Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Western, anyone?

chivaceae

New in Town
Messages
45
Stumbled upon this today. Has anyone seen the 'Impermeable' label before? I haven't, but I'm pretty new to this game. So wild that it traveled all the way here from Venezuela, if this thing could talk what tales it'd tell.
In Spanish language we use the word "Impermeable" for waterproof. I suspect the retailer in Venezuela added the label to denote that is hat is waterproof.
Raul
 
Last edited:

Steve1857

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,867
Location
Denmark
Stumbled upon this today. Has anyone seen the 'Impermeable' label before? I haven't, but I'm pretty new to this game. So wild that it traveled all the way here from Venezuela, if this thing could talk what tales it'd tell.
'Impermeable' is a label often seen in hats. It means it's waterproof.

It's a somewhat redundant label as just about every felt hat, in one way or another, is waterproof.

Nice hat btw.
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
A no name straw that shockingly fits me. It was one of a lot of five I recently bought at auction:

A5D00237-7D6B-4237-A890-82868EBECC72.jpeg


And a late afternoon drive through the country:

5CA59E27-BBE9-4AE8-B118-4AFD5C4C2D85.jpeg
0D8FD6FC-6888-4DAB-A400-F24CB05F26EF.jpeg
2FA173D2-CF40-4DBC-9CE2-1FB838EDD974.jpeg
CFB84664-F6ED-49D0-821A-02CE8057D610.jpeg
82EB0C12-92D7-4464-8390-9AFA5AB69286.jpeg

7C090C50-CCEB-4B9E-AECC-1743FB53657D.jpeg
4048D170-38FE-4632-B8E6-40CCBF7A570B.jpeg
3C9E272B-A23E-4969-9EED-17441A3400AB.jpeg
191FAB11-34D6-48E6-9103-D2B8E23E5DF3.jpeg
 

StoryPNW

One Too Many
Messages
1,146
Location
Pacific Northwest

One Drop

One of the Regulars
Messages
235
Location
Swiss Alps
A no name straw that shockingly fits me. It was one of a lot of five I recently bought at auction:

View attachment 511892

And a late afternoon drive through the country:

View attachment 511893 View attachment 511894
View attachment 511895 View attachment 511897 View attachment 511898
View attachment 511899 View attachment 511900 View attachment 511901 View attachment 511902

That really suits you, from the size to the shape. I think you have great taste in hats, very similar to mine, but some really work great while others look good but don't stand out like others.

There's something we don't talk about much when discussing suitable sizes and shapes, and creases, that's pretty basic but often overlooked. I'm referring to how a hat completes the shape of our heads, the line of the front and back in particular should really continue unbroken, from the skull up through the sides of the crown. If it's off a bit it really looks wrong, even if we ca't put our finger on exactly why.

I notice this when looking in a double mirror to see how a new bash looks, tiny adjustments have no effect until it gets just right, then suddenly the hat just looks like an extension of me rather than a thing I plopped on my head.
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,850
That really suits you, from the size to the shape. I think you have great taste in hats, very similar to mine, but some really work great while others look good but don't stand out like others.

There's something we don't talk about much when discussing suitable sizes and shapes, and creases, that's pretty basic but often overlooked. I'm referring to how a hat completes the shape of our heads, the line of the front and back in particular should really continue unbroken, from the skull up through the sides of the crown. If it's off a bit it really looks wrong, even if we ca't put our finger on exactly why.

I notice this when looking in a double mirror to see how a new bash looks, tiny adjustments have no effect until it gets just right, then suddenly the hat just looks like an extension of me rather than a thing I plopped on my head.
Interesting point you make.
I understand what you allude to but can’t quite visualize it.
Could you show an image you speak of that’s just right please. Maybe a double mirror shot??
Thanks
B
 

One Drop

One of the Regulars
Messages
235
Location
Swiss Alps
Interesting point you make.
I understand what you allude to but can’t quite visualize it.
Could you show an image you speak of that’s just right please. Maybe a double mirror shot??
Thanks
B

The double mirror is just a way for me to see how a hat looks from other angles than head on, looking at a three-quarter angle photo does the same thing. If you look at the photo of Brent's straw, follow the line of his head on both sides and see how it follows his head shape without flaring out or narrowing too quickly, and resolves at the top naturally as if it were his own head, just taller.

I'm probably making it seem more complicated by my clumsy description, but it's why hats that are too small look so comical,, we are very sensitive to the human form and anything that distorts parts of it can be outright disturbing, though we can use it to good effect (to divert attention form a weak jaw, too look taller, to balance out an unusual head shape, etc).

It's just another way to say that certain shapes fit each of our heads better than others, and the bash and crease for a given hat can change the shape the crown takes, and even subtle changes can make a huge difference to the overall look of the hat, face, and head together.
 
Last edited:

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,868
Location
Central Texas
Most is just being self-conscious like the first time you have to go in public wearing glasses. Or, like my dad, who only wore a suit to weddings and funerals. He always though people were looking at him! Wearing a hat in public the first time is "not the norm", so we worry about what people will say or think. I go through those same thoughts myself. I would be quite intimidated to wear a top hat in public and, in my part of the country, even a boater would generate more than a few questioning looks from people around town.

Most everyone is used to seeing me in bowlers, so that has become my new norm around town. I mostly forget what hat I'm wearing every day anyway, and thus the adage of "wear the hat, don't let the hat wear you" seems appropriate!

20211226_024842.jpg

I have seen quite a few folks, elsewhere on the internet, say they don’t wear hats because they just “can’t pull it off”.

My opinion on this is that they are wearing the wrong hat, or they are wearing it wrong. (or both)
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,850
The double mirror is just a way for me to see how a hat looks from other angles than head on, looking at a three-quarter angle photo does the same thing. If you look at the photo of Brent's straw, follow the line of his head on both sides and see how it follows his head shape without flaring out or narrowing too quickly, and resolves at the top naturally as if it were his own head, just taller.

I'm probably making it seem more complicated by my clumsy description, but it's why hats that are too small look so comical,, we are very sensitive to the human form and anything that distorts parts of it can be outright disturbing, though we can use it to good effect (to divert attention form a weak jaw, too look taller, to balance out an unusual head shape, etc).

It's just another way to say that certain shapes fit each of our heads better than others, and the bash and crease for a given hat can change the shape the crown takes, and even subtle changes can make a huge difference to the overall look of the hat, face, and head together.
Thanks
I was just hoping for pics of you showing your descriptions.
I’m obviously description challenged.
B
 

One Drop

One of the Regulars
Messages
235
Location
Swiss Alps
Thanks
I was just hoping for pics of you showing your descriptions.
I’m obviously description challenged.
B

Well, I'd have to take a series of pictures in my bathroom after re-bashing a hat to look less than ideal, then with different bashes that look better. Maybe I'll try that later with my Borsalino Alessandria, which is super soft and can be shaped and reshaped at will. Not sure how to take pictures that show the second mirror, it might be a fun experiment. If I do so I'll start a new thread rather than continue to ramble on in this one.

How do you shape your hats, do you make changes until it looks good in your hand, or do you keep putting it and off, making adjustments until the bash looks best on your head ? If the latter, you're perhaps unconsciously basing your decisions on results similar to what I'm describing.

Brent has remarked that my Bushman looked much better in photos I had taken months after I first bought and shaped it, even though the differences to the bash were quite small, made over months as I made very slight adjustments to the crown and brim after it would get soaked in the rain, I'd check it out from all angles and slightly change the curl of the brim, tighten the pinch a bit, and make tiny adjustments to the height of the front and back of the crown.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,266
Messages
3,077,629
Members
54,221
Latest member
magyara
Top