Why fedora-wearing IS coming back in style

[Marc Chevalier]

.

The key, I think, lies in why fedora-wearing went out of style in the first place ... and why this "why" no longer applies.

In the early '60s, the "dry look for men" began to replace slicked-down styles and crewcuts. Suddenly, hair had to be thick and dry, with a little bit of hairspray to hold the volume. As you can imagine, hat-wearing would mold such hair into modern art sculptures. Fedoras and homburgs had to go.

Today, however, is a different story. Many men, both young and older, have been wearing their hair quite short for the past 20 years. For at least the past 10 years, a considerable number have been shaving their heads. These styles are completely in synch with fedora-wearing. Furthermore, practically everyone has been wearing baseball caps since the '90s. (Hey, they're hats!) Going from a cap to a fedora is not such a big jump.

Therefore ... I predict that fedoras really and truly are returning to the fore. Gentlemen, hold on to your hats; everyone else will want 'em!

.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

The only problem with that, Marc, is that the infrastructure of the world no longer supports hat wearing: restaurants have neither coat checks or hat racks, cars no longer have the headroom, there are no shelves for hats under the seats at theatures, and the trends in dress continue to get sloppier and sloppier.

Though, my friend, I share your hope. All of the above can change, but it would take a sweeping global change to do so, just as we saw in the 1960s in the other direction.

 

[Naphtali]

HJ:

Hence the rationale for creating private clubs, and for cultivating any night spot that attempts to cultivate you.

If you build it, we will come -- The Paraphrase.

 

[Lorne]

I don't know about that...

I can't say that the Fedora is coming back because men are going for the dry look. I think, speaking for myself as a new Fedora wearer, that it is more profound than that.

The Fedora to me calls back to the 1930's to 1950's. Men is those days were solid, focused and substantial. They were in many ways our "Greatest Generation". We lost that in the 1960's, when American masculinity lost its way during Viet Nam, mutated into the 1970's Disco fop, the 1980's Mr. Sensitivity, and the 1990's Corporate Raider.

I think Indiana Jones has a lot to do with it. Indiana was a hero of the old-school. Just for a moment contrast Indiana Jones, who was positive, humane, and human, with Dirty Harry, who was negative, violent as a rule, and almost mechanical.

I want to be solid and certain, like Grand-dad was. And, I want people to know I'm solid. My Fedora does my talking for me...


Lorne

 

[Raindog]

It may be that fedoras will come back in style with the 'Oh brother, where art thou?' Look....In other words sloppy or work clothes worn with a fedora...In fact not a million miles from workmen in the 30's and 40's wearing them.
I tend to like this look, as I can wear my fedora with my paint splattered work clothes and still look cool
I can picture tracksuits being worn with them....Or maybe that's going too far.....[huh]


Jeff.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

We are seeing roof lines of cars starting to go up in recent years, though. The Chrysler PT Cruiser is one example, and I've been toying with the idea of getting one of those little Scion xB boxes, which are very compact and parkable and yet have a very high roof and are very comfortable to sit in despite their small size. I think a lot of people buy trucks and SUVs for the headroom, as well, and makers of passenger cars are taking notice.

Still, I'd love to find a nice 1938 Plymouth Coupe like Bogey drove in The Big Sleep.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

It may be that fedoras will come back in style with the 'Oh brother, where art thou?' Look....In other words sloppy or work clothes worn with a fedora...In fact not a million miles from workmen in the 30's and 40's wearing them.
I tend to like this look, as I can wear my fedora with my paint splattered work clothes and still look cool
I can picture tracksuits being worn with them....Or maybe that's going too far.....[huh]


Jeff.

My relatives in the late 30's.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Fedoras, or something like them, had better come into style!

If anyone thinks a ballcap is protecting him/her from skin cancer, it isn't. We are all supposed to be protecting ourselves these days from excessive sun, the ozone layer, etc. What more stylish way to do so than with a beautiful fedora? Or Aussie hat, or cowboy hat, or straw, but for elegance, nothing beats the fedora.

Protective hats are needed, especially now with all the young guys and their shaved heads! Instant sun-stroke.

karol

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The only problem with that, Marc, is that the infrastructure of the world no longer supports hat wearing: restaurants have neither coat checks or hat racks ...

Today's men would not take fedoras off while in restaurants, just as they don't take off baseball caps; therefore, restaurants wouldn't need to put in coat checks and hat racks.

... cars no longer have the headroom, there are no shelves for hats under the seats at theatures, and the trends in dress continue to get sloppier and sloppier.

Cars don't have much headroom, but many of them can accomodate a fedora with a low crown. (For this reason, high-crowned fedoras may not come back in style.)

... there are no shelves for hats under the seats at theatures ...

Theater seats don't have hat shelves, but men can always place their hats on their laps, or on the empty seat next to them. In the worst case, they'll leave their hat in the car when going to a theater. (How do cowboy hat-wearers in Texas handle this, I wonder?)

... and the trends in dress continue to get sloppier and sloppier.

Plenty of sloppy guys are wearing stingy brim fedoras (or trilbys, at least) right now. Kevin Federline, for instance.


.

 

[Raindog]

Jm, great pics! Your relatives totally demonstrate the coolness of the fedora.
I've changed my opinion recently. I was against the fedoras coming back too much because of the quality possibly going down, and the price going up on the vintage lids. I'm wavering now though. I think it'd be pretty good to see lots more people in them, even if the prices go up.

Jeff.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I can't say that the Fedora is coming back because men are going for the dry look.

Lorne, men went for the dry look in the '60s and '70s. The dry look didn't bring back fedora-wearing; it nearly killed it.

It's not the dry look, but rather today's very short hair and "the bald look", that will probably bring fedoras back to the fore.

 

[Lorne]

Horse Feathers!

Lorne, men went for the dry look in the '60s and '70s. The dry look didn't bring back fedora-wearing; it nearly killed it.

It's not the dry look, but rather today's very short hair and "the bald look", that will probably bring fedoras back to the fore.

I can't agree with you on this one. I think men are wearing shorter hair because the uni-sex looked died out, and men are looking to appear more traditional. It is that return to tradition that is bringing the Fedora back!


Lorne

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... men are looking to appear more traditional. It is that return to tradition that is bringing the Fedora back!

I think we may both be right!

 

[16_sparrows]

The only problem with that, Marc, is that the infrastructure of the world no longer supports hat wearing: restaurants have neither coat checks or hat racks, cars no longer have the headroom, there are no shelves for hats under the seats at theatures, and the trends in dress continue to get sloppier and sloppier.

Though, my friend, I share your hope. All of the above can change, but it would take a sweeping global change to do so, just as we saw in the 1960s in the other direction.

Perhaps if Fedoras do come back into style rather than coat checks and cars changing it would be the ettiquitte that changed. When stepping into a car one would take off their hat and place it on their lap. When sitting in a theater one would rest it on their knee. Women have had to deal with this extra "thing" to deal with (purses) for years and we have been able to manage with resting it on our lap or beside us.

It may also depend on where you are geographically. For example, I live in Chicago where all resturants have coat & hat hooks and even a coat check.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... When stepping into a car one would take off their hat and place it on their lap.

Or on the seat next to them. Or on the back seat. Or even in the trunk. No big deal.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Today's men would not take fedoras off while in restaurants, ... ....Plenty of sloppy guys are wearing stingy brim fedoras (or trilbys, at least) right now. Kevin Federline, for instance.

All good points and since I already agree with you; no sense in arguing.

I think that the concern over skin cancer will bring back wide brimmed hats. This is one such shift that could tip all fashion. Also, when you consider that men have worn some sort of headwear since the Middle Ages, the last fifty years may be just a blip!

Personally, one of my signature looks is walking around in a suit (indoors) with my hat in hand, fiddling with it absentmindedly (think Jimmy Stewart in "Vertigo").

 

[Marc Chevalier]

All good points and since I already agree with you; no sense in arguing.

Arguing? Are you kidding? I enjoy reading your points, and I always learn from them! You make me examine my opinions, and that's a very good thing. Cheers! :cheers1:

 

[J. M. Stovall]

We went to the movie Saturday night and I just put my Fedora in my lap. As long as you're not eating the nachos it should not be a problem.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

That would be a great fringe benefit of the fedora resurgence. Men would have no space on their laps for nachos. No more crunching sounds during the movie!

.

 

[John in Covina]

To harken back to an earlier age.

Many people have sentimnetal feelings and understand nostaligia. Often thru the passage of the decades you get revivals of cultures and styles. Many of us are of the age where we are that last portion that remembers the time when all men wore hats and actively seek a fedora revival. Many have learned thru photos and film of the era. What they associate with the hat wearing of the past is all things good and even some things bad (gangsters) of that era. Solid men, plain spoken, perhaps even stoic, projecting manhood adulthood and manliness via their poise and style. They exuded an underlying quiet confidence. A time of entrepenual spirit, a time of commitment to strong character. The fedora is a touchstone to these things and many of us fall under that spell.

Will it come back, perhaps, but the strength of its draw and the era it represents is very strong with us and many others and so there will be an undercurrent of mens style that will continue to include Fedoras for a long time. Count me in.

On the power of Nostalgia: :fedora:
When it comes to sentiment for the past and nostagia I often think of Steinbeck who asked in "the Log Book of the Sea of Cortez" did early man tire of the mundane attacks of sabertoothed tiger and wooly mammoth pining for the old days of the tyrannosaus rex and the terydactl?

For those that have not read the "Log Book of the Sea of Cortez" I reccomend it fervantly. It explains more about the common man and is filled with great fun. The intro "About Ed Ricketts" is a must for anyone that enjoyed the novel "Cannery Row" it is Steinbeck at his most sublime.

Also the part about the Outboard motor (The Hansen Sea Cow) is comedy at its best for Steinbeck.