How do folks react to your hat wearing?

[TheOldFashioned]

I don’t know anything about leather jackets, but that second jacket (where you are clean shaven) looks very nice (don’t tell Bowen).

Thanks, Brent. As Bowen mentioned above it actually is the same jacket just different lighting. It's brown Horween chromexel horsehide made by Aero Leathers of Scotland. Coloration varies batch to batch as it's tanned and I personally think I lucked into a nice hue on this one. In certain light it seems to show reddish tones and almost pretends to be cordovan (another Horween color). The way this leather is processed it's supposed to develop even more character over time, so I'm looking forward to how this jacket evolves.

B actually helped me get it just over a year ago. There was a screaming deal on the TFL Classifieds and I reached out to him for his advice since I was/am even less knowledgeable about leather jackets than hats. The rest as they say is history. He's been kind enough to provide advice on a few other hat and jacket purchases since then too.

Both looks work great.

Best,
Joe

Thanks, Joe. With the arrival of winter weather I'll likely be sporting the natural facial insulation for the next few months. Unfortunately, the Upper Midwest winters are a bit too cold for leather, so the jacket will be taking a backseat to wool.

 

[GHT]

Leather jacket with tie and hat works. So does a beard too:
View attachment 201348 View attachment 201349

Fab-u-lous!

 

[tropicalbob]

Thanks, Brent. As Bowen mentioned above it actually is the same jacket just different lighting. It's brown Horween chromexel horsehide made by Aero Leathers of Scotland. Coloration varies batch to batch as it's tanned and I personally think I lucked into a nice hue on this one. In certain light it seems to show reddish tones and almost pretends to be cordovan (another Horween color). The way this leather is processed it's supposed to develop even more character over time, so I'm looking forward to how this jacket evolves.

B actually helped me get it just over a year ago. There was a screaming deal on the TFL Classifieds and I reached out to him for his advice since I was/am even less knowledgeable about leather jackets than hats. The rest as they say is history. He's been kind enough to provide advice on a few other hat and jacket purchases since then too.


Thanks, Joe. With the arrival of winter weather I'll likely be sporting the natural facial insulation for the next few months. Unfortunately, the Upper Midwest winters are a bit too cold for leather, so the jacket will be taking a backseat to wool.

One thing I'd caution people about with regard to the Horween CXL horsehide is that it really does "break in" very quickly. I bought an Aero Long Halfbelt back in 2011 and wore it as much as possible, even at home. It got broken-in to a point where a tie and vest (usually a Fair Isle) began to look not quite, how can I say it, as good as it used to look. The jacket still looks great, but I don't know if the tie still seems appropriate with it.

 

[itsallgood]

brown Horween chromexel horsehide

I ran out to pick up some takeout dinner. I was wearing my brown Horween chromexel horsehide jacket and a mink Stetson Noble, beaver, excellent quality. It's just a great combination, rain or shine, hot or cool. I walked in the shop and without skipping a beat, the guy behind the counter says to me, "Are you in search of the lost pizza?"

He got me. He blurted it out so suddenly I couldn't think of a response. He was good-natured, it was funny. It's not an Indy jacket at all, but it didn't seem to matter. I guess he triggered on the nice leather and mink Stetson, which isn't an Indy hat either!

 

[TheOldFashioned]

I ran out to pick up some takeout dinner. I was wearing my brown Horween chromexel horsehide jacket and a mink Stetson Noble, beaver, excellent quality. It's just a great combination, rain or shine, hot or cool. I walked in the shop and without skipping a beat, the guy behind the counter says to me, "Are you in search of the lost pizza?"

He got me. He blurted it out so suddenly I couldn't think of a response. He was good-natured, it was funny. It's not an Indy jacket at all, but it didn't seem to matter. I guess he triggered on the nice leather and mink Stetson, which isn't an Indy hat either!

I ran out to pick up some takeout dinner. I was wearing my brown Horween chromexel horsehide jacket and a mink Stetson Noble, beaver, excellent quality. It's just a great combination, rain or shine, hot or cool. I walked in the shop and without skipping a beat, the guy behind the counter says to me, "Are you in search of the lost pizza?"

He got me. He blurted it out so suddenly I couldn't think of a response. He was good-natured, it was funny. It's not an Indy jacket at all, but it didn't seem to matter. I guess he triggered on the nice leather and mink Stetson, which isn't an Indy hat either!

Reminds me of a time when an old college buddy was passing through town. He's a road warrior on the comedy club circuit and was doing a show in my city. Towards the end of his set he gave me a shoutout and said "he's the guy standing at the bar dressed like Indiana Jones." I was the wearing the same jacket and hat, a Brodt's homburg, as shown in the second photo above.

 

[scottyrocks]

Once again, no one reacted to my hat wearing today.

 

[der_ingenieur]

Even at my above average age of 50 I am freshman when it comes to wearing hats. For a long time in my youth well into adult life, I never wore anything on my head - ever. Certainly not hats. In Germany at the time, it was very unusual for anyone to wear a hat. Only old "grandfathers" wore one, if at all. Hats were something from old family pictures, when your great grandfather and grandpa wore them.
Then, with a receding hair line, I started wearing hats because I started getting sunburns on my scalp. With the skin cancer scare, I realized I had to put something on my ever less protected head. In the winter then knit hats, and for brutally cold Chicago with the biting wind, a shearling hat with flaps over the ears. The ears and my neck are quite sensitive to the cold air.
For a long time I was interested in hats. My wife always dismissed it, told me I don't look good in a hat (in honesty, she looks amazing in any hat, and I told her, but she hardly ever wears one). Anyways, I first took a wool hat, like a traveler (similar to an Akubra Tablelands), wore it in the yard, when moving snow, and occasional strolls.
Over a number of months or a couple of years I went into hat shops on occasion, and tried on different hats to explore a little bit. At a traditional hat store in Germany I then purchased a nice Mayser felt fedora, dark blue everything, which I thought fits me okay (I have an oddly shaped melon, and should have a long oval which is rarely available off the shelf). Anyway, wore it a number of times already. I particularly like it in light snow and rain, because it keeps me dry without the need to carry an umbrella. Wife still not much in favor of the whole thing. I still feel slightly strange wearing my fedora in public - it will take time. I can't say that I ever received negative feedback (except the wife ;-) ), and a couple of times I got positive feedback. I do think I have to make sure the rest of my outfit is a good fit for the fedora - it looks weird in my own eyes if I wear clothes that are too casual or sporty with it.
In short, and especially for a super-late starter like myself, it is my observation that the way folks react to me (or anyone) wearing a fedora depends greatly on the level of confidence I have in my own skin with the hat on my head. With confidence I do not mean a "f-you" attitude, but a true confidence and being content with everything about yourself.

 

[Xylophile]

Even at my above average age of 50 I am freshman when it comes to wearing hats. For a long time in my youth well into adult life, I never wore anything on my head - ever. Certainly not hats. In Germany at the time, it was very unusual for anyone to wear a hat. Only old "grandfathers" wore one, if at all. Hats were something from old family pictures, when your great grandfather and grandpa wore them.
Then, with a receding hair line, I started wearing hats because I started getting sunburns on my scalp. With the skin cancer scare, I realized I had to put something on my ever less protected head. In the winter then knit hats, and for brutally cold Chicago with the biting wind, a shearling hat with flaps over the ears. The ears and my neck are quite sensitive to the cold air.
For a long time I was interested in hats. My wife always dismissed it, told me I don't look good in a hat (in honesty, she looks amazing in any hat, and I told her, but she hardly ever wears one). Anyways, I first took a wool hat, like a traveler (similar to an Akubra Tablelands), wore it in the yard, when moving snow, and occasional strolls.
Over a number of months or a couple of years I went into hat shops on occasion, and tried on different hats to explore a little bit. At a traditional hat store in Germany I then purchased a nice Mayser felt fedora, dark blue everything, which I thought fits me okay (I have an oddly shaped melon, and should have a long oval which is rarely available off the shelf). Anyway, wore it a number of times already. I particularly like it in light snow and rain, because it keeps me dry without the need to carry an umbrella. Wife still not much in favor of the whole thing. I still feel slightly strange wearing my fedora in public - it will take time. I can't say that I ever received negative feedback (except the wife ;-) ), and a couple of times I got positive feedback. I do think I have to make sure the rest of my outfit is a good fit for the fedora - it looks weird in my own eyes if I wear clothes that are too casual or sporty with it.
In short, and especially for a super-late starter like myself, it is my observation that the way folks react to me (or anyone) wearing a fedora depends greatly on the level of confidence I have in my own skin with the hat on my head. With confidence I do not mean a "f-you" attitude, but a true confidence and being content with everything about yourself.

It seems like people just look at the hat, after you create the thing to be your hat, and seem to wonder "where did he get that hat!?" because they've never seen one quite like it. And of course that's because it's unique, and has an unusual brim line, etc. On TV for example you can always spot an off the shelf hat, and every now and then someone will have their own.

 

[Bill Hughes]

Once again, no one reacted to my hat wearing today.

When you wear hats everyday like a lot of us it just becomes the norm.

 

[Héctor Fernández]

When you wear hats everyday like a lot of us it just becomes the norm.

I agree, it becomes part of you and people see it as such.

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[Rmccamey]

+1
When I walk out of the house, I feel undressed without a hat. Yep, it gets to that point. Enjoy! Dobbs today decorating for the holidays.

When you wear hats everyday like a lot of us it just becomes the norm.

 

[Héctor Fernández]

+1
When I walk out of the house, I feel undressed without a hat. Yep, it gets to that point. Enjoy! Dobbs today decorating for the holidays.



View attachment 201704

I admit, I don't wear a hat every day and when I don't, I'm definitely conscious about it.

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[deadlyhandsome]

The clerical people at my work complain if they didn’t get to see me in the hat of the day. Sometimes they requested their favorite, and sometimes they call me out for wearing the same hat twice in a row.

The hats also help me with new people who transfer in. Before they know my name I’m “the hat guy.” The new folks also see others joking with me and hats are a part of that; this sets the tone for our interactions. I like a collegial approach, but that’s not always the case with people in my position. As I’m the oldest guy (as old as many of their fathers), have the most seniority with our agency, and out rank them all, I make conscious efforts to keep them relaxed and engaged. Hats have helped me get these new people to kid around and loosen up. Work is stressful enough, so I try to limit the paramilitary atmosphere, but after a couple of years half still won’t call me by my first name. I enjoy hats for their own sakes, but they also serve a purpose beyond style, warmth, and sun protection for me.


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[scottyrocks]

When you wear hats everyday like a lot of us it just becomes the norm.

Exactly.

 

[suitedcboy]

I wear western hats more than fedoras when I'm out and about shopping and so forth. I get a rare comment about the hat but if I ever go out hatless I am shocked at how many people I will encounter that I do not recognize will ask, "where's your hat?" and some may add something like "you have nice hats" or "your hats always have a great shape". It seems that I need a thread more like, "what do people say when your head is nekkid?"

 

[tropicalbob]

Once again, no one reacted to my hat wearing today.

I've noticed I usually only get reactions when I go off the beaten path, as most folks I see every day have never seen me without one. I thought it was kinda funny a few weeks back that I got a few remarks about my not wearing a hat (Squall coming in off the ocean and I was carrying an umbrella).

 

[scottyrocks]

I've noticed I usually only get reactions when I go off the beaten path, as most folks I see every day have never seen me without one. I thought it was kinda funny a few weeks back that I got a few remarks about my not wearing a hat (Squall coming in off the ocean and I was carrying an umbrella).

Same here.

My remark was mostly tongue-in-cheek, as I see the same folks 5 days a week, and I, too, am questioned when I arrive without a fedora on (which is almost never).

 

[GHT]

Same here.

My remark was mostly tongue-in-cheek, as I see the same folks 5 days a week, and I, too, am questioned when I arrive without a fedora on (which is almost never).

Of course it was tongue in cheek, but for what it's worth you look the part in a hat.
There's only been one time that I can remember someone smirking at what I thought was my fedora hat. It was at an ATM machine, I was stuffing my cash into my wallet and the lady waiting to use the machine had a silly grin on her face. "What?" I said, perhaps a tad too sharp. She still grinned and then mimed a gesture of zipping up her flies. Oh horror, please don't let her be right, she was, but thankfully the crown jewels were well covered. "Thank you," I mouthed and left her, still grinning.

 

[scottyrocks]

Of course it was tongue in cheek, but for what it's worth you look the part in a hat.
There's only been one time that I can remember someone smirking at what I thought was my fedora hat. It was at an ATM machine, I was stuffing my cash into my wallet and the lady waiting to use the machine had a silly grin on her face. "What?" I said, perhaps a tad too sharp. She still grinned and then mimed a gesture of zipping up her flies. Oh horror, please don't let her be right, she was, but thankfully the crown jewels were well covered. "Thank you," I mouthed and left her, still grinning.

Sounds like it was a real Tee-hee moment for her. haha

 

[GHT]

We had such a busy day today. Tina had an outpatient's hospital appointment, I ran her there, then we went and collected her new hat, it's for the wedding in February, but she was so pleased with it that she kept it on for most of the day. I too had a couple of appointments and Tina needed to get some last minute provisions, so we went our separate ways and met up in our favourite coffee shop. And it was there, after all the hurly-burly of shoppers, we sat, exchanging stories of angry shoppers, car park tantrums and Christmas tempers that we got a fine compliment. A lady came in, laden with shopping bags, she looked worn out, but her demeanour soon returned as she enjoyed her hot drink. Putting her cup down, she came over and said: "You two look so suave in your fine hats," and then asked to take a picture, I wonder where that will turn up? "Suave?" Tina said, looking straight at me, quizzically. "Charming, confident and elegant," I replied, with a wink. She hurriedly looked it up, "That's exactly what the definition is," she exclaimed, then added: "Smartarse!" Have to say, her milliner has really pulled the stops out.