The Black Hat Brigade

[jake_fink]

Oh Marc, why would you let one of the few remaining Ebay bargain cats out of the bag like that. :eusa_doh:

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Oh Marc, why would you let one of the few remaining Ebay bargain cats out of the bag like that. :eusa_doh:

Was it a secret? [huh]

 

[fedoralover]

I like mine

100% beaver custom Adventurebilt. 5 3/4 inch crown, 2 3/4 inch brim.

fedoralover

 

[Brad Bowers]

Love the hat, fedoralover! I should clarify my post by adding that I have yet to see on eBay...

Brad

 

[Marc Chevalier]

That's a great-looking hat, Fedoralover! Maybe people have to see a black fedora on them before they're able to appreciate it.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I have yet to see a decent black fedora with a tall crown and at least a 2 1/2" brim. I figure everyone else is looking for that same hat in 7 3/8!lol

Brad

They're out there, Brad. Here's one that sold recently. It had all the measurements that you're looking for. (The brim turned out to be 2 1/2", not the 2 1/4" stated by the seller.) Unfortunately, the photos have since disappeared from the auction page:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8399138573&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1


.

 

[fedoralover]

Here's one I got off ebay. A vintage borsalino, perfect condition, super thin and dense felt. Sorry for the big picture, I've tried to resize it but for some reason it won't do it. Heck of a mug shot to look at up close but try to focus on the hat.

fedoralover

 

[jake_fink]

Was it a secret? [huh]

Not a secret per se, but drawing attention to the black fedora may cause a rise in indiscriminate trophy-hunting like we saw recently with the old reliable Open Road.

Black fedoras don't seem to photograph well... they often look flecked, dusty and grubby in the listings. Nothing a bit of brushing won't fix in most cases.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Black fedoras go especially well with black, salt-and-pepper, or white hair.

 

[jake_fink]

Fedoralover,

Those are both very nice hats. I love black fedoras, high crowned, wide brimmed and the little stingies with the thick band. Someday I'll have a camera that works for more than a week and I'll start posting pictures.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Not a secret per se, but drawing attention to the black fedora may cause a rise in indiscriminate trophy-hunting ...

You may be right, but I doubt it will happen. People looking for vintage fedoras on eBay have undoubtedly run into these black hat auctions before. They could have made bids, but they didn't. Clearly, the fedoras didn't appeal to them. I'm just wondering if the color was a deciding factor.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

.With today's eBay buyers, however, black doesn't seem to cut the mustard.

But mustard fedoras get you into the black figures!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

True dat.

 

[Pilgrim]

I really want a nice black hat like the one Fedoralover shows in his pic. I just haven't found one in the right combination of brim width and affordability yet.

Black western hats are VERY popular. If black dress hats aren't, I don't have an explanation. It does seem to me that the auctions I've followed have had reasonable action - otherwise I'd have bought one already.

 

[fedoralover]

Thanks, here's one I don't wear much anymore and was thinking of selling it. It's a 7 1/4 in case anyone is interested. This isn't a formal "for sale" notice, but I really don't wear it much, I just like the other two better.

fedoralover

 

[RedPop4]

I have a non-vintage, mid 1980s Kensington by Stetson. I look at myself in the mirror, and the hat looks nice on its own, however it does seem a bit formal with anything less than a suit, although I have worn it since I started wearing otbbc (Other than baseball caps) a few weeks ago.

I had purchased this one back then, new, to wear formally on occasions, or to play Blues Brothers at costume parties.

I like it, but am not totally comfortable with it yet. That's why I'm looking at greys for purchase.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I like it, but am not totally comfortable with it yet. That's why I'm looking at greys for purchase.

Grey hats and brown hats are "gateway" hats. These graduate into various shades of grey and black. Next, a craving for the lighter colors kicks in, and it's on to tans and silverbellies. Then comes "harder" colors, such as taupe, navy blue, olive, and green. It takes a while to build up to a black, and for most, that is where the addiction stops. For those who will never be able to be rehabilitated, they sink into the mire of fuchsia and goldenrod.lol

Brad

 

[Marc Chevalier]

So I gather that you think black a "hard" color, Brad. But why do you think so?

 

[Johnnysan]

Black works for me..."bald" is color neutral!

 

[Brad Bowers]

My post was jest, but there is some truth in it, I suppose. I'm not sure I can articulate why I think black is a hard color. I've been wearing hats for twenty-three years, and only just recently bought my first black dress hat, that Resistol Homburg. I did buy a black Stetson body from the factory outlet store in St. Joseph, Missouri, back about fifteen years ago for $1, but it is a western hat, which we tend to hold to different rules, as Pilgrim pointed out.

I keep coming back to the formality of the color. This is stretching it a bit, but perhaps a black hat just doesn't seem like a casual hat, and that may be a difficult mental hurdle for some. In actuality, a black hat is fine for any mode of dress and occasion. It just takes time to work up to the idea.

That's my best guess.

Brad