What is your favorite hat crease?

[Rick Blaine]

Yes, but the use is rather restricted, and it does look odd in my personal opinion. I can think of two cases:

From Wise Blood (1979)

Looks like that rare bird an open crowned Open Road...in Black, no less.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I'd always thought of the Hassidic(sp?) Jewish hat as a specific type

There are quite a lot of different ones, in fact, depending on local origin of the group, everyday vs Sabbath, sometimes age of the wearer, social status or function and the like. Have to write something once here (or link at least, if I find something pre-written).

 

[Paris7]

What about the London bowler?

Wikipedia says that the bowler was invented by Lock's of St James - a wonderful store with fantastic hats. My grandfather always wore a bowler - as a child I always thought he looked a complete prat in it!

Lovely bashes Matt, the diamond and the teardrop get my vote. 20 - 30 seconds over steam sounds a tad much, maybe my steam was too hot?

 

[Dr Doran]

I think I like the open crowned look. I agree it looks odd, but I like it. Perhaps it's time to bring it back.

 

[carter]

Open crowns are prevalent among some religious groups that I have had contact with in VA,NC, and OH. These are the Amish, Mennonite, and Moravian folks.

They usually buy from catalogs that are geared toward their traditional attire and lifestyle, farming and agriculture.

Not mainstream perhaps but not rare either.

If we looked at these conservative religious groups mentioned above and Hassidic followers of the Jewish faith, we'd see a continuous wearing of hats for many, many generations.

There's probably a thread somewhere that discusses the decline of daily hat wearing as more and more of the workforce moved away from agriculture and into manufacturing and industry. In some pockets where that never occurred a hat is still a daily part of a man's working wardrobe.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Half off-topic: I see an interesting trend in the two synagogues in my neighbourhood. Both are Orthodox, so most men wear some kind of head-covering all day, but:

in synagogue A, on a typical weekday, only some of the 60+ generation are wearing non-black fedoras, straw hats, caps or a homburg, while nearly all of the others, including teenagers, sport oversized black fedoras, and one guy wears a Hassidic fur thing. Also, only some of the older people wear a normal suit or jacket/trousers combination, while the others wear black.

In synagogue B, on a typical weekday, only some of the 60+ generation are wearing felt hats, straw hats or caps, while nearly all of the others sport small knitted skullcaps. Also, only a few of the older people wear a normal suit or jacket/trousers combination, while the others wear very casual clothing, and some undo their jackets before the service if they come straight from work where they have to wear a suit.

(I'd like to add that though I do have an opinion, I'm not judging anyone - it's a trend.)

 

[woodsie]

Nicely done display of various creases.

 

[Spellflower]

my favorite open crown enthusiast

As for religious hats, I live in Brooklyn, where I've heard there are more orthodox and hassidic jews than any other city in the world, and based on my observations, hats range greatly in style, but never in color; at least for the younger generations, it's gotta be black. The most common style is extra wide brim, but I've seen some nifty hats with very large cylindrical crowns which have pretty short brims.

I work for a business run by orthodox jews, and I get a lot of puzzled looks from people wondering why I'm wearing a wide brim fedora that's not black.

 

[beauty123]

Thanks!That's Great!

 

[Earp]

I miss Richard Brautigan

I would have to say that Richard Brautigan is my favorite open crown enthusiast as well!

Thanks for the great pics and memories Spellflower.

--Wyatt--

 

[pgoat]

As for religious hats, I live in Brooklyn, where I've heard there are more orthodox and hassidic jews than any other city in the world, and based on my observations, hats range greatly in style, but never in color; at least for the younger generations, it's gotta be black. The most common style is extra wide brim, but I've seen some nifty hats with very large cylindrical crowns which have pretty short brims.

I work for a business run by orthodox jews, and I get a lot of puzzled looks from people wondering why I'm wearing a wide brim fedora that's not black.

That's my situation as well. I also wear those fur trapper hats, baseball and ski caps and a bicycle helmet (when I ride) to work!

here is an interesting article; very intricate hat hierarchy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasidic_Judaism#Headgear

 

[skyvue]

Some crease questions

I bought my first new hat a couple of days ago. I've had a couple of vintage ones in the past, but seldom wore them because they were a bit snug.

Turns out my hat size is 7 7/8 -- a full 8 in some models. No wonder my old hats were snug.

<img align="right" src="http://www.brettandyou.com/images/fedora1.jpg">I couldn't spring for a top-of-the-line hat, alas, but am pretty satisfied with my Lagomarsino (though I don't know where that brand stands in the hat hierarchy--anyone know?). It's pictured to the right.

A couple of questions: They had to stretch the hat a bit to fit me comfortably, but I wonder if they didn't stretch it a smidge too much. If I place it just so, it falls just above my ears. It doesn't look comical or anything, but I find it's big enough that I can't really effectively alter the placement on my head much (if that makes sense). It looks fine when placed straight, but even a slight cock to either side to give it a sporty look doesn't really work. Is it likely that it's a bit too big now, and if so, is there anything a hat shop can do about that? I boguht it from J.J. Hat Center here in NYC (since 1911!) and was very impressed by their service and willingness to accomodate the customer. They even stretched my old hat gratis, though in the end, it was still too snug.

And to render this post on topic, I'll also ask: Are various creases are associated with specific decades? I always keep my eyes on the clothes in old movies (of which I watch easily a couple dozen every month), but because I didn't own a hat I could wear comfortably, I haven't paid that much attention to the creases.

Having purchased a new one, though, I'm now keeping my eyes peeled, and I'm not sure what to make of what the evidence I'm compiled.

In ONE MYSTERIOUS NIGHT, a Boston Blackie picture from 1944, every single hat worn (a dozen or more) had a teardrop crease (which is the crease my old, ill-fitting hats had).

But a couple of the hats in THANKS A MILLION, a Dick Powell musical from 1935, had center creases with front pinches, which is what my new hat has.

Was the center crease more common in the Thirties, with the teardrop taking over in the Forties, or am I going on too small a sample of old movies? And do certain creases look better with particular brim widths? My old hat was rather wide-brimmed (a bit too wide for my liking; I don't really want to venture into Indy Jones/adventurer mode, though neither do I want to err on the side of staid), as were the brims in the Boston Blackie picture, so I'm wondering if the teardrop goes best with a wide brim and the center crease with a narrower brim.

Thanks for any and all feedback and info.

 

[Canadave]

...Is it likely that it's a bit too big now, and if so, is there anything a hat shop can do about that?...

At this point, I would just shim it a bit - add something like a strip of removable foam between the sweatband and the felt. It is likely to shrink a bit if it was just stretched (and not reblocked).

I'm sure others will offer suggestions.

Good luck,

David

 

[skyvue]

Many thanks for the suggestion, David.

 

[Dr Doran]

Half off-topic: I see an interesting trend in the two synagogues in my neighbourhood. Both are Orthodox, so most men wear some kind of head-covering all day, but:

in synagogue A, on a typical weekday, only some of the 60+ generation are wearing non-black fedoras, straw hats, caps or a homburg, while nearly all of the others, including teenagers, sport oversized black fedoras, and one guy wears a Hassidic fur thing. Also, only some of the older people wear a normal suit or jacket/trousers combination, while the others wear black.

In synagogue B, on a typical weekday, only some of the 60+ generation are wearing felt hats, straw hats or caps, while nearly all of the others sport small knitted skullcaps. Also, only a few of the older people wear a normal suit or jacket/trousers combination, while the others wear very casual clothing, and some undo their jackets before the service if they come straight from work where they have to wear a suit.

(I'd like to add that though I do have an opinion, I'm not judging anyone - it's a trend.)

Interesting. Interesting. I'm always fascinated by how things spread. (Yes, memes, or whatever ya want to call 'em.)

 

[Lensmaster]

I saw a good example of the diamond crease in "After the Thin Man" (1936). Do you suppose Matt Deckard and William Powell were roomates in college?
"That's a joke, son."
Senator Claghorn
1945

I had never noticed a diamond crease before. Of course I just recently started paying attention to hats. But recently I was watching The Thin Man Goes Home from 1944 and saw several hats with diamond creases in that movie.

 

[panamag8or]

At this point, I would just shim it a bit - add something like a strip of removable foam between the sweatband and the felt. It is likely to shrink a bit if it was just stretched (and not reblocked).

I'm sure others will offer suggestions.

Good luck,

David

I have used paper towels as shims before.

 

[ideaguy]

I had a friend who used $5. & $10. bills as shims for his one loose hat;
I thought he was a bit looney-and then he made sense by saying" I'm
never without some cash, in the case of an emergency, and even if I
simply want to buy somethinng unexpectedly (big collector), I can always
get it for less by having to take money out of my hat to pay". Clever.

 

[Dr Doran]

I had a friend who used $5. & $10. bills as shims for his one loose hat;
I thought he was a bit looney-and then he made sense by saying" I'm
never without some cash, in the case of an emergency, and even if I
simply want to buy somethinng unexpectedly (big collector), I can always
get it for less by having to take money out of my hat to pay". Clever.

And classy. I'd give him a discount.

 

[Miss Brill]

Where does the crease go in a (ladies) wool hat like this? It never looks right, it always look like someone hit me with a newspaper. [huh]