In comparison to many of you, I'm a baby when it comes to wearing wide-brimmed hats (but not hats in general - I've always worn those).
I was thinking about my first collection of vintage hats several years ago, and how I only have one hat from that remaining bunch. I was just getting into collecting vintage fedoras and wasn't yet knowledgeable enough to know what looked proper on me, so I had several duds that made their way to eBay eventually. I basically bid on every vintage fedora that would fit me in an effort to find out what did or didn't work. I do this from time to time -- a sort of purging of the unworns, so to speak. It's an effective way to retain only the hats of the quality and appearance that work for me consistently enough to justify their retention.
I've probably gone through four or five purgings in the past 2 years, but only one hat has remained with me throughout them all -- my Herbert Johnson sold by Brooks Brothers that I ended up winning for $33 via eBay's Buy It Now! (more photographs are here) within 30 minutes of it being listed. I have to take it to Oscar at South Street Hats for a reblock because it's so floppy now that it's not really retaining any sort of shape at all, and there's no snap left in the snap brim. Nonetheless, it will never be included in a purge. It's still the only 7 5/8 Herbert Johnson that I've seen on eBay since I started scouring that place regularly 3 years ago, and unless I find another that's even better than this one but in the same reddish-brown color, it's staying right here.
What hat of yours has survived the most purges?
I was thinking about my first collection of vintage hats several years ago, and how I only have one hat from that remaining bunch. I was just getting into collecting vintage fedoras and wasn't yet knowledgeable enough to know what looked proper on me, so I had several duds that made their way to eBay eventually. I basically bid on every vintage fedora that would fit me in an effort to find out what did or didn't work. I do this from time to time -- a sort of purging of the unworns, so to speak. It's an effective way to retain only the hats of the quality and appearance that work for me consistently enough to justify their retention.
I've probably gone through four or five purgings in the past 2 years, but only one hat has remained with me throughout them all -- my Herbert Johnson sold by Brooks Brothers that I ended up winning for $33 via eBay's Buy It Now! (more photographs are here) within 30 minutes of it being listed. I have to take it to Oscar at South Street Hats for a reblock because it's so floppy now that it's not really retaining any sort of shape at all, and there's no snap left in the snap brim. Nonetheless, it will never be included in a purge. It's still the only 7 5/8 Herbert Johnson that I've seen on eBay since I started scouring that place regularly 3 years ago, and unless I find another that's even better than this one but in the same reddish-brown color, it's staying right here.
What hat of yours has survived the most purges?
