Is there a resurgence in Hats or...

[MAB1]

Is there a resurgence in Hats or... is it just a bunch of young guys going bald, sitll trying to be cool?

Just thinking outloud.

 

[jeboat]

Hat resurgence

It's real! Mostly due to movies and musical entertainers. I see plenty of both and the movement is very real, albeit in its infancy.

Look at the Indiana Jones movies, the fedora worn by Harrison Ford has taken on a life of its own. Johnny Depp, Keith Richards and many others all sport fedoras these days.

jeboat

 

[airforceindy]

You might be surprised how many truly young folks there are wearing hats nowadays, and participating in this forum, for reasons other than male-pattern baldness! I'm 26 and by no means the youngest; COW has 14 and 15 year-olds with easily over 1000 posts.

I wonder... is this movement due in part to a select few young people getting tired of gang-banger and bleach-blonde-surfer fashion that wish to get back to looking somewhat respectable, not to mention mature. Many folks of my generation equate 'class' with period movies that we love: The Untouchables would be a clear leader of that pack for me. You simply can't go wrong with that style. Popped-collar polos and khaki cargo shorts pale next to a sharp suit and appropriately matching headpiece. Dusty Rhodes said it well: "'Cause every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man!"

Regards, Andy

 

[59Lark]

The return of the fedora.

I would hope that its more than just a temporay fad, be it due to skin cancer, balding heads or just the fact some of us are tired of the sloppy look. I for one am sick of the baseball cap, sloppy clothes and the fact that teenagers seem to cut all from the same cloth. I started wearing a fedora over twenty years ago, but nothing snazzy like you fellas just plain caribou coloured rabbit felt, style 137w maggill hat mfg, bobby lee hats royal. I have purschased a new one every fall for over 10 years. In summer i always wear a straw hat, but i have not been happy with the quality of the summer hats, big money and never fit right like a 7 and 5/8. I was told it was JFK that ruined the hat business as he was the first president that would not wear a hat. My eldest daughter wore a pin striped lady business suit to a wedding we attended and grabbed my black biltmore and i had too say she looked sharp. I do own a black rabbit fur biltmore, reserved for wedding and funerals. MY Favourite movie star is JIMMY STEWART, and even his bronze statue in his home town has him wearing a fedora. I for one would like to see society return to the time where people gave a darn how they presented them selves to each other and took some pride in their look and behaviour. yours lark 59

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'm noticing hats being talked of more on the trendy forums so I think that they are again back in some trend circles. Will it last? Maybe as long as the Von Dutch caps were popular, though walk around LA and there some are wearing fedoras.

 

[Pat_H]

As a rule of thumb, if NPR is talking about hats (which a recently posted link here shows they were), it's not only a trend, but a trend in full bloom. For what ever reason, broadcasts of that type are always about a year behind a trend.

On a personal observation, as I noted the other day, I recently observed a very well dressed person here (probably sleeps in a suit), wearing one, having abandoned some other type of winter cap. He's no trend setter, so if we see the well turned out, but not trend setters, wearing them, they must be coming back.

And they certainly seem to have reappeared on the morning news shows.

Of interest, they not only seem to be coming back, but coming back in a very classic style.

 

[Stan]

Hi,

There have also been medical research reports quoted in the press the last couple of years regarding the lower likelihood of coming down with colds and flu by the simple expedient of wearing a hat.

Now, 80-some percent of body heat loss *does* leave via your head, and viruses (which both colds and flu are) go on a wild replication spree when the body temp drops only 1/2 degree F. One can see where it's not hard to lose enough heat from an uncovered head to get into trouble here.

I mean, the term 'cold' for the illness we all know and hate comes from its' association with colder temperatures. The main reason for hats in the first place, meaning 'way back' here, is as a protective covering for the old noggin....

I'll hazard a guess here that the interest in hats these days is really from several sources, but I for one am more interested in keeping heat from escaping from my head as anything else. Since I wear helmets often, I wear a crew cut to keep myself a bit cooler when they're on. However, when the helmet is off my head, it gets *too* cool, hence a hat.

Just more food for thought.

Later!

Stan

 

[KeyGrip]

I wonder... is this movement due in part to a select few young people getting tired of gang-banger and bleach-blonde-surfer fashion that wish to get back to looking somewhat respectable, not to mention mature.....Popped-collar polos and khaki cargo shorts pale next to a sharp suit and appropriately matching headpiece. Dusty Rhodes said it well: "'Cause every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man!"

In my particular case, this hits the nail squarely on the head. I know this to be the same for a few of my peers as well. Hats, at least in parts of California, are moving beyond the trucker hat and into much classier territory.

 

[indycop]

Dusty Rhodes said it well: "'Cause every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man!"
Regards, Andy

I thought that was ZZtop? lol

 

[ortega76]

I'm noticing hats being talked of more on the trendy forums so I think that they are again back in some trend circles. Will it last? Maybe as long as the Von Dutch caps were popular, though walk around LA and there some are wearing fedoras.

I think there will always be some trend that associates itself with fedoras. Often these trend circles are heavily music related and the specifics will vary from sub-culture to sub-culture. I think the fedora will stay on, with swings in popularity, and continue to be re-discovered as younger (and older) people connect with the style in their own way.

 

[NonEntity]

I thought that was ZZtop? lol

Dusty Rhodes = one of the three original members of the band ZZ Top who wrote the song.

 

[fletch31]

Dusty Rhodes was an old school wrestler
Dusty Hill is the Bass player for ZZ Top.

 

[indycop]

Dusty Rhodes = one of the three original members of the band ZZ Top who wrote the song.

Also the baseball coach for the local university.lol

 

[Harley Quinn]

It could just be that a decent felt hat is one of the most useful bits of attire one can own!

When I had to go to the Americas on a knee-breaking expedition, in late January 2001, I had to go from Boston (28F) to Tampa (28C) to Washington (30F)

First thing on the list, my old faithful felt fedora. Goes with business wear, goes with travel wear. Goes any where...Has turned sun on digs in Minorca, has turned snow in Frankfurt and Amsterdam, has turned torrential rain in Northern Scotland.

After that 5 White Oxford shirts, one three piece suit, two heavy drill 'flight' shirts two pairs of Chinos, a Chliean blanket jeacket and a YSL Cashmere top coat. 1pr half Brogue boots, 1pr Converse hi-top in leather. Socks and under wear to taste. toiletries... but the key was the HAT.

 

[tonyb]

Is fedora wearing in resurgence? Could be. If I knew how things would be a year from now (or even a few minutes from now), I'd just hit the track every now and then. And I'd tithe generously, just to hedge my bets.

Had a discussion just this week with a pleasant fellow who happens to be in the hat making and renovation trade. Nothing wrong with his business that more business wouldn't fix, was the gist of the conversation.

The Great Return of the Hat has been just around the corner for two or three decades now. Maybe it's really gonna happen in a big way. Maybe it ain't.

Sure, there's some evidence that hats (I'm talking fedoras here) are becoming more mainstream. I see cheap ones on the rack at Target, for instance. And I see vintage lids selling for higher and higher prices on eBay and in the vintage shops. That's some indication that at least that segment of the trade is attracting more interest.

Yes, it does seem that more celebrities are sporting proper hats these days. It also seems that more of us lesser lights are sporting fedoras. But sometimes I wonder if I make myself believe there's more of something just because I'm on the lookout for it. You know, like if you just bought a Chevy pickup (or whatever) suddenly there are Chevy pickups everywhere you look?

 

[jimmy the lid]

Despite prognostications in the press, my day-to-day experience wouldn't support the notion that there has been a hat resurgence. In fact, honestly, I marvel at how retail hatters even stay in business. The times that I see someone else out on the street wearing a fedora are scarce, to say the least.

I have always thought that it might be interesting to have an annual Fedora Lounge Hat Census, where we pick one day (perhaps in the fall?) and have members log in to report how many folks they encounter wearing a fedora on that particular day. Would the results be scientific? Well, no. But it might be kinda fun and provide for some interesting conversation as we track the "return of the fedora."

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Spatterdash]

Interesting idea, although in the fall you have to watch how close you are to Halloween. Otherwise, results might indicate a massive social embrace of the tricorn, the top hat and the medieval cowl.

I think three things may be happening to a portion of modern culture.

One, casual wear for this portion, this percentage of the population, is becoming drab and tiring. Some folks are looking to add a little snazz to the drab, and the first thing they throw is the monotous ballcap.

Second, this generation is more enthused about vintage. We have historic reenactment groups all over the place, vintage clothing shops are in every little town, vintage clothing is one of the larger sections of eBay, period films are more popular than ever and retro is embraced by numerous aspects of the media.

Finally, there's the avant garde who enjoy doing something a little different, who are expressive in numerous ways and explore a variety of fashions.

Each group has some overlap, but taken a whole, all three will never qualify as the majority. The days when wearing a hat was a social must have long since faded, but the hat returning as an acceptable option, especially the more modern fedora, may be in a resurgance of sorts partially because the three groups I mention are more visible than in earlier decades.

 

[airforceindy]

I thought that was ZZtop? lol

I knew it was ZZTop, I was just tryin' to be clever! Hope I didn't kick myself in the @$$ and say the wrong name!

Regards, Andy

edit: Ok, read a little further... it WAS Dusty Hill. Guess I somehow mixed up my Ozzy and ZZTop. If somebody would've asked me right then who played guitar on "Crazy Train" I probably would've said Randy Hill!!!

 

[univibe88]

I got my new issue of GQ in the mail yesterday. There were a few fedoras (and that's a few more than last month) in various photo spreads. That's a pretty good sign. Fashion mags are pretty influencial in growing trends.

 

[tonyb]

I got my new issue of GQ in the mail yesterday. There were a few fedoras (and that's a few more than last month) in various photo spreads. That's a pretty good sign. Fashion mags are pretty influencial in growing trends.

Interesting, that. What kind(s) of fedoras? It's regrettable that the large majority of the new hats on offer at the local store are of these styles that just don't do much for me. You know, brims too short, crowns too tapered. That look works for some guys, but not for me.

Although they did have some Homburgs -- Beaver Brand, I think they were -- in some pretty wild colors, which I thought were cool in their own way. A very traditional (sober, some would say) style in anything but traditional colors.

In my book, if there is one celeb who really knows how to sport a lid (well, how to dress in general) it would be Johnny Depp. The young man goes for the vintage look. I've seen numerous photos of him in some very stylish old duds. And he has some great old hats, which he wears in a way that just plain works. He (or whoever, if anybody, helps him with this stuff) definitely has an eye.