Western dress hat (Black) - Advice

[msm007]

Hi, need some advice as to which style/make, crease and flange of western hat might be most suitable for dress occassions? I was thinking of the classic Black Gold Stetson with silver buckle. Would a cutter flange be good or too much? Also what about a classic like "The Gus"

Anyone have any suggestions? Pictures would be great, too - if you have them.
Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated. I know that this is a very open question, but I am trying to get some new ideas. Thanks!

 

[frussell]

Doesn't have to be black

As a member of a family that wears cowboy hats to just about everything, including funerals, I can tell you that silverbelly or white work just as well. Black hats are nice, and the crease is not really relevant, but a clean silverbelly hat looks great with a black, grey or blue suit, and you don't look as much like Johnny Cash (not knocking the man, he was a treasure) or a cowboy mortician. That's just my take. At least two hundred men wore cowboy hats to my grandfather's funeral, all looked sharp and respectful, but I don't remember a single black hat there. The key word is clean and well-maintained, more important than the color. Good luck, Frank.

 

[gtdean48]

Ditto on what Frank says about the color.
As far as the crease goes, The Gus is more of a using hat crease than a dress hat crease to me = more working/in the saddle/on the range.
A clean cattleman crease is suitable for dress wear. JMHO

 

[msm007]

Thanks guys. I had not thought of silver belly or lighter colors. It seems that the classic cattlemans crease is the way to go?

 

[frussell]

Cattleman

The cattleman crease has a tendency to look a bit more formal. It all depends on the wearer and what they can get away with. If you're a guy with a beard and long hair, you might look great in a "Gus" style or a Hopalong Cassidy tall crown. Cattleman is usually a pretty safe bet for when I want to look more dignified. Frank

 

[Mr. Paladin]

I have both black and silverbelly Open Roads with cattleman's creases that I wear interchangably for dress events. Either look just fine. Silverbelly seems more traditional down here, but black is taking over with the younger set that still wears western hats. Gtd is right regarding the creases; most of the Gus style and similar creases are working style creases or relegated to old western movies.

 

[150719541]

Western, Fedoras, Panamas....

All hats are a good election, western, trilby, fedoras, panamas, any person can use any hat, only, use it with own style. Cow-boy hat with tenis shoes¡¡¡
Black fur-felt fedora with shorts in beach¡¡¡¡ Panama with sandals in Iceland¡¡¡¡ I love all hats.....:rage: :rage: :rage:
Only needed the horse in this moment with this silverbelly by stetson 4x, but, also I like some black

 

[tonyb]

I see you're in Sweden, msm007. Are Western hats worn much over your way?

There are many places in the Western U.S., as well as in rural locales all across the country, where cowboy hats are at least fairly commonplace. And in a few of those places they're almost expected, if not quite mandatory. But hats in general are still seen as somewhat "costumey" in many settings (especially business settings), and that's doubly true of Western hats. This is not to say there's any fault in wearing a "dress" Western hat with other "dress" attire, only that in more places than not, the wearer will likely be remembered as the guy in the cowboy hat.

As to your question, though ... my preference is generally for the more fedora-styled Westerns -- kind of oversized "city" hats. But, you know, that's just me.

 

[msm007]

I see you're in Sweden, msm007. Are Western hats worn much over your way?

There are many places in the Western U.S., as well as in rural locales all across the country, where cowboy hats are at least fairly commonplace. And in a few of those places they're almost expected, if not quite mandatory. But hats in general are still seen as somewhat "costumey" in many settings (especially business settings), and that's doubly true of Western hats. This is not to say there's any fault in wearing a "dress" Western hat with other "dress" attire, only that in more places than not, the wearer will likely be remembered as the guy in the cowboy hat.

As to your question, though ... my preference is generally for the more fedora-styled Westerns -- kind of oversized "city" hats. But, you know, that's just me.

Hi and thank you everyone for the input.

There are a few people wearing Western hats in Stockholm (you see a lot of Akubras). Stockholm is a very accepting place. People do make comments, but almost all is positive. The only negative comment that I have gotten (which really isn't negative) was from a group of teenagers - who told me that I was in the wrong country. I should add that I hail from Oklahoma, but have been living here for quite some time. The only unnerving thing is that Swedes have a tendency to stare blatently at anything that is different - so that is about the worst of it. Not bad at all.

I work as a photographer and there is a lot of competition. So being remembered isn't really a bad thing. I don't want to make it into a costume, just a nice respectable look.

 

[donnc]

That's a very different situation. Outside a western hat cultural context, it's going to be about movies and other such imagery, along with whatever random real life examples that may pop up. Personally, in principle my idea would be like Tonyb's, a hat that makes a kind of style bridge between the classic cowboys and other hat styles, because it pulls away from the costume thing a little without completely giving up on the style. For me, that means re-crease the crown, but retain the 4 inch brim width and some of the curl. I've tried to get a sort of long C for my creases, but I've also seen one that was almost cattleman, but the peaks had been pinched together to make the dent into a fold - a little weird looking to me, but I suppose that's exactly the point. Whatever happens to the crown, anything with that 4 inch brim and the slightest side curl will be flamboyantly western.

 

[msm007]

Hi, do you have any pictures that you could show? Thanks

 

[4spurs]

Copenhagen

I go to Copenhagen at least twice a year; I either wear a silverbelly Resistol, or wide brimmed tan vintage Borsalino that has a brim wider than an OR; and I always wear boots.

I more often than not will take a side excursion to Malmo. Never had a Swede or a Dane stare at me; not unless they're under nine years old.

I'd post pics, but my pics are too large to post here.

 

[Stoney]

Open Road

or traditional western.....like the Stetson Rancher

Either one will look great as a western dress hat, depends on your style.


You also have the option of a custom made western.... Two forum members Mike (Major) Moore and Rodney Allison both do great Western hats.

Mike Moore http://www.buckaroohatters.com/

Rodney Allison http://www.northvalleyhatco.com/whoweare.html

 

[donnc]

Hi, do you have any pictures that you could show?

Now has a little more pinch than it did in this picture.

Taking a tip from another thread, this turns out to have been pretty near a "tycoon" crease, as shown here on a Mackey hat:

 

[msm007]

Nice pictures from all (of some great looking hats), Thanks!!!

 

[1961MJS]

Ditto on what Frank says about the color.
As far as the crease goes, The Gus is more of a using hat crease than a dress hat crease to me = more working/in the saddle/on the range.
A clean cattleman crease is suitable for dress wear. JMHO

Hi

First some background, I grew up in a Southern Illinois farming community. My parents are both teachers, though my mom was raised on a farm. I was "not allowed" to wear cowboy boots in Junior High and High School because we didn't own horses. Everyone who wore cowboy boots in my school owned horses. Not even all of the horse owners wore cowboy boots. Dirt bike riders wore Engineer or Wellington boots. Everyone else wore Converse All-Stars (graduated H.S. in 1979).

I wear cowboy boots now because to real city folk, I'm a red-neck.

Now to the real reason for the response. PERSONALLY, I think that the cattleman creased hats are "fake" looking. A real cowboy wouldn't wear one riding on a horse, they're only for cowboys to wear when they don't have the horse to show they're cowboys. Sorry about this being harsh, but I'm having difficulty getting the point across otherwise. [huh]

Personally, I'd get a nice felt cowboy hat styled like the one you NORMALLY wear, but better quality in a color matching your suit.

Later

 

[gtdean48]

Majority of creases I see are cattleman...

It may be different in Kansas but all over every horse show I attend from Georgia to Texas to Oklahoma back thru Kentucky & Virginia, 99% of the hats I see in the show ring, sitting in the arena or at the auction are cattleman creases. I will say that most of the folks I ride against & with are not cowboys but horsemen (& horsewomen). The cutters & team ropers I know wear cattleman creases as well. I consider them cowboys because they actually own &/or work cattle. I don't own 1 damn cow! I just slide & spin 'em for the last 20+ years...

 

[frussell]

Cattleman crease

PERSONALLY, I'd have to agree with Mr. Dean. I've worked cattle, broke a horse or two, and am around horsemen quite a good deal. I've got friends who are "bullfighters" (what we used to call rodeo clowns), cattlemen, working cowboys, horse trainers, cutters, mounted rescue, professional ropers, and rodeo riders. Almost overwhelmingly, they all wear the cattleman crease or something very close to it. My grandfather, who was raised on a working cattle ranch and rode until he died at 99 wore a cattleman crease for the last 60 years or so. Perhaps it is more of a Western perception, something that does not reach to Illinois. Frank

 

[vintage68]

All of my western hats (I have three) are made by this company:

http://www.jaxonbilthats.com/

IMHO I would stay away from a silver buckle, I find them kind of cheesy. Just a simple, subtle ribbon in matching or contrasting color is the way to go for a sophisticated evening or "dress" look.

 

[Mr. Paladin]

PERSONALLY, I'd have to agree with Mr. Dean. I've worked cattle, broke a horse or two, and am around horsemen quite a good deal. I've got friends who are "bullfighters" (what we used to call rodeo clowns), cattlemen, working cowboys, horse trainers, cutters, mounted rescue, professional ropers, and rodeo riders. Almost overwhelmingly, they all wear the cattleman crease or something very close to it. My grandfather, who was raised on a working cattle ranch and rode until he died at 99 wore a cattleman crease for the last 60 years or so. Perhaps it is more of a Western perception, something that does not reach to Illinois. Frank

gtd and Frank are right. No one around here wears anything more than a cattleman's unless they are the drugstore cowboy version. I grew up on a ranch in Texas and no one out there ever wore any of those pseudo-western creases.