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What fedora or non-beret hat for casual wear

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memphislawyer

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
My wife thinks I look old-mannish when wearing a driving cap/beret/skull cap/whatever it is called. I have a charcoal grey Stetson Saxon I use for suits, and an Akubra something or other in the middle brown hue with a wider brim than the Stetson that I use when I am on the weekends, khaki or something calling for brown (though I have not worn it with blue suits).

Tonight, it was 44 degrees outside, misty and dank/damp. Wore black chinos, loafers, grey cowl-neck sweater and a black peacoat. Stetson would look out of place, and so would the brown Akubra. Dont want a formal look and I am thinking a black fedora or homburg or something would work better. The greyish beret she did not like.

So, I went to Jos A Bank and the hats they have on sale are, well, just dont like the look. Dont know that I want leather band on the outside and I am thinking perhaps a simple crushable wool hat, fedora or homburg, would be a good all-purpose hat.

Suggestions and links perhaps, maybe $50 budget>
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Perhaps I am dense this evening, but I do not understand the question.

I was looking at some Bailey crushable wools, and Jaxon brands at village hat shop.

My Akubra is called a stylemaster.

Thinking a Derby would not look right with leather jacket, or wool pea coat or navy blue wool overcoat.

A trilby, or another fedora or homburg?
 
#4 ·
Greek fisherman's cap? Especially with the peacoat? Otherwise, maybe a knit watch cap in a similar navy. Personally, I love driving caps but if she objects to your grey, how about something sporty in tweed? If you're looking for warm and durable, Orvis has a great. I have one and it got me through a rainy, cold, nasty two weeks in the Netherlands this spring.

Image
 
#5 ·
You may, or may not, like the crushable wool hat Sarge found, but on the casual to formal scale he certainly has found the right level of hat appropriate with a peacoat. (Personally, I like it except for the grommets.)
 
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#6 ·
memphislawyer said:
Perhaps I am dense this evening, but I do not understand the question.

I was looking at some Bailey crushable wools, and Jaxon brands at village hat shop.

My Akubra is called a stylemaster.

Thinking a Derby would not look right with leather jacket, or wool pea coat or navy blue wool overcoat.

A trilby, or another fedora or homburg?
Click to expand...
Sorry for being so cryptic. I'm running a fever today.

Historically, the homburg is the most dressy style (now that the top hat is...old hat) and the fedora would have been general business wear so I am not sure if these are a good choice for casual. And, generally, a derby would be the preserve of an Englishman.

I think a trilby is a good place to start. It is associated with horse racing and I think is casual enough for what you describe. You might also look at pork-pie and panama hats. I am sure the folks in hat-land (https://www.thefedoralounge.com/) would have some useful comments.

I have a hat from JAB, and it is OK at it's price point (and on sale) but you get what you pay for.

Once again, sorry my gag was not amusing.
 
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#7 ·
Orsini said:
You might also look at pork-pie and panama hats.
Click to expand...
Never, ever, ever wear a pork pie hat on your head. This is the worst looking piece of clothing ever invented.

It is the pork pie hat that engendered one of the great P.J. O'Rourke quotes of all time: "A hat should be taken off in the presence of a lady, and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks dumber than a hat."

While I don't subscribe entirely to P.J.'s sentiment, I can say without hesitation that it would be better to wear a half pound of dog shi t on your head than a pork pie hat.
 
#8 ·
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#9 ·
arkirshner said:
P.J. O'Rourke's father was the Buick dealer in Toledo. He, (P.J.) was a friend of a friend of my sister and he visited our house. He has done rather well for himself since then, but you will find that you will do better yourself if you do not take sartorial advise from someone from Toledo.
Better to take advise on pork pie hats from this guy https://images.search.yahoo.com/ima...ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11dgb87mq&sigb=13fbcl9k7&sigi=12h7f8s26&.crumb=8Sk2g2RWXcp
Click to expand...
Please understand that I take *every* kind of advice from Mr. O'Rourke!

And while I'm no expert on hat classification, Mr. Astaire's hat, in your included picture, looks more to my eye like a fedora than a PP. Again, I'll emphasize that I have no expertise in hats, but when I think of a pork pie hat, I think more of Gene Hackman in the French Connectio than Fred Astaire.

I'll admit that Mr. Astaire looks quite good in your included picture.
 
#10 ·
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#12 ·
arkirshner said:
I agree that the French Connection pork pie leaves something to be desired. Still, there are other versions, some quite attractive, see the examples here https://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?28705-Show-off-your-Porkpies&highlight=pork https://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?28705-Show-off-your-Porkpies&highlight=pork
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To me, those seem too tall to be called porkpies. And they have some actual shape to them, which I don't typically associate with a porkie.

My vitriol against porkpies comes from looks like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MarcusMillerHat.jpg


The hats are too short for their exaggerated brims, so the proportions look terrible. And their flat top, with no slope to any side, exaggerates the bad proportions even further.

However, just as their are bad examples of most any hat style to be found, perhaps my distaste for porkpies is based just on the bad porkpies I've seen, and the style as a whole can't be written off so easily.

Mea culpa.
 
#13 ·
Perhaps, but if there is a place for the Porkpie in men's hats it would to me seem to be restricted to those of round face. They needn't be short or portly (Calvin Cooledge comes to mind) but for those of us with long heads and faces, the porkpie should be avoided like the plague!
 
#15 · (Edited)
Hello Memphis Lawyer, hope your doing well?

I wear a real Navy Peacoat every once in awhile given to me by my older brother who was in the submarine service.

I wear a herringbone " newspaper boy hat " type of hat with my coat and bought one for under $25.00 from the www.villagehatshop.com and it is not a cheesy one it is rather well put together ,it is a Jaxon .

They have quite a bit of them to choose from and if your head is on the larger size you can get a bigger one the title the "big apple" .
Hope this helps.

All the Best , Fashion Frank
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
Went to Jos A Bank since hats are 70% off. I had a newsboy/driving cap from there and liked it, wife did not. They had a few hats on sale for $19, but none fit.

Went to Mister Hats in Poplar Plaza in Memphis. Found a few Baileys to try on, one Kangol. The Bailey Wynn and the Bailey Yates models felt great. Lite felt, the wool variety, water proof. The Yates had a brown/merlot leather band, and I did not want to call attention to the band as much, though it gave it a much more casual look. They swapped out the band for a black ribbon, stuck a Bailey pin in it and it was mine. Now wife says she did not like it, but hey, I asked her to go with me and she had 'better things to do then shop for hats".
 
#17 ·
In other words, she didn't vote. That'll teach her. You don't vote, you don't count. I would gently suggest that she can learn to like it.
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
Jack, tis true, I am an old man. and at 52, I can see that. But she tries to dress me and style my hair in something that tries to make me look younger. Had me to die my hair with Just for Men and my goatee, but now that my hair is thin on top, I am cutting it close, not quite as close as Matt Lauer but a 4 on clippers my stylist uses. And it is salt and pepper now and shaved goatee as it was almost pure white. Moustache still 75% black.
 
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memphislawyer
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