I feel sorry for you chaps in Dublin

[Joel Tunnah]

I'm back after 5 days in Dublin. Granted it was a holiday weekend, but I didn't see a single fur felt of any kind the whole time. I saw about a half dozen geezers with Ivy style caps, but that was it.

I wore my Akubra Sydney every day as we walked around the city, and the reactions I got ranged from utter shock, to near anger (several young men actually had a mad look on their face as I walked by). There were a whole lot of wife nudging husband and then both having a chuckle incidents.

If I had a euro for every "Jaysus, is dat Indiana Jones?!?", it would've paid for the trip. Not a hat town obviously.

As a New Yorker, I'm not used to getting any reaction to my hats.

Joel

 

[SMCK]

Thank you Joel for your sympathy. I live not too far from Dublin and would nearly always wear a hat there.It might have been a hot week, which puts people here off wearing a hat .But you are right not many hats.there was a hat shop until recently, now closed. There is one clothes shop selling hats , but perhaps not ones that you might wear.I was reading about your sidney here recently, and decided that it will be the next for me it seems a bit less big than the fed of which I have two. Il maybe leave it until the weather cools again next autumn. anyway I hope you enjoyed your trip to expensive Dublin.

 

[Samsa]

I was not of the hat wearing persuasion when I stayed in Dublin, but suspect even the odd looks and laughs couldn't dissuade me from loving dear dirty Dublin.

That said, I'm sorry you got such a poor reaction. Perhaps they were all just jealous?

 

[Achille]

Hi Joel,
I understand perfectly what you have felt. In Paris with my Guerra I'm seen like E.T. and I can hear from the children "Look mamy, a cowboy hat!!!".
It's a little bit tiring. In France too the hat is a symbol of the past.


J.M.

 

[johnnycanuck]

When I was in Scotland wearing my Akubra federation deluxe I often got a group of children following me around. Asking if I was a true cowboy with a horse and everything. I found if more amusing then anything else. But talking to them, none of these kids ever rode a horse, shot a riffle, cracked a whip. So by comparison, I guess I am a cowboy.
The one thing I found really strange is in Scotland it rains at least once a day..... and no one wears a hat...... ? what's up with that?
Johnny

 

[Stoney]

As an Irishman, might I add that if you were stone sober and the hat was on straight, rather than cocked off to one side, a reaction like that would have been warranted. lol

 

[johnnycanuck]

I never wear my hat straight if I can avoid it. Seems rather ... dull.... if you know what I mean. As for drunk, I was never really drunk, but I never really stopped drinking either..... Ok. Fine. I was a little drunk with my hat cocked off to the side. But in my defense I was walking in a straight line and I was not slurring. Not that they would notice if I was slurring. They were mesmerized with my accent, evidently I have a western drawl.
Johnny

 

[besdor]

Joel, the hat industry is having a harder time survivng in Europe than here in the USA. People aren't wearing hats like they used to so all of the factories from Italy, Germany and other places are starting to come here to try and sell their hats. I get calls every week from people who hardly speak English trying to sell me their hats.



Steven
www.bencraft.com

 

[mikepara]

What ...

Dublin lacks in hats it's makes up for in everything else!

Years back, when I was in the US, I was amazed how many people wore hats, not many FL type hats granted, mainly ball caps and the odd cowboy hat, but a hats a hat. Its not a giant leap from a ball cap to a newsboy to a fedora...

In contrast you never saw a hat in Britain that wasn't on a Jewish person [I'm not getting into an argument over this as its just been aired recently] or an undertaker.

Ball caps are seen more often over here now but only on the neds. You'll hardly ever see a proper hat. So no surprise you where gawped at, though I strongly suggest the aggression was all 'in your head' as we Irish like fighting and if someone felt offended that strongly by your hat wearing antics that they felt like confronting you, they would have.