused of following a fad. I must have matured a bit since. That sort of thing does not bother me anymore.

I resumed wearing hats a few years ago when my doctor told me to be a little more careful in the sun; we have a lot of sun here in New Mexico. I always thought I looked best in a wide brimmed, dress fedora over other styles of hats so I have been having fun collecting and wearing fur felt fedoras in the colder/wetter months and straws in the warmer/drier months. Nowadays, I just do not feel completely dressed for outside without a hat. I have been accused of putting on a hat to get the mail.

 

[Air Boss]

Wore a stetson cowbot hat in my teens because it was cool and it didn't fit in northern New Jersey. I still have it but it is in desperate need of cleaning and blocking - some day when I can afford it I will get it done.

I have always liked the look of dress hats and had many older relatives who wore them. I can remember cleaning out my Grandfather's house and thinking it was a crime to throw out all his hats - he was a stingy brim man.

Finally, I have always enjoyed the classic styles of old Hollywood. It was only natural that I would be drawn to hats and eventually the FL. Now all I need to do is convince my bride that I really do need 2 new hats...

 

[Benny Holiday]

When I was a wee lad, I wore newsboy caps quite a bit.
It wasn't until the very early 80's when I wore my first
Dobbs fedora as part of my Break dancing ensemble
[did i say that out loud!?!}.

Ah . . . memories of the tenth grade at Busby High School . . . I dig where you're comin' from Skillbilly!

 

[rjm45]

I've worn hats since I was a little boy; caps, cowboy hats,the Elmer Fudd or Engineers type of wool hat for winter,Fedoras for dress, etc. So did my Dad, Granddad, Great Granddad, Uncles, etc. I guess you could call it the middle class heritage, clean shirt, pants, jacket and always a hat when you went outside. Which meant pretty much as soon as the sun came up till it goes down, when you ranch/farm for a way of life. Although the hat came off immediately when inside unless you wanted to experience the wrath of the women in the family. Just in the last few years my hats have cost a lot more than I would have spent in years past. I have to have a hat (and a pocket knife) on when I go outside or I feel naked and unprepared for the day.

Rex

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Ah . . . memories of the tenth grade at Busby High School . . .

Busby Berkeley High School? lol


.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

When I was 3, I had a little green, plastic bowler. That hat stayed on my head for a year. When I was five I picked up a stingy brim Bing Crosby type hat at the zoo. That stayed on my head for two years. Got my first fedora when I was 15 from an old thrift shop. Picked up a matching straw a few months later. All through college, wore thet two of 'em. When I started working in the theater (as a techie/stage manager) I gained access to some of the finest costume storages in the country - picked up a few more. Lost too many of them along the way. All of them are now gone except a beautiful, and now beat, Stetson Stratoliner, which is the keystone of my collection. I also have a few newsboy-8/4's, porkpies, milans, panamas, etc. The rule is I NEVER leave the house without a hat. It just don't seem natural.

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

I've been meaning to put my recollections down. Read through the thread before forming my thoughts.

I have to agree with some of ya'll about starting with cowboy hats as a young pup. Black and white TV with Roy and the Lone Ranger and the Saturday morning serials. Being born in S.E. New Mexico also helped. I remember going with my Dad down to the lumber yard / Farmer's Co-op and seeing the older ranchers in their Open Roads. Then when I went with my Dad out to visit the oil rigs you'd see the engineers and oilmen wearing their Open Roads. Then there was LBJ in his Open Road (yea I know it was a Resistol). Kinda see where I'm headin'?

We then moved to Houston and only wore hats for Fat Stock Show. Then the mid 60's and the 70's happened and cowboy wasn't "cool". Got back into it when we moved back out to West Texas, still cowboying it for rodeos, dove hunting, etc..

Now I'm up in Central Pennsylvania -not what you'd call cowboy country. They farm up here, not ranch. I didn't wear hats much until last year. The cowboy hat styles have changed a lot over the years. Tall crowns with smaller brims then shorter crowns and wider brims. Hell now certain areas wear damn things that look like oversized taco shells. I can't keep up anymore, getting too old to keep changing. I decided to go back to a classic design - the Open Road. It's like a classic-cut suit. You can always wear it despite the changing styles. Figured that it's a look I can continue as I mosey down the road. I want to look like the ranch owner, not one of the hands. That's where I'm heading anyway - a gentleman farmer in Northern Virginia.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

I blame it on a woman

I was dating a girl at university in the fall of 1994. She had money, liked guys who dressed well, and I liked her. I ended up blowing more money on suits than every other guy in my dorm combined. Then we went to Meyer the Hatter in New Orleans and I bought my first non-baseball hat, a black fedora. I still have the hat. I also have an Akubra that has travelled with me to three continents. It has kept the rain off of my head in London, the snow off of me in Amsterdam, kept me from sunburn in the Carribean, and all of the above in the states.

 

[Sageghost]

Keeping old traditions alive (well, trying)

I remember putting on my grandfathers hat when I was a kid and loving it. I always wanted one of my own, but for some reason never actually bought one, except for an Akubra Stockman when I was a teenager.

It was only recently, when on a trip to Melbourne that I spied the Millinery shop at the bottom of Flinders St Station. I went in there and had a wonderful experience. I was measured and fitted, and finally chose a brown Akubra Trilby, a 'whippet'. I have no regrets.

 

[mikepara]

Pull up a sandbag..

... Wore one everyday at work [beret]. I started feeling incorrectly dressed without headdress on. Especially after I was no longer serving.

As Pork pies and Ball caps don't look that good and can't be worn with everything so real hats started to appear. First a Panama then just about anything.

 

[undertaker]

My Inspiration

I have worn hats for years. I saw pictures of my grandfathers in their old felt fedoras and instatly fell in love. I bought my first when I was about 10 from a Salvation Army store. Now I have a dozen from fedoras to skimmers, to homburgs, and all points in between.

Regards,
JS

[/IMG]

I found this old picture of my Grandfather today. I never met him, but I can remember seeing this picture all of my life. It was taken after he came out of WWI. I love the hat, but the tie leaves a little to be desiredlol.

Regards,
JS