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Buying Hats.

7K views 51 replies 16 participants last post by  Flanderian 
#1 ·
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! :eek:) 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.









 
#2 ·
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! :eek:) 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.
 
#7 ·
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.
 
#4 ·
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!
 
#5 ·
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.
 
#6 ·
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.
 
#13 ·
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
 
#20 ·
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.
 
#17 ·
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."
 
#19 ·
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.
 
#21 ·
That's my understanding as well. However, having begun losing my hair clear back in high school I wasn't one of those younger men who shunned them even in the 60's. Strangely, Cabela's carried a fedora for a while they called the Archer's hat. Possibly because Fred Bear always wore a hat? Anyway, I still have it and wear it fishing and deer hunting.
 
#26 ·
Does anyone know the status of Cervo these days? I have a number of good fedoras, but the couple I have from Cervo are hands-down the best. I know they are or were a very respected firm, but there's not much on their website these days except from some strange-looking "Alpine hats."
 
#29 ·
Cervo the maker of Barbisio hats. Always in the shadow of Borsalino.
I had one Barbisio purchased in the 70s, a fine hat but don't expect the same quality today. Worth & Worth I believe used, may still use Cervo bodies. Purchased a hat from him about 8-10 years ago and wasn't impressed. Seems he's gaining in celebrity and has an extensive range of models, but hang on to you seat.
 
#30 ·
+1. Based on a quick review of the website, it appears the company has grown considerably. My three Tilley hats continue to serve me well, though admittedly, I've gotten virtually no wear at all from the winter hat over the past three years (Central Florida's weather does not require a winter hat!). I've been enjoying the cotton poplin versions on a regular basis for the past 12+ years and they show absolutely no sign(s) of giving up the ghost. I suspect they will outlast me!;)
 
#34 ·
I love hats. Love them. I have my late grandfather's "special occasion only" fedora, but its too small for me. A nice heirloom, though. My wife has never NOT chuckled when I've tried on a hat. "Dork" is her favorite adjective at those moments. I cannot make them work. Only my Yankees baseball cap works--and that doesn't really count.
 
#35 ·
I could reply; then you've never tried on the right hat! ;)

But seriously, different men require different hats. For myself I've found that while some are flattering, others make me look ridiculous.

This morning I watched the 2006 film, The Illusionist again. It's a great hat movie full of great hats, as Paul Giamatti demonstrates below -

 
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