<music> Rain drops keep falling on my...

[SinatraStyle]

Well, not MY head.

I don't wear hats very often in the summer. I enjoy being exposed to the warm breeze, and being young with a full head of hair I don't really need the sun protection. Winter is another story, as it can get quite chilly.

Anyway, it hasn't rained much this summer, until today. It was coming down in buckets flooding the streets and drenching everyone...except me. I donned my "beater" hat and kept my head dry all day. The odd looks that I usually get when wearing a hat were replaced with a hint of jealousy from those rushing past me to get to their vehicles or back inside. My reaction was quite the opposite...I was enjoying the protection and made several trips to and from my vehicle on various errands. It was a "Singing in the Rain" type of feeling...well, almost.

The rain also provided a second benefit. I recently acquired a new-to-me (vintage) felt fedora on that auction site. This is the above mentioned "beater". It didn't fit me all that well as the previous owner seemed to have had a crooked head. Today seemed like the perfect day to remedy the problem. When I was in the military I found that the best way to break in new boots and form them to my feet was to run in the rain. I figured I'd try the same concept with my ill-fitting hat. IT WORKED! The rain helped form the hat to the shape of MY head and it fits great. Looks like I'm going to have to find a new "beater".

 

[Samsa]

Anyway, it hasn't rained much this summer, until today. It was coming down in buckets flooding the streets and drenching everyone...except me. I donned my "beater" hat and kept my head dry all day. The odd looks that I usually get when wearing a hat were replaced with a hint of jealousy from those rushing past me to get to their vehicles or back inside. My reaction was quite the opposite...I was enjoying the protection and made several trips to and from my vehicle on various errands. It was a "Singing in the Rain" type of feeling...well, almost.

It was pouring today! Actually, even though I am always with a hat on my head these days, I still hung around work after my shift ended before going out to my car, because I had forgot my umbrella and wanted to wait until the rain died down!

I guess I should come to appreciate the practical aspect of hat-wearing.

 

[SinatraStyle]

Samsa, I like the new avatar

Unfortunately summer straw hats don't hold up too well against the rain, so I was glad to have a felt handy. It is a brown Richman Bros stingy. I don't wear it often since it reminds me of an "Indy" hat. (Stingys look wider on me becuase of my build.) I like Indy and all, but my fedora-wearing wasn't influenced by the Indiana Jones movies, so I like to try to reflect more of the Golden Era and Rat Pack style. (Wow, there is a contradiction...I said in my previous post that I wear a hat more out of necessity-much like Indy would, but my influence to wear fedoras came from the style of the hats. Interesting.)

 

[WEEGEE]

abandon

O.P. by Samsa

I guess I should come to appreciate the practical aspect of hat-wearing.

Yes...go forth with wreckless abandon!!! Your hats should comform to you not you to your hats.

cheers,

WeeGee

 

[Twitch]

Hey Sinatra when you begin losing hair on top you'll start wearing a hat cause sunburn up there is painful. Probably 2nd to getting your "appendage" sunburned on a nude beachlol

 

[Story]

Frank Sinatra made his recording debut with the Harry James band on July 13, 1939, singing "Melancholy Mood" and "From The Bottom of My Heart." Bandleader Harry James had heard Sinatra sing on a radio broadcast from the Rustic Cabin roadside caf?© and invited him to record with the band. Sinatra's first radio broadcast was with "The Hoboken Four," also known as "Frank Sinatra and the 3 Flashes," on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour talent competition on September 8, 1935. The group won.

 

[Russ]

being young with a full head of hair I don't really need the sun protection.

I'm surprised nobody has addressed this. If your hair completely covers your face, ears and neck, then I might agreed you don't need sun protection. This has been covered in other threads so I won't hijack this one, but I believe adequate sun protection to avoid skin cancer requires 3 inches of brim. Or perhaps a hairstyle which defies the imagination.

Skin cancer issues aside, bare heads also risk the danger of sun stroke. So don't leave home without that hat!

 

[SinatraStyle]

Perhaps I should have stated this differently...the likelyhood of sunburn on the top of my head is limited due to the amount of hair on my head combined with my limited sun exposure.

My hats don't offer a large amount of sun protection to my face, ears, and neck anyway; I'm more of a stingy brim kind of guy. With my build, a 3-inch brim fits like a sombrero. The stingies don't do much for sun protection, but they keep the rain off in the summer and keep me warm in the winter.

 

[funneman]

Raindrops..

I just got back from a trip to Alaska. I wore my Royal Stetson the whole time I was there. Got caught in an afternoon downpour in Ketchekan during a walking tour of the city and the hat got soaked.

I was pleasently surprised to find the hat suffered no ill effects from the drenching. In fact, the hat maintained it's shape and I'm convinced the dark gray color may have actually lightened up a shade or two. Maybe it was a lot dirtier than I thought.

 

[tofu]

I'm surprised nobody has addressed this. If your hair completely covers your face, ears and neck, then I might agreed you don't need sun protection. This has been covered in other threads so I won't hijack this one, but I believe adequate sun protection to avoid skin cancer requires 3 inches of brim. Or perhaps a hairstyle which defies the imagination.

Skin cancer issues aside, bare heads also risk the danger of sun stroke. So don't leave home without that hat!

or a generous amount of sun screen?