Introduction

[ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922]

I only have a mere snip of a collection and certainly nothing like some of the fantastic hats I have already seen here. Good quality felt hats are virtually non-exsistant for sale or trade here in Ireland. I get most of my hats from the Good Old USA! But, thank you! ;-)

 

[djd]

Welcome! I'm in northern Ireland - no hats here either

I have an Adventurebilt Raiders fedora, a Schubert Hats raiders and a grey Akubra fedIV. It won't take a genius to work out that I got into this vintage stuff through Indiana Jones although I have a long time passion for the cinema of the 30s and 40s and the detective and pulp fiction of that era. I've owned a few other fedoras in thd past but I'm down to thd three above which are definite keepers.

 

[gtdean48]

... I get most of my hats from the Good Old USA! But, thank you! ;-)

No worries!
I get a good bit of my whiskey from Ireland = Jameson, so we're even!!!!
THANK you!!!!

 

[RBH]

No worries!
I get a good bit of my whiskey from Ireland = Jameson, so we're even!!!!
THANK you!!!!

WELCOME!!!

 

[Master_Photog]

Hello, just joined here from Indy and am looking into upgrading my hat selection. I've just begun my search and I'm wanting an opinion on the type/style of hat that would accomodate my look and/or stature. I know personality and character is tough to convey with a portrait, but I'm not sure on how to select my head gear. Do I base it on personality or a physical presence? Or is the hat chosen for the environment/scene that the person will be wearing it in? I don't want a hat for every situation, but I'd like one 'unsung' hero that I'd like to be my go to hat that would work werever I am or whatever I'm doing. Obviously working on a car or hunting or jogging are exceptions, but if I go on a photo shoot or out to dinner or spending some time with friends on a weekend... what could/would I wear?

Here is a self portrait of me, if this will help. I'll post some more later in hoping that with the experience on this forum, I would be able to get some great ideas on a couple different styles of hats to choose from.

I really like the Borsalino leather ivy, but the more I look at it, the more I think I should own a Harley Davidson.
I'm not sold on the Fedora yet, don't know why. But I really like the ivy and rider style hats.

Thanks for any help!

Chuck
Indianapolis

 

[zetwal]

I think the Borsalino leather ivy is an excellent choice for you. If you want to try a brimmed hat you could also experiment with something along these lines.

 

[gtdean48]

... what could/would I wear?

Here is a self portrait of me, if this will help. I'll post some more later in hoping that with the experience on this forum, I would be able to get some great ideas on a couple different styles of hats to choose from.

I really like the Borsalino leather ivy, but the more I look at it, the more I think I should own a Harley Davidson.
...

Welcome Chuck.
Most of us wear hats for us, not the environment/scene unless you are determining formal vs non-formal which means homburg over a snap brim.
Leather hats have their place but for me, they are heavy & hot. Leather is good for boots, chaps, jackets but not so much for going on your head.
Felt does breathe some & even better when you take out the liner. Leather doesn't. That could be good for you in an Indy winter condition.
Crown size & style as well as brim width & shape do depend on your facial features & shape. There are some charts posted about of which facial shapes work with what.
My first real fedora was a Silver Belly Stetson 25, 2 ply ribbon, raw edge, 2 3/4" brim, 5 1/2" open crown. The color works with lots of clothing options & the crown & brim work with my face to me.
Good luck.

 

[mattface]

Hey! I tried to join up here over a year ago, when I was looking for feedback on rebashing my then newly purchased Stetson Pisa into a C-crown. The lounge didn't like the looks of my gmail address, and I wasn't going to go create a new email address just so I could talk about bashing my hat.

Thankfully they've apparently changed that policy by now. I muddled through the rebash on my own, and the Pisa came out pretty decent, although the point is a wee bit off center. No one ever seems to notice but me, and I tell my self it's appropriate to my personality. ;-) With the hot of summer visiting us early in VT though, I needed something not felt, and even my cotton caps, which I generally don in summer just weren't cutting it either in terms style or dampness. So I ordered a Panama in Caballero bash from Panama Bob, who was recomended by a lounger who also frequents Badger and Blade, another forum I frequent. Man i wish it would hurry up and get here today is going to be a scorcher!

I look forward to discussing hats with you fine folks in the future. I'm hoping to get a nice brown Fur felt in the future, and thinking I might trim the exceptionally wide brim on an old black 10-gallon I rebashed into a C-crown a couple of decades ago. It's a fabulous hat, and the wide brim suited me back then, when I wore my hair long, but now that I've got none, the wide brim looks a bit ridiculous. With my build I can't do stingy brims, but this brim is wide even for a cowboy hat, and I think 2.25" suits me best. You also might have noticed I prefer C-crowns. I don't know they just seem to suit me best. I see lots of hats that look nice, but I can usually tell at a glance if they will look nice on me, and a C-crown fedora with a 2.25" brim (or maybe a little larger) seems to suit me best. Anywho that's what's on my mind hatwise at the moment. I'm sure I'll have plenty more to say presently.

 

[zetwal]

Welcome mattface. I'm glad that you able to join. Welcome aboard!

 

[irfan.wayang]

Greetings! and thanks to all old members here, from whom I've got some great information from lurking on this forum. I'm quite new to good hats. I live in the equatorial tropics of SEAsia and as far as I'm concerned, wearing SOMETHING on your head when you step outside is more or less compulsory. The glare is harsh unless it's raining, and it's almost always 100 degrees in the shade. If I look around, I notice that about 75% of people who work outside where I live wear some kind of head covering, even if it's only a baseball cap. Office workers hardly ever do, so you see them walking around holding a folder or newspaper over their heads.

For a long time, I was with the baseball cap wearers. They work, more or less. They keep the sun out of your eyes and off your face. Easy to carry around. But so ugly, particularly the ones with the plastic strap at the back. In my late thirties, I finally decided that I needed something cooler, more stylish, more classy. In Jakarta, the only place where you see hats for sale, really, is the "accessories" section of fashion stores. My very first hat, therefore, was a stingy-brimmed felt thing from Zara.

I often work with a photographer who takes it upon himself, more in sorrow than in anger, to address my many fashion faux pas. In fact, he may have been the one who first brought my attention to the unacceptability of baseball caps. Actually, he wasn't that impressed with the felt hat, either. He thought it was a bit of a post-teen fashion accessory and totally unsuited for the climate. "For the tropics, you need a good straw," he said.

So, I started to do some research. I'm an Australian, and pretty soon I fell across Akubra. This was about when I discovered Fedora Lounge, and I read a few good reviews about the Akubra Capricorn. The price seemed good and the hat seemed suitable for tropical humidity and heat. My fashion policeman friend sucked his breath through his teeth when I mentioned polypralene and he tried to steer me in the direction of a straw Panama. Still, I resolved on the Akubra Capricorn.

On a brief trip to Melbourne, I found it actually wasn't that easy to locate one. I tried at City Hatters (www.cityhatters.com.au), which has a good reputation. They had many beautiful hats, but no Capricorns in 58. I briefly considered the Stylemaster, which is a very nice felt. I'd get it if I lived in cooler climes, but no. They very helpful guy in City Hatters said he could try to order it for me from Akubra, although he rolled his eyes and said that they often took longer than they should for deliveries. Since I didn't have very much time in Melbourne, he suggested that if I was passing through Sydney, I could try Strand Hatters (www.strandhatters.com.au). I called them up before I went, and they said they had a fawn Capricorn in my size. Great!

When I went in, I also had a look at a Panama straw. I must say, it was a lovely hat, so light it didn't feel like I was wearing anything. As luck would have it, I was accompanied by an elderly, wealthy relative who, having not seen me for a couple of decades, was in a mood to spoil me. So she offered to buy me the Panama. It doesn't seem to have a brand. I'm looking at it now: it just says "Made in USA exclusively for Boutique Imports Sydney" and "Genuine Panama Hand Woven in Ecudor." It cost $175.

Ha! The Panama was so expensive that I still worry about it getting scratched or wet and so on. I tend to wear it to social events, outdoor parties and so on. But the Capricorn: I love it. It is the hat that I reach for when I go out for a walk, when I go to work .... whenever I step foot outside, basically. It is certainly better than the baseball caps of yesteryear!

Again, thanks to all older members of the forum for your advice and comments!

PS. Just editing this to add my hat acquisition ambitions. I'd like to get the Akubra Stylemaster for when it's cool or when I need something to keep the rain off. I'd like to get another Akubra straw, one with a slightly wider brim specifically for long, outdoor walks on the beach or in the country. The Country Club in cream looks good! And there's another one in hemp. By the way, I don't mean to sound like a fanatic new Akubra convert - I was just so happy with the Capricorn that I'd trust them sight unseen with another product. I'm sure I'll discover other brands in the future!

 

[markniklas]

Hi ! I'm newbie here. Happy to be members of the forum.
I hope we will have great time here. and I'll try to contribute to forum develop more.
I'm positively looking forward to the forum and its members, hope all will guide, share and help me to increase my knowledge. Nice to meet you all...

Have a great day ahead...

 

[markniklas]

Hi ! I'm newbie here. Happy to be members of the forum.
I hope we will have great time here. and I'll try to contribute to forum develop more.
I'm positively looking forward to the forum and its members, hope all will guide, share and help me to increase my knowledge. Nice to meet you all...

Have a great day ahead...

 

[alanfgag]

hello hello!

 

[danofarlington]

I would go to Panama Bob for the best hat to wear in Jakarta. It will pass the fashion police, and you can go up or down the price scale depending on how sweaty you plan to be. Just FYI, I believe that if you're going to sweat into the hat, you need to specify a leather sweatband for any Panama. The alternative is a cloth sweatband, but the sweat will soak through and discolor the outside of the hat. It is counterintuitive, because the leather sweatband encourages more sweat, but there it is. The leather will be more or less impermeable to the sweat.

 

[dogrocketp]

Had a chance to meet you recently (by accident), Dan. You know where. It's fun to talk hats online or in person. Its better to be able to see the real fedora in person. I've bought several from Panama Bob. and can recommend him highly. Enjoy.

 

[danofarlington]

Had a chance to meet you recently (by accident), Dan. You know where. It's fun to talk hats online or in person. Its better to be able to see the real fedora in person. I've bought several from Panama Bob. and can recommend him highly. Enjoy.

Definitely! Haven't checked here for a few days. That was quite a surprise. Thanks for noticing my hat! It's always good to have people notice the right things. The Panama hats of you two guys downtown were also good. I was wondering when I would accidentally run across a fellow Lounger in the Washington area. I'll repeat my anecdote here--standing in the Metro Center subway station, a very tall guy with a light-colored fedora stepped out of a subway car in front of me. I was certain it was Yeps, because it looked like his icon and the hat looked like a Yeps kind of hat. So I said, "Are you Yeps?" Apparently he didn't hear my. "Are you Yeps?" I said again, standing closer. With a get-me-out-of-here look, he shook his head and hurried on. I'm sure he thought I was some kind of a funny guy. So Yeps, if I ever suspect that I see you in Washington, I may not say anything.

 

[Populuxe Cowboy]

Hello, everyone. I'm new here. Let's see, what is there to tell you about me? I'm 48, I was in the Air Force for 8 years in the '80s, I'm an experienced motorcyclist and a poor guitarist (although I keep working at it).

For most of my life, I've been a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy, but I'm looking to make a change for something a little more stylish. The problem is that, except for my Air Force years, I've always worn my hair very long and sported a beard. That really doesn't work with the fedora and neck-tie look. I have no problem with getting the hair cut (although I will have to find a regular barber) but I'm not giving up the beard. So I decided to join this forum to look at what others are wearing, and to find a look that suits me. I look forward to getting to know everyone here.

 

[zetwal]

Hello Populuxe, welcome aboard!

 

[BR Gordon]

Hello Populuxe. I believe that you'll find there are all types that make up the FL. You're sure to find ideas that fit into your own style.

 

[Populuxe Cowboy]

Thank you. I've been reading the threads and getting a feel for the place. It looks like a mighty fine joint you folks have here.