Return of the Broad Brimmed Hat

[kaosharper1]

I think stingy vs. wide brim depends a lot on your face shape/size. I've noticed people with thinner, more angular faces pull off broad brims better than stingies.
Whereas broader faced folk pull off stingies better.

Really? I find the reverse. I have a broad face and stingies (particularly with low crowns) make me look like Oliver Hardy.

 

[Tiller]

I'd rather see people wearing plaid stingy brim fedoras from Walmart than baseball caps. I hope it catches on. I reverse that opinion, though, if they start putting logos on the front of the stingy brims.

I agree. There are cloth hats that have symbols and logos on them, but I think they look horrible and are not for me in anyway. Although maybe I'm a bit of a hypocrite since I have no problem with say a Stetson hat pin, on at hat. I think the reason that a hat pin doesn't bother me though is because it isn't overwhelming.

 

[scottyrocks]

Winning an auction on eBay is not a way to start wearing hats.

Why not? It may not be the way, but I dont see why it couldnt be a way. Ya gotsta start somewhere.

 

[John in Covina]

Side Note:

I think that we have a certain portion of the population that is drawn to ornamentation to make things special. So we see it on the cloth hats, clothes, and cars. I still wonder though when everyone has ornamentation is it still special or does it become the new ordinary? It might have something to do with why people keep moving towards more and more. ("I used to do a little but a little wouldn't do it so the little became more and more."

I am reminded of a phrase regarding an early form of conspicuous consumption - Too much is not enough.

 

[John in Covina]

The average guy will see more of this type of hat available to him to wear than a Fur felt hat. Winning an auction on eBay is not a way to start wearing hats. An like it or not the cloth stingy brim Fedora is the way people get started in wearing better hats than a ballcap.

It is true for the average guy. The average guy will buy a hat that is a snap decision.

There is a good chance the quality will be low.

As a fad the majority will not move on to a second hat that is better in quality, they won't either seek or get any real education or understanding of hats.

Some will be turned of by the low quality and not come back attributing low quality to all hats.

In the end those that continue on will be a small portion. From there some will go on to become aficionados and may even wind up here.

The same can happen with an Ebay purchase. Lack of good information and so on.

The thing to look for is those that take some time with a purchase and do a little research first. Or do a little research after getting into fedoras. I think that what we see is that those that are thoughtful and seek knowledge on hats tend to be more of a kindred spirit for the Loungers.

While I am not enamored with the fad offerings I am hopeful that this current trend may spark others to find and enjoy hats and with a little luck become knowledgeable. Maybe even become a guide for their friends.

The route will be different for everyone- the reward is getting here to find that it was a first step and there is so much more of a journey ahead.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I completely agree with you! I just don't care for ball-caps.

I'd rather see people wearing plaid stingy brim fedoras from Walmart than baseball caps. I hope it catches on. I reverse that opinion, though, if they start putting logos on the front of the stingy brims.

 

[panamaJess]

silly secret agents

You know, maybe Kasia Walicka-Maimone, the costume designer, was going for the intimidating look of the fedora that the NYT talked about:

"In [The Adjustment Bureau], mysterious men wearing fedoras of Mad Men vintage seem intent on tormenting Matt Damon and Emily Blunt...their preference in hats, of itself, suggests something ominous."

But I agree with Fedora Loungers ... these shorter-brimmed fedoras just look goofy!


But here's a redeeming quotes from an Esquire interview with the Adjustment Bureau costume designer:

"Some men wear hats beautifully, and I think that it adds a level of elegance and mystery and intrigue. And, hopefully, if it's done right, it looks very contemporary. I would love to see lots more hats on the street."

 

[John in Covina]

I don't have a dislike for ball caps but I don't like them to be overused. Don't know that I can quite define that other than there is a point when they are less appropriate. It's a matter of when people are so used to wearing them they seem to forget they have them on and leave them on when they should take them off.
(Like during the National Anthem!)

I like some of mine because they have a logo that expresses an affiliation or something about my likes. It can be a greeting to others that recognize it.

I don't wear them as much as in the past but I do wear them now and again.

 

[panamaJess]

Damn hipsters getting all the credit again. No one notices the vintage/neotrad/retro extremist/ leave me alone I don't like labels but I do love hats/ vintage inspired subculture, oh no it's always the hipsters!

hahahhaa!

 

[kaosharper1]

Ball caps are OK, but I never understood the ball cap with suit look that I often saw when I lived in the Northeast.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I always associate the ball cap with certain people who give it a bad name. I do like the old school mesh trucker ones that all the local farmers wore when I was a child, however.

 

[John in Covina]

Damn hipsters getting all the credit again. No one notices the vintage/neotrad/retro extremist/ leave me alone I don't like labels but I do love hats/ vintage inspired subculture, oh no it's always the hipsters!

With that said isn't it funny that in New York hats are being called into question, well in LA they are all the rage. In one world they are on the rise, in the other they get no respect. This is getting very confusing.

The tendency for Journalists today is not to go very far beyond their own comfort zone, at the same time think that they are giving some sort of "breaking news" about a new trend. Usually by the time a journalist has latched onto an idea it is not really new news.

Seems like Journalists have become almost incestuous in opinions while often being both provincial and elitist in their attitudes.

Take the LA Times, the West side of Los Angeles is always considered to be the hip and cool area that leads when it comes to society, fashion, dining out. You get some nods towards Hollywood and occasional priase of something in downtown. Pasadena get an ok now and then. But with LA and LA county south and east are considered to be cultural wastelands for the most part. You go there slumming. The communities are not recognized even when they are vibrant and humming with culture or fine dining. There write ups for dining in the south and east often tempered with a slant as to "how this is an island of culture in a dismal sea of humanity" and self congradulatory "we were so adventurous to go here" type reporting. There is a thinly veiled oh if your ever out this way but why bother type of regard.

Oh sorry for the rant!

 

[MCrider]

Ball caps are OK, but I never understood the ball cap with suit look that I often saw when I lived in the Northeast.

I can understand that one completely. Last fall I saw a gentleman in slacks, leather shoes, an expensive looking trench coat topped off with... you guessed it, a baseball cap. I have hope that maybe when he saw me in my Stetson, a light bulb went on. Probably not though.

 

[Lefty]

Is this the new thread where we talk about how great we are and how everyone else does it wrong?
Congrats fellas. You're better than those uneducated, unrefined folk.

 

[John in Covina]

Is this the new thread where we talk about how great we are and how everyone else does it wrong? Congrats fellas. You're better than those uneducated, unrefined folk.

No it's the thread where you come in as iconoclast.

 

[fmw]

No it's a thread that expresses trends in men's fashion. I didn't read anybody claiming to be great.

 

[Lefty]

I don't wear a suit to the movies.

 

[Tiller]

Is this the new thread where we talk about how great we are and how everyone else does it wrong?
Congrats fellas. You're better than those uneducated, unrefined folk.

Who exactly is claiming that we are better then ballcap wearers? I've heard people giving their personal feelings on the subject of the cap and why they don't enjoy it, and why they think a fedora would be more complimenting to certain outfits. I myself have given the reasons that I don't like the looks of fedora that have large symbols and logos on them. Isn't their a difference between arguing the superiority for something, and insulting someone? If there isn't then what exactly is the point of the entire board? You seem to be a bit defensive old boy.

I don't wear a suit to the movies.

I do at times, especially if it's a date night. Are you suggesting that your better then I am because you don't? Or that I'd look better by not wearing a suit to the movies?

 

[Lefty]

Tiller - my response about the movies concerns the "iconoclast" statement. Wearing a fedora or a suit to the movies is an act of an iconoclast. Wearing a baseball cap is not out of the norm.

As to the rest, see below.

The current stingy brim thing is a fad for a small amount of tragically hip seeking young people.

While people can give definitions that will say a Stingy Brim is a Fedora, I simply don't believe that.

The fact that is as it has hit the extreme side of brim size makes it FINO as in Fedora In Name Only.

I will define fedora. Anyone not wearing what I consider a fedora is part of a small group whose tastes are insignificant and likely to be short-lived.

FINO....I'd have to agree with you on that. In my humble opinion a true Fedora cannot be stingy.

Indeed, even a brimmed hat will not pass my level of scrutiny. Stingy brims are no better than baseball caps, which we all know to be evil.

You will see more grafic designs on the sides of the hats a swirl.
http://www.evo.com/imgp/750/38614.Image.1.jpg[/IMG

I look as these types of hats as starter hats. I have a few made by Daniel Cremieux I wear them to work alot as it is pretty dirty at work and they are nice hats. The Daniel Cremieux driver caps are one of my favorite wear to work hats. My fur felts other than an old Open Road I had rebuilt never get near work on a daily basis.

[IMG]http://www.styleretail.com/images/resizer/imagepop.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdimg.dillards.com%2Fis%2Fimage%2FDillardsZoom%2F03454346_zi%3F%24product%24[/IMG

The average guy will see more of this type of hat available to him to wear than a Fur felt hat. Winning an auction on eBay is not a way to start wearing hats. An like it or not the cloth stingy brim Fedora is the way people get started in wearing better hats than a ballcap.[/QUOTE]

These are "starter" hats. They are for people who don't know any better, but may become enlightened if they are willing to learn more from people like us.

[quote="John in Covina, post: 1200673"]Side Note:

I think that we have a certain portion of the population that is drawn to ornamentation to make things special. So we see it on the cloth hats, clothes, and cars. I still wonder though when everyone has ornamentation is it still special or does it become the new ordinary? It might have something to do with why people keep moving towards more and more. ("I used to do a little but a little wouldn't do it so the little became more and more."

I am reminded of a phrase regarding an early form of conspicuous consumption - Too much is not enough.[/QUOTE]

Ornamentation is for the flashy kids of this new generation and is nothing like the dripping excess of art deco or art nouveau.

[quote="John in Covina, post: 1200704"]It is true for the average guy. The average guy will buy a hat that is a snap decision.

There is a good chance the quality will be low.

As a fad the majority will not move on to a second hat that is better in quality, they won't either seek or get any real education or understanding of hats.

Some will be turned of by the low quality and not come back attributing low quality to all hats.

In the end those that continue on will be a small portion. From there some will go on to become aficionados and may even wind up here.

The same can happen with an Ebay purchase. Lack of good information and so on.

The thing to look for is those that take some time with a purchase and do a little research first. Or do a little research after getting into fedoras. I think that what we see is that those that are thoughtful and seek knowledge on hats tend to be more of a kindred spirit for the Loungers.

While I am not enamored with the fad offerings I am hopeful that this current trend may spark others to find and enjoy hats and with a little luck become knowledgeable. Maybe even become a guide for their friends.

The route will be different for everyone- the reward is getting here to find that it was a first step and there is so much more of a journey ahead.[/QUOTE]

The average guy is impulsive and uneducated. Thus, he makes poor decisions and fails to learn from them. I am enlightened.

[quote="John in Covina, post: 1200739"]I don't have a dislike for ball caps but I don't like them to be overused. Don't know that I can quite define that other than there is a point when they are less appropriate. It's a matter of when people are so used to wearing them they seem to forget they have them on and leave them on when they should take them off.
(Like during the National Anthem!)

I like some of mine because they have a logo that expresses an affiliation or something about my likes. It can be a greeting to others that recognize it.

I don't wear them as much as in the past but I do wear them now and again.[/QUOTE]

I've having difficulty defining when you may wear your cap, but I'll get back to you.

[quote="John in Covina, post: 1200759"]

Seems like Journalists have become almost incestuous in opinions while often being both provincial and elitist in their attitudes.
[/QUOTE]

This is possibly the ultimate pot/kettle situation.

 

[mayserwegener]

+1,000,000,000