How do folks react to your hat wearing?

[GregNYC]

I want to thank the good folks on this forum. You guys gave me courage and inspiration! I started wearing hats 2 weeks ago. At first I felt strange and embarrassed, going to work at a huge midtown law firm in a hat. Farther downtown is fine because there are lots of stingy brims and pork pies in Greenwich Village. I was pleased and surprised that I'm getting a lot of compliments! From the newspaper salesman, from my doorman, my wife, and several colleagues. No one has rolled their eyes or made snarky remarks!

So this is becoming an ever-more exciting hobby. And there's the great Fall season to look forward to (all I have got so far are Panamas). Wearing hats is something I've wanted to do for many years, and the Fedora Lounge has helped me step out and do it! Thanks again!

 

[TheDane]

Before you get deeper into the darkness, you should know, that no rehab options exist. You will be forever doomed, if you don't turn around now! lol

Welcome to a great niche in reality

 

[GregNYC]

Thanks! Just yesterday I ran across a photo of myself in a great WWII-style A-2 flight jacket. Something looked wrong. Of course! No hat!

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Where I live the only accepted headwear is either the ubiquitous olive green baseball cap or the occassional cloth flat cap, everything else is laughed at & not always behind one's back. I live in the country but even so I usually have to pass a number of locals & suffer their smirks & mocking gaze whenever I'm sporting a lid. It's not that I care what they think of me, it's just that I dislike feeling self conscious.
Things pass much better in towns & cities though.

 

[TheDane]

Next time think: "Yeah, many of us do look quite stupid - but you see, I can take off my hat, when I get home!"

 

[splintercellsz]

I have posted this many times before, but I will continue to do so. Wear what you like for yourself. Life is too short to go through the day worrying about what one thinks of your dress. If you like wearing hats, go for it. If you enjoy wearing a sandal on one foot, a boot on the other, and glasses with no lenses, then by all means, have at it.

 

[GregNYC]

Anti-fedora comments? Can you give an example??

 

[TheDane]

65 pages of hat comments, and quite a few of them are "anti-fedora". Just read the thread

 

[GregNYC]

On what site? Which thread?

 

[splintercellsz]

This thread. It holds a mixture of both positive and negative remarks.

 

[Ds5160]

Just today a neighbor said I look more comfortable in myself now that I am getting used to wearing a hat. He said I used to look self-conscious, now I look like I own it.

 

[facade]

Where I live the only accepted headwear is either the ubiquitous olive green baseball cap or the occassional cloth flat cap, everything else is laughed at & not always behind one's back. I live in the country but even so I usually have to pass a number of locals & suffer their smirks & mocking gaze whenever I'm sporting a lid. It's not that I care what they think of me, it's just that I dislike feeling self conscious.
Things pass much better in towns & cities though.

In order to balance out the "who cares what anyone else thinks" advice, I offer this. If you are a multi-millionaire you can wear whatever you like. If you live on the streets, you can wear whatever you like. However if you are somewhere in the middle you don't have that freedom, at least not without a cost. What you wear influences how other people perceive you. As long as you need to interact with other people to remain gainfully employed, have social acceptance, make friends and romantic interests, its best not to have what you wear cause you to be the brunt of blatant mockery. If you are in a community that routinely mocks you over your hats, stop wearing them or move.

 

[Zombie_61]

Where I live the only accepted headwear is either the ubiquitous olive green baseball cap or the occassional cloth flat cap, everything else is laughed at & not always behind one's back. I live in the country but even so I usually have to pass a number of locals & suffer their smirks & mocking gaze whenever I'm sporting a lid. It's not that I care what they think of me, it's just that I dislike feeling self conscious.
Things pass much better in towns & cities though.

Contrary to Facade's suggestion, and with no disrespect or offense intended towards him, there's a saying that gets used here occasionally: Wear your hat, don't let it wear you. If you feel self-conscious when you wear your hat(s), it will affect your body language and demeanor, and it will be noticeable to others. Ignore the laughers, smirkers, and gazers, and wear your hat confidently as though it were the most natural thing in the world to do. Eventually they'll grow accustomed to seeing you in it and, as often happens, you'll probably become known as "the guy in the hat". Outlast the fools!

 

[GregNYC]

This thread, of course! Duh! Thanks, I'll take a look!

 

[Landman]

Contrary to Facade's suggestion, and with no disrespect or offense intended towards him, there's a saying that gets used here occasionally: Wear your hat, don't let it wear you. If you feel self-conscious when you wear your hat(s), it will affect your body language and demeanor, and it will be noticeable to others. Ignore the laughers, smirkers, and gazers, and wear your hat confidently as though it were the most natural thing in the world to do. Eventually they'll grow accustomed to seeing you in it and, as often happens, you'll probably become known as "the guy in the hat". Outlast the fools!

+1

 

[Landman]

A couple of months ago my girlfriend broke her ankle. I took her to the emergency room when she broke it and was also there a few days later when she had surgery to install a plate and screws. Then about a month later my 85 year old mother had to have surgery. Two nurses and a doctor, that I never met when I took my girlfriend, came up to me when I was there with my mother and asked what I was doing back again. They were all very nice and truly concerned. They all said they remembered me because of my hat! This is a pretty busy hospital with a lot of people going through there everyday. It really surprised me that some of the staff, that I didn't deal with the first time, recognized me just by my hat. They weren't even the same hats, just similar in style. Both were Open Roads with the front brim turned down.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

If you are in a community that routinely mocks you over your hats, stop wearing them or move.

That is rather a Conservative point of view, "conform or move on " kinda thing
I think that anyone who choses to wear something that is not the norm in their part of the world is an anti-conformist at heart, they are indicating to others "this is me, this is what I relate to & if you have any problems with that, you'll just have to lump it "
I can put up with mockery, after all it's up to me to be more confident in my choices but I couldn't live with myself if I had to change just to 'fit in' :nono:
After all we're only talking about lids here, hardly a threat to the estalished order, so please sheriff, don't run me outta town

I think Zombie_61's quote about "wearing your hat & not let it wear you " is an excellent piece of advice which I shall keep in mind in the future.

 

[Zombie_61]

...I think that anyone who choses to wear something that is not the norm in their part of the world is an anti-conformist at heart, they are indicating to others "this is me, this is what I relate to & if you have any problems with that, you'll just have to lump it "
I can put up with mockery, after all it's up to me to be more confident in my choices but I couldn't live with myself if I had to change just to 'fit in' :nono:...

I've had long (or long-ish) hair and some form of facial hair most of my adult life, as well as having an earring and tattoos, and have shunned "trendy fashion" in favor of tee shirts and jeans. I'd guess some people have probably labeled me as a non-conformist at one point or another, but I never deliberately intended to be one; I'm simply being "me" and trying to live my life in a way that pleases me without harming anyone else in the process. I've taken some "flak" over the years because of my appearance, but I'm convinced this helped me to develop a "thick skin" and I honestly couldn't care less about what anyone else thinks.

With regards to hats, I never thought they looked "right" on me, especially the ubiquitous ball caps, so I didn't wear them. I've admired fedoras for as long as I can remember but for many years felt they would look like a "costume" item on me. I finally decided in my mid- to late-40s that I'd waited long enough, and bought my first "real" hat, an Akubra Fed IV (yes, I'm one of those who was influenced, in part, by the Indiana Jones movies). Having not been a hat-wearer for most of my life, initially I was somewhat self-conscious. To my surprise I received compliments from family and friends immediately, and the feelings of self-consciousness quickly turned into a sort of comfortable and casual confidence. Now I don't even think about it--my hats have simply become part of my daily wardrobe, and I feel odd on those rare occasions when I forget to grab one as I'm headed out the door. I'm sure I look like a 1960s-era tramp, but I'll happily own it if that's the case.

On a semi-related note, in January of 2013 I had a small amount of skin cancer removed from my nose. I've never been a sun-worshipper, but I've also never really taken any special precautions against sun damage despite, as I describe it, my "Irish-white skin". So these days I wear my hats as a form of sun protection as well as because I like them.

 

[jamespowers]

Now I don't even think about it--my hats have simply become part of my daily wardrobe, and I feel odd on those rare occasions when I forget to grab one as I'm headed out the door. I'm sure I look like a 1960s-era tramp, but I'll happily own it if that's the case.

Nah, the hat saves you----without the hat.....

 

[Zombie_61]

Nah, the hat saves you----without the hat.....

Admittedly, the hat draws attention away from the hideous creature beneath it.