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WonkyBloke

One of the Regulars
Messages
112
Location
UK
Hi folks. New to the forum, and just starting out with a few "budget" hats to discover what works for me both practically, and aesthetically. Currently have a couple of (obligatory?) baseball caps, two flat caps, one newsboy, a couple of wool felt hats (one trilby, one bowler) and a cotton trilby, and a couple of cotton/canvas wider brimmed hats. I might explore a couple of others first, before making the leap to fur felt.

I'm quite aware of the limited lifespan these may well have, but if they tell me whether a pattern/style is for me or not by the time they're wrecked, they will have served their purpose. I'd rather make the initial style mistakes with these, and get it right when moving to fur felt or leather, etc. I'm a long haired male (elbow length hair), and as such not necessarily falling within conventional or classic styling parameters.

Here's a selection of what I have so far.

IMG_20210417_233308.jpg IMG_20210417_233622.jpg IMG_20210417_233557.jpg IMG_20210417_233036_edit.jpg IMG_20210417_233522.jpg IMG_20210417_232950.jpg
 

DaveProc

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,119
Location
Rhode Island
Hi folks. New to the forum, and just starting out with a few "budget" hats to discover what works for me both practically, and aesthetically. Currently have a couple of (obligatory?) baseball caps, two flat caps, one newsboy, a couple of wool felt hats (one trilby, one bowler) and a cotton trilby, and a couple of cotton/canvas wider brimmed hats. I might explore a couple of others first, before making the leap to fur felt.

I'm quite aware of the limited lifespan these may well have, but if they tell me whether a pattern/style is for me or not by the time they're wrecked, they will have served their purpose. I'd rather make the initial style mistakes with these, and get it right when moving to fur felt or leather, etc. I'm a long haired male (elbow length hair), and as such not necessarily falling within conventional or classic styling parameters.

Here's a selection of what I have so far.

View attachment 331803 View attachment 331804 View attachment 331805 View attachment 331806 View attachment 331807 View attachment 331808

Welcome!!
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
Hi folks. New to the forum, and just starting out with a few "budget" hats to discover what works for me both practically, and aesthetically. Currently have a couple of (obligatory?) baseball caps, two flat caps, one newsboy, a couple of wool felt hats (one trilby, one bowler) and a cotton trilby, and a couple of cotton/canvas wider brimmed hats. I might explore a couple of others first, before making the leap to fur felt.

I'm quite aware of the limited lifespan these may well have, but if they tell me whether a pattern/style is for me or not by the time they're wrecked, they will have served their purpose. I'd rather make the initial style mistakes with these, and get it right when moving to fur felt or leather, etc. I'm a long haired male (elbow length hair), and as such not necessarily falling within conventional or classic styling parameters.

Here's a selection of what I have so far.

View attachment 331803 View attachment 331804 View attachment 331805 View attachment 331806 View attachment 331807 View attachment 331808


This is a great place if you like hats, and I hope you like your stay. Nothing wrong with your approach of refining style(s) before spending more.
Lots of great information here!
 

WonkyBloke

One of the Regulars
Messages
112
Location
UK
This is a great place if you like hats, and I hope you like your stay. Nothing wrong with your approach of refining style(s) before spending more.
Lots of great information here!

Thank you! Yes, my personal approach (with many things), is get a cheap one first. If after a few years, it's barely used, then I got the wrong thing. If it was used a lot and is still going strong, it was a good choice, and the quality is good enough. And if it's totally worn out, then it's definitely for me, but an upgrade is needed.

It may also be I find that I really like certain styles, but wish they were warmer/cooler, more water proof, lighter colours, stiffer/softer, etc. So, I don't expect to be spending "proper money" for some time yet, but keep sticking to the budget stuff and let natural selection guide me.
 
Messages
19,427
Location
Funkytown, USA
Thank you! Yes, my personal approach (with many things), is get a cheap one first. If after a few years, it's barely used, then I got the wrong thing. If it was used a lot and is still going strong, it was a good choice, and the quality is good enough. And if it's totally worn out, then it's definitely for me, but an upgrade is needed.

It may also be I find that I really like certain styles, but wish they were warmer/cooler, more water proof, lighter colours, stiffer/softer, etc. So, I don't expect to be spending "proper money" for some time yet, but keep sticking to the budget stuff and let natural selection guide me.

Welcome to the Lounge. You seem to have a plan, and I admire your budget-consciousness. A couple of points - if you're looking for advice on style, etc., some shots of you wearing your hats will help. Also, when/if you choose to get a fur felt of decent quality, you'll notice a big difference in that and the brimmed hats you are currently wearing. After you get your hands on a decent fur felt fedora, you'll likely be sold and never look back.
 
Last edited:

WonkyBloke

One of the Regulars
Messages
112
Location
UK
Welcome to the Lounge. You seem to have a plan, and I admire your budget-consciousness. A couple of points - if your looking for adivce on style, etc., some shots of you wearing your hats will help. Also, when/if you choose to get a fur felt of decent quality, you'll notice a big difference in that and the brimmed hats you are currently wearing. After you get your hands on a decent fur felt fedora, you'll likely be sold and never look back.

Thank you! I'm sure a fur felt or two is in my future, but it's too early to know which direction to go with that. Probably a trilby if forced to guess, rather than wider brimmed fedora. Not much idea beyond that yet though. So far, I like cotton and leather for wider brims.
 
Messages
10,858
Location
vancouver, canada
Hello all! I just discovered this site and it seemed like a perfect place to enable my small but growing cap collection and to learn more about hats in general. I've seen some great info from a lot of knowledgeable folks so far. What a terrific resource.
Welcome. While this is predominantly a fedora lover's site there are plenty of us who have caps in our collections. Diversity is a good thing!
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
Hello all! I just discovered this site and it seemed like a perfect place to enable my small but growing cap collection and to learn more about hats in general. I've seen some great info from a lot of knowledgeable folks so far. What a terrific resource.


Welcome! There are a lot of folks here who will gladly help you spend your money. :)
Look forward to seeing your caps and hats.
 

Beren

New in Town
Messages
20
Greetings, everyone. My passion for fedoras began a year and a half ago when I visited a little shop in Quebec, BiBi & Cie, Chapelier, where I purchased my first good fedora--a Grand Beaver by Magill in midnight blue. That was just the beginning, it appears. My second purchase a few months later was a Stetson Stratoliner (also in blue), which has become my go-to lid. Since then, I have purchased a few more hats. I look forward to learning all about about fedoras from all of you!

16839824-2ddf-437b-846e-32f36f09fd52.jpeg
 
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Messages
10,858
Location
vancouver, canada
Greetings, everyone. My passion for fedoras began a year and a half ago when I visited a little shop in Quebec, BiBi & Cie, Chapelier, where I purchased my first good fedora--a Brand Beaver by Magill in midnight blue. That was just the beginning, it appears. My second purchase a few months later was a Stetson Stratoliner (also in blue), which has become my go-to lid. Since then, I have purchased a few more. I look forward to learning all about about fedoras from all of you!

16839824-2ddf-437b-846e-32f36f09fd52.jpeg
Do you live in Quebec City? Beautiful city, my brother lives there.
 

Snowman

Practically Family
Messages
675
Greetings, everyone. My passion for fedoras began a year and a half ago when I visited a little shop in Quebec, BiBi & Cie, Chapelier, where I purchased my first good fedora--a Brand Beaver by Magill in midnight blue. That was just the beginning, it appears. My second purchase a few months later was a Stetson Stratoliner (also in blue), which has become my go-to lid. Since then, I have purchased a few more hats. I look forward to learning all about about fedoras from all of you!

16839824-2ddf-437b-846e-32f36f09fd52.jpeg
Welcome! You are in the right place.
 

StrawBunyan

New in Town
Messages
27
Location
TN
Hello all.
Simple farmer here. 35 years old and bought my first real hat today ( not including the Dwight yokam hat I had when I was 2)

Bought the Akubra Lawson in Heritage fawn.
So far, so Good.
Thank you for the add. I've be saying for years that society went down hill when we all took our hats off
IMG_20210614_184603.jpg IMG_20210614_170336.jpg
 

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