[Flanderian]

Knowing that there are some serious connoisseurs of the chapeau, it is with trepidation I confess that I have only one fur felt (I.e., real!) hat. But I am beginning to believe it requires companionship, as my wizened pate grows yearly ever more needy.

I know my size, and enjoy shopping on-line. Having read from the more seasoned that Akubra is well thought of, I have (Like a truffle pig! ) sniffed out a source that offers both a generous selection and reasonable prices.

The difficulty only being, do the photos on the site tell me enough about their looks? Less than I might wish actually. So it's fortunate that a different retailer was kind enough to post short video reviews that offer far more than a simple photo can.

I'm posting some, in the even that anyone has an interest in hats in general, or Akubra in particular, as it offers entertaining, informative snippets of video which I find both enjoyable and enlightening.

 

[EclecticSr.]

I know my size, and enjoy shopping on-line. Having read from the more seasoned that Akubra is well thought of, I have (Like a truffle pig! ) sniffed out a source that offers both a generous selection and reasonable prices.

Can't go wrong with Akubra fedoras. I currently own 6, I'm partial to the Campdraft deluxe model. You get a lot of hat for the money. One of the Aussie dealers offers the campdraft in a color called bluegrass, i'ts a deep lovely shade of green. The style may not be to your liking, it comes open crowned, but worth looking at.

 

[JBierly]

I have two of the Akubra fedoras. Well made and a nice value.

 

[derum]

The Akubra hats look very nice, though I have no experience with them., but I want the bogart hat! I have a number of hats of varying quality, which very rarely get worn due to the heat here. The hat I wear most often whist pottering about is a lovely ultra fino Panama from Ecuador.I also have a rollable Panama from Lock & Co., and my fathers Coke (Bowler or derby) from the same company dated 1964. Generally I will wear newsboy caps or a beret to hide my messy hair after riding!

 

[EclecticSr.]

Check out everything Australia, cheaper prices. I've dealt with all of them and they all provide great service. Another is hats direct, higher prices. You'll find that each may offer different styles than the others. Given the current exchange rate they are quite a bargain.

 

[Oldsarge]

I have a pair of Akubra fedoras, one in carbon grey and one in acorn. They pretty much fill all my needs in cool weather and are augmented by a decent panama in summer--and a whole shelf full of driving caps.

 

[Flanderian]

Can't go wrong with Akubra fedoras. I currently own 6, I'm partial to the Campdraft deluxe model. You get a lot of hat for the money. One of the Aussie dealers offers the campdraft in a color called bluegrass, i'ts a deep lovely shade of green. The style may not be to your liking, it comes open crowned, but worth looking at.

Thanks for weighing in! Considering your collection, I was hoping you might offer an opinion. Having purchased enough hats, though only one felt, I long ago learned that for whatever odd reason the style that most flatters me is a center dent, with a tapered crown and the brim worn down all around. A brim from around 2 1/2" to 3" being desired.

The two Akubra hats which catch my fancy are the CEO and Adventurer. I grew up wearing satin lined, nicely finished dress hats, and like the satin binding on the CEO's edge. The only difficulty is that I'm perplexed as to the felt color I might wish to consider. I'm fond of hats in the green and brown families as they suit both my coloring and wardrobe. The CEO fern would be splendid except that I already have a lightweight Borsalino in forest green.

Grey and black do not really appeal, and I note the Adventurer is available in their Regency Fawn which would be a useful color but unfortunately might not flatter me. Images I have found show hats ranging in color from a taupe-ish grey to medium brown, whereas a richer medium brown felt would be my ideal.

I should add, that should I purchase one, it most likely wouldn't be until the autumn.

 

[EclecticSr.]

Thanks for weighing in! Considering your collection, I was hoping you might offer an opinion. Having purchased enough hats, though only one felt, I long ago learned that for whatever odd reason the style that most flatters me is a center dent, with a tapered crown and the brim worn down all around. A brim from around 2 1/2" to 3" being desired.

The two Akubra hats which catch my fancy are the CEO and Adventurer. I grew up wearing satin lined, nicely finished dress hats, and like the satin binding on the CEO's edge. The only difficulty is that I'm perplexed as to the felt color I might wish to consider. I'm fond of hats in the green and brown families as they suit both my coloring and wardrobe. The CEO fern would be splendid except that I already have a lightweight Borsalino in forest green.

Grey and black do not really appeal, and I note the Adventurer is available in their Regency Fawn which would be a useful color but unfortunately might not flatter me. Images I have found show hats ranging in color from a taupe-ish grey to medium brown, whereas a richer medium brown felt would be my ideal.

I should add, that should I purchase one, it most likely wouldn't be until the autumn.

Happy to weigh in. The hattery has the CEO in fern green, I don't believe the others carry that color, about $3.00 more in price but according to their website it's in stock. I myself may purchase it within a week or so. If I do, more likely will, I'll report back and provide you details especially the color, I'm fond of the fern color though don't actually own one, only the Campdraft in bluegrass which appears to be a darker shade of green.Hope this helps.

 

[StephenRG]

Two years down the road, Flanderian starts a thread, "are the world's best hats made in Australia?"

 

[Flanderian]

Happy to weigh in. The hattery has the CEO in fern green, I don't believe the others carry that color, about $3.00 more in price but according to their website it's in stock. I myself may purchase it within a week or so. If I do, more likely will, I'll report back and provide you details especially the color, I'm fond of the fern color though don't actually own one, only the Campdraft in bluegrass which appears to be a darker shade of green.Hope this helps.

Thank you! Looks like a great hat. Would certainly like to know what you find if you get one.

Do you happen to own, or have seen any in their Regency Fawn?

Two years down the road, Flanderian starts a thread, "are the world's best hats made in Australia?"

:happy: :happy: :happy:

 

[EclecticSr.]

Do you happen to own, or have seen any in their Regency Fawn?

I do not nor have I seen one in the flesh.

 

[paul winston]

Knowing that there are some serious connoisseurs of the chapeau, it is with trepidation I confess that I have only one fur felt (I.e., real!) hat. But I am beginning to believe it requires companionship, as my wizened pate grows yearly ever more needy.

I know my size, and enjoy shopping on-line. Having read from the more seasoned that Akubra is well thought of, I have (Like a truffle pig! ) sniffed out a source that offers both a generous selection and reasonable prices.

The difficulty only being, do the photos on the site tell me enough about their looks? Less than I might wish actually. So it's fortunate that a different retailer was kind enough to post short video reviews that offer far more than a simple photo can.

I'm posting some, in the even that anyone has an interest in hats in general, or Akubra in particular, as it offers entertaining, informative snippets of video which I find both enjoyable and enlightening.

 

[paul winston]

The demise of the hat industry in the USA is attributed to JFK not wearing a hat. Chipp did sell him3 hats. If you look at old photos he would often carry a hat - hat industry employees voted.
In 1960 if a salesman called on my father to sell him anything, if he didn't have a hat my father would take him downstairs and make him buy a hat before he would look at his wares.
I miss the "good ole days"
Paul Winston
Chipp Neckwear
www.chippneckwear.com

 

[Oldsarge]

Hats are good for you. Wear one.

 

[eagle2250]

^Indeed...sun damage can be very persuasive! That's what got me into them.

 

[Mike Petrik]

In early 20th century American fiction an untrustworthy male character was often introduced as hatless or "the hatless man."

 

[derum]

Tim Boucher, the proprietor of hat outfitter Bates in London's Jermyn Street, confirms that the hat watershed in Britain came in the 1960s.
"The younger generation had longer hair and that stopped them wanting to wear hats as much," he says.
"People were also getting more affluent - they were buying cars, and weren't needing to wear hats."

 

[Flanderian]

I do not nor have I seen one in the flesh.

Ah!. . . Thank you again!

 

[williamson]

Tim Boucher, the proprietor of hat outfitter Bates in London's Jermyn Street, confirms that the hat watershed in Britain came in the 1960s.
"The younger generation had longer hair and that stopped them wanting to wear hats as much," he says.
"People were also getting more affluent - they were buying cars, and weren't needing to wear hats."

The statements in quotation marks are certainly true, but the decline of hat-wearing in Britain was under way by the middle 1930s.

 

[WICaniac]

The demise of the hat industry in the USA is attributed to JFK not wearing a hat. Chipp did sell him3 hats. If you look at old photos he would often carry a hat - hat industry employees voted.
In 1960 if a salesman called on my father to sell him anything, if he didn't have a hat my father would take him downstairs and make him buy a hat before he would look at his wares.
I miss the "good ole days"
Paul Winston
Chipp Neckwear
www.chippneckwear.com

I've read the argument elsewhere that JFK had less to do with the demise of proper hats than the ubiquity of family cars (less walking outdoors and reliance on public transit) and the general liberalization of standards of dress associated with the '60s. This makes sense to me, as older older gentlemen were unlikely to stop wearing hats because of what JFK did and younger men were unlikely to look to an establishment figure like JFK for style cues in the first place. LBJ of course brought hats back to the White House, but he did so Texas style, which hardly inspired emulation.