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Why do you wear a fedora or cap?

hatguy1

One Too Many
Messages
1,145
Location
Da Pairee of da prairee
"Because I can", "Because I want to", and "Because I like them" are probably the best responses; no further explanation necessary. Still...

I agree with those reasons, for sure! Unfortunately, I've reached the age where people seeing me wearing my stylish fedoras and think less that I'm trying to make a fashion statement or show my independent nature or whatever and...sigh...instead think I'm just some old guy wearin' a hat! Bummer that, but still awesome fun for me (and all of us) to be able to wear our stylish lids.
 

daddy0d0

A-List Customer
Messages
452
Location
Maryland
Im not sure if this thread has ever been done before but here goes. Why do you wear a hat, what was/is your motivation or your inspiration to wear one.
I worked in the golf industry as an instructor for years and hated putting on sunblock, (donot like the greasy feeling.) Contracted skin cancer 15 years ago and that was one of the contributing factors but I have always liked the look of an "outback style" and the look of fedoras.
 
Messages
10,839
Location
vancouver, canada
The seed was planted by my father who passed away when I was 10. In most of the photos of him he is wearing a fedora. Bought my first stingy brim in 1961 when I was 11. In my house moves over the years his hats and my early ones have fallen by the wayside. But this whole collecting thing is fairly new. I think my father would shudder in displeasure at the thought his son would own such an obscene number of hats.
 

Richard Morgan

One Too Many
Messages
1,642
Location
Central Tesxas
I grew up wearing western hats and boots, my Dad always had a Stetson on when he left the house. In my mid 30s I lived in Northern California and bought a wool Indy style hat for hiking and camping. I liked it so much I've been wearing them since. I like the way I look in a hat and my very stylish 91 year old mother-in-law says I look good in a hat.
 

Wesslyn

Practically Family
Messages
836
Location
Monmouth, Illinois
For some reason it just seems natural and logical. I suppose the same reasons men wore hats daily in "olden times."
Just like one may have a favorite shirt or pair of jeans or shoes, grabbing your go-to hat and going just seems to make sense.
It certainly doesn't hurt that hats look totally bad@ss.
 

Paravians

New in Town
Messages
47
Location
Ireland
Personally I wear fedoras because I am bold, my head is always cold! Plus I have discovered that they keep rain and wind and low sun out of my face/eyes/glasses AND ears, so I never go anywhere without a hat.... don't even own an umbrella anymore! It is a very practical garment and I am all about utilitarian clothing, plus it's become a sort of hobby.
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
I wear fedoras for a few different reasons.

#1: the first time a doctor uses the words "skin cancer" in an examination you will become a believer in limiting sun exposure. The first time you have biopsies you will become a zealot.

#2: I like how they, and I, look.

#3: I lament how we as a society have lost so much of our decorum and pride in being well-groomed. Men in particular have let this pervasive casualness make us slobs. Just my personal opinion; not trying to offend anyone.
 
Messages
12,006
Location
East of Los Angeles
...#1: the first time a doctor uses the words "skin cancer" in an examination you will become a believer in limiting sun exposure. The first time you have biopsies you will become a zealot...
I can't say I took it that far, but after they carved a bit of cancer off of my nose in 2013 I did start paying more attention to sun protection. Like daddy0d0 I don't like the greasy feeling of sunblock on my face, so I chose hats instead since I'd begun wearing them 5 years earlier. Besides, it's as good an excuse as any for buying more hats. ;)

...#3: I lament how we as a society have lost so much of our decorum and pride in being well-groomed. Men in particular have let this pervasive casualness make us slobs. Just my personal opinion; not trying to offend anyone.
No offense taken; I've always been a slob. :cool:
 

OldStrummer

Practically Family
Messages
552
Location
Ashburn, Virginia USA
I suppose like most boys, I liked donning hats to suit whatever game or fantasy I was playing. Cowboy hats, baseball caps, an Australian digger hat when I lived in Southeast Asia, scout hats, etc. When I got older and golfed with my dad, I would wear a cotton stingy brim/pork pie.

Later years saw me wearing hats less and less, as they didn't "fit" my lifestyle or activity level. Oh, I'd wear a runners hat running (which I did a lot of), and I'd wear a baseball cap to root for my favorite team, but as I got older I found caps and beanies doing horrible things to my hair when I took them off (my old-fashioned sense of proppriety requires me to doff my hat when I go indoors). I bought a couple of hats earlier this year to wear on hiking trips, and one straw fedora from a baseball game, and my fascination for hats returned. I've decided that I'm old enough now not to care what others think of me or my fashion sense, and hats do wonders keeping my head warm and my hair manageable.
 
Messages
18,180
2: I like how they, and I, look.
And you forgot...Handsome!

I can't say I took it that far, but after they carved a bit of cancer off of my nose in 2013 I did start paying more attention to sun protection.
Me either. I've had 15 MOHS surgeries for Basal cell & squamous cell carcinoma. I've literally had 100's, maybe a thousand precancerous actinic keratosis frozen off with liquid nitrogen. No big deal, it takes yrs & yrs before Basal & squamous cell metastasis & becomes deadly. Melanoma is another matter. Mine is a result of my lifestyle & career, & if I had it to do over again I wouldn't change a thing.
 

crawlinkingsnake

A-List Customer
Messages
419
Location
West Virginia
I grew up wearing a ball cap. Yes, ball CAP. Baseball players don't wear hats, they wear a cap. Later coaching football wore a visor on the practice field over 30 years. All during that time fedoras slowly crept into my psyche. Now, even though I still like my visors in summer, I wear fedoras, straw and felt both summer and winter. Why? Because they just feel right and so classy. :cool:
Watching Turner Classic Movies don't hurt either.....
 

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