My first Fedora

[mikeg]

It is a Stetson Chatham Fedora in sage green.
I was glad to see someone else just posted a question about getting confident to wear it and not care what others think etc. Being the first hat (other than a baseball hat) I have owned, I need to get use to it.

Question- to you all wear your hat everywhere? i.e. just running an errand to the store kind of outing?

Thanks for all the great pics and threads here!

Mike G.

 

[alanfgag]

Question- to you all wear your hat everywhere? i.e. just running an errand to the store kind of outing?
Thanks for all the great pics and threads here!Mike G.

Welcome Mike. Wearing your hat helps to turn everyday errands into an occasion. Enjoy it!

 

[TipTop]

I need to get use to it.

Question- to you all wear your hat everywhere? i.e. just running an errand to the store kind of outing?

Mike G.

Yup. Only limiting factor may be the color of whatever else you are wearing (remedy: buy more hats!).

And, as I hinted but didn't mention specifically in my post yesterday--and now Alan confirms it--Make the hat your centerpiece or raison d'etre for dressing the way you do when you wear it. I think of it as, well, the "crowning touch."

And welcome!

 

[tealseal]

I remember the trepidation I had wearing my first fedora: a brown Stetson. I'd like to add that, in addition to ensuring the color is right, you might want to consider HOW you wear it based on occasion. When I got my first hat, I was primarily wearing jeans or khakis with polo shirts, and I was initially uncomfortable with the fedora paired with that outfit - something didnt look right. However, when wearing a jacket and tie, it looked great!
Turns out that I was putting my hat on "Don Draper" straight. Some mirror analysis let me know that a ever-so-slight tilt over thr right eyebrow made the hat look like a natural accompaniment to the more casual outfits. Immediate hat-wearing confidence boost.
So, now, i do straight(er) for business, slight tilt for more casual. After a while, it just feels right and you can don the hat without thinking or checking the mirror.

 

[zetwal]

Question- to you all wear your hat everywhere? i.e. just running an errand to the store kind of outing?

Sure do ... Welcome (and enjoy)! :yo:

 

[scottyrocks]

I do not leave the house without a fedora on my head.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I do not leave the house without a fedora on my head.

I concur on that, however, the only time I am not wearing a Fedora, would be if I am washing one of my cars, then the old engineer hat goes on, until I am finished and get cleaned up, the Fedora goes right back on.

 

[DNO]

I do not leave the house without a fedora on my head.

+1 (or a newsboy cap...but usually a fedora)

 

[carldelo]

Nice - my first modern fedora was a sage green Chatham as well. I still wear it a lot - goes great with tan and brown jackets of any type. It's a little worn now, so it is my go-to hat for errands and the weekend. There's no better way to get used to wearing a hat than just wearing it a lot. Eventually everybody else and then you will get accustomed to it.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I'll pop a fedora on my head to walk around to the mailbox. Like LMH, I don't wear a fedora while washing my car, though in my case I usually do without a hat at all. But going to the grocery or coffee shop or drugstore or newsstand? Sure.

 

[hatophile]

I wear my fedoras most every day. I do switch off to ball caps when doing grungy chores in the barn or in extreme windy weather. The more you wear it, you will soon feel naked without!

 

[1961MJS]

I wear my fedoras most every day. I do switch off to ball caps when doing grungy chores in the barn or in extreme windy weather. The more you wear it, you will soon feel naked without!

Hi

I have a Sun Body Rough Rider hat (5.75 inch open crown and 3 inch brim) that I wear for grungy chores, it has Stampede strings for the windy weather in Kansas.

Later

 

[hatophile]

Hi

I have a Sun Body Rough Rider hat (5.75 inch open crown and 3 inch brim) that I wear for grungy chores, it has Stampede strings for the windy weather in Kansas.

Later

That's a good idea, too!

 

[dmdmorris]

Mike,

I was the one who started the other post and I certainly feel your pain. But, as someone on the thread said, any "odd" comments you get are most likely going to come from those you are very close to, and depending upon your personality you can either ignore them or reply in kind.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Remind yourself what you like about the fedora and then give it a chance. I find the hat gives me style, coverage and reminds me attire counts.

Wear it. Look in the mirror, see what it looks like and then try it out. Start wearing it in private, branch out to local, then special occasions and finally in front of folks who know you well. Here are a couple of examples that I used.
(1) Start with daily chores - When I first started last winter wearing a fedora I would wear one on my morning dog walks. Often we go out for over an hour thru the local woods and reserve. The fedora and I would enjoy the remote walk with the dogs. Of course we would have to start thru the neighborhoods on the way and at the end. I would keep my eyes level and focus on the dogs when I came upon my neighbors. A Minnesota greeting, a glance with the eyes and a wave worked fine and gave me confidence under the hat.
(2) Just beyond local - I made use of occasions that would take me out of the immediate neighborhood retailers to wear my hat. A more distant coffee shop, were I could open my computer. My hat and I would enjoy the coffee knowing that the seated folks around me did not know me or of me and knew me only in a hat. In MN, since staring is socially unacceptable, I knew I was safer than many places. I would collect the polite comments about the hat as armament for going more local.
(3) Wear the hat around the house - When my wife was out of the house I would plop it on and go about my stuff. It gave me time to worry about complimenting attire and the details of how to wear it. Yes, I admit I did wear the hat backwards once and only caught it in the mirror.
(4) Date night - I started wearing the hat on date nights. My wife and I go on date nights every other week. (BTW: I am only allowed to date my wife - no other dates. ) It is a blast. On my turn to make the arrangements I would find occasions to wear my hat. It was a huge "hat opener" for me. The hatted me was allowed to mature.
(5) Gig nights - Once a month a buddy and I play out in public at various places. We place acoustic blues (1920-40's). Mostly we frequent coffee shops small stages. We both started wearing our fedoras on stage. This helped with the stage lighting enormously. It taught me about wearing a hat and wiping my brow. I got a "beater" hat for the occasions as the hat shows wear quickly. I admire the consummate pro's that do not perspire when performing.
(6) To work - I am a women’s gymnastics coach. It is a great second gig. Nothing, absolutely nothing prevents the teen-age girl from telling you what she thinks about your attire. The girls universally thought it was "cool," "very movie star like," I am "copying Justin Bebeir," and mostly they liked it. Of course I got the infrequent, I like you "without a hat." I would reply, good, then I will take the hat off in the gym and wear my coaches costume.

Wear the hat. Your comfortable attitude makes the hat. Find and develop confidence in small situations and then larger so that you can be comfortable. I find it is easier to be me, than a fake me.

Best in wearing hats sir, Eric -

 

[Mystic]

Mike,

I was the one who started the other post and I certainly feel your pain. But, as someone on the thread said, any "odd" comments you get are most likely going to come from those you are very close to, and depending upon your personality you can either ignore them or reply in kind.

I think most people that make the snide and jerk comments....

really secretly wish they were wearing a fedora or had the self-confidence to wear one.

 

[matt.e.]

The more you wear it, you will soon feel naked without!

+1. I wear one everywhere. I can't even go outside to have a cigarette without having a hat on my head. When I first started wearing one I felt self-conscience for the first month but that fades. Just recently while I was in Best Buy one of the 20something sales associates commented on how much he liked my Stetson Saxon and lamented that there are no good places around here to buy a "real" hat. The only downside is that you'll find you need more! I've been wearing fedora-like hats for the last year-and-a-half and I'm up to 5 with a second straw to be purchased soon for spring/summer!

 

[TomS]

Just put it on, and *make* yourself wear it for a day or so, and the good times will follow. Promise.

 

[scottyrocks]

There's little that's more uplifting during the course of a regular day than some PYT at a local store telling me she looooves the hat!

 

[mikeg]

Many thanks for all of the tips everyone! This is a warm welcoming group!
I had an outing Saturday with my wife and a group of friends. A little wine tasting with my new fedora. After I first walked into the room, wondering what everyone would think or say, I totally forgot I had the hat on. It just feels right. I know somebody will say something eventually, but who cares. I like the hat!

Thanks again,

Mike