still wearing fur felt in late June

[danofarlington]

I know we are supposed to all be wearing panamas by now, but here in the bay area of CA we are still having cool foggy mornings and even some afternoons, not to mention evenings. I love still being able to wear my fedoras at this time of year!

You see, this is what I want to know. I wanted to know whether anyone is doing that. I see about zero felt hats here in Washington--I suppose they're there but not when I'm around--all I see is straws and the occasional good Panama. I guess I'm an aper, and if I saw more felt hats in the summer might also do it.

 

[Dewhurst]

Every year, on forums, people go through the "I'm still wearing / should I still be wearing fur felt hats in summer?!?!?" thing and it is always amusing to read the anecdotes. Those old timers who supposedly would snicker and/or rip a hat off another man's head when he wore a certain kind of hat in the wrong season must have been abject fools! Life and weather do not permit fundmental outlooks that are quite that strict when it comes to headware.

Case in point: Oklahoma or Texas. It really doesn't matter. If you walk outside, its boiling hot and dreadfully sunny. Oh, but tomorrow, there might be tornadoes... so, what kinda hat you gonna wear?

[huh]

Most of the time, I wear a hat that is "supposed" to be proper in a certain season, but I'll be damned if I can tell a difference between "melting in to a puddle with a straw hat on" and "melting in to a puddle with a felt hat on" and "melting in to a puddle with a linen cap on" and "melting in to a puddle with a synthetic bucket hat on" etc, etc.

 

[hag]

turnabout

I have been sporting my latesr Panama, but tonight, in the drizzle, it was the Open Road.

 

[Arkie773/4]

Thanks, any other hat seller I should visit? I will be in tow for a few days.

I was actually in SF last summer too and I know first hand it gets pretty damn cool. Coming from the oppressive Arkansas heat makes it seem all the more drastic. Well I don't really want to travel with 2 hats. Maybe I'll buy one while I am there. Y'all got any hatters out there?

 

[jlee562]

Thanks, any other hat seller I should visit? I will be in tow for a few days.

I don't personally know of anywhere else in SF proper, but there's Hat Guys on Broadway, across the bay in Oakland, and the Berkeley Hat Co. on Telegraph in Berkeley. Hat Guys is probably going to be a better bet. Berkeley Hat Co. does stock some nicer dress hats and fur felts, but deal mostly in cheaper/novelty stuff.

The Hat Guys' website appears to be down at the moment, but it's usually at www.hatguys.com
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-hat-guys-oakland
http://berkeleyhat.com/

Here's the site for Paul's:
http://www.hatworksbypaul.com/

 

[zetwal]

I too still wear lightweight felt hats in the summer months. But Panamas come into the rotation with greater frequency as long as it's dry.

 

[Blackthorn]

Well, being the superstitious guy I am, my starting this thread has caused the cool air to leave and now I'm back to my panama. Ah well, it was good while it lasted.

 

[kaosharper1]

Yeah yeah I'm still wearing fur felt.

My 1940s' Stetson Panama just got retired from drying out and too many cracks for me to want to wear it with a suit.

Who... who should I go to for an alternative for a low price very soft high crowned Panama as a replacement?

How low? I just received one from Art Fawcett for $250 with a 5" crown.

 

[Matt Deckard]

have some pics? And that's the blocked in height right? how high does it start at?

 

[kaosharper1]

have some pics? And that's the blocked in height right? how high does it start at?

I put some pics up in the Art Fawcett Hall of Fame thread. Yes, that's the blocked height at the highest point. I don't know what the unblock height was but it looks to me like there was an inch or so extra. It was blocked in a C-crown with a bump up in the middle. Give Art a call. I'm sure he'd be able to fix you up.

 

[57plymouth]

I've been wearing my Dobbs straw all month. Yesterday being our anniversary, I chose my trusty old brown felt. It was like wearing an oven.

Truth be told, I don't really like my Dobbs straw. It is cooler, but the crown looks funny on me. I'm still looking for a better straw...

 

[Mid-fogey]

Given...

...the huge variation in sensitivity, heat, humidity, perception of "proper", and personal lifestyles -- it's not hard to see big differences in what people wear.

I could wear a felt all Summer even in southern Virginia if I wanted to. I go from my air conditioned house, to my air conditioned car, to my air conditioned office and back again. Heat isn’t really an issue.

My usual feeling is that, when I make the switch on 1 May or so, that I really see a difference in comfort. If I hold one of my straws up to the light, I can see lots of little pinpoints. With a felt, nothing. It just doesn’t ventilate the way a straw does.

I’m not sure I get the Panama being able to hold water thing. If it’s that tightly woven, how does it ventilate?

 

[Brent Hutto]

I've been wearing my Dobbs straw all month. Yesterday being our anniversary, I chose my trusty old brown felt. It was like wearing an oven.

Truth be told, I don't really like my Dobbs straw. It is cooler, but the crown looks funny on me. I'm still looking for a better straw...

So what did you wear in that storm Saturday night? Hope it was one of those yellow rubber hats the fishermen wear during a Nor'easter!

 

[jbucklin]

After reading this thread the other day I decided to wear my felt hats out more---even here in this scorching Texas heat. I wore my Stetson Saxon to a gig this last Saturday night and a professional photographer came and took several excellent photos of me and the other guitarist I've been playing with a lot lately. My new avatar pic is one of these. I really wish I had been wearing my Stetson Firenze, but didn't know we were going to be photographed.

 

[Blackthorn]

After reading this thread the other day I decided to wear my felt hats out more---even here in this scorching Texas heat. I wore my Stetson Saxon to a gig this last Saturday night and a professional photographer came and took several excellent photos of me and the other guitarist I've been playing with a lot lately. My new avatar pic is one of these. I really wish I had been wearing my Stetson Firenze, but didn't know we were going to be photographed.

That's a great looking hat in your avatar, jbucklin. Nice color, especially.

 

[jbucklin]

Here's an even better shot of the hat:

 

[57plymouth]

So what did you wear in that storm Saturday night? Hope it was one of those yellow rubber hats the fishermen wear during a Nor'easter!

Hello fellow SC native!! By the way, today is Carolina Day. The day we remember Col. Moultrie defending Sullivan's Island in 1776.

Actually, when it rains, I'm afraid to wear any of my hats. But Saturday I canned 60 pounds of home grown tomatoes so I was inside all night.

 

[Feraud]

It is getting consistently warm and humid in the city. I have a couple of lightweight felts, straw, and light wool caps I am wearing in rotation.

 

[Brent Hutto]

jbucklin,

Awesome hat, great look. I don't what color that is but they ought to call it "Grey for a guy with a Guild and tortoise-frame shades".

57plymouth,

Happy Carolina Day to you too. Our tomatoes are just coming in a few at a time. You must have started them in a hothouse to have 60 pounds worth already.

 

[danofarlington]

For a tightly-woven Panama, I don't think ventilation is its strong suit. But it is lighter than a felt, and in many cases looks better than a straw.