A reader question:
Dear Editor,
I was reading Country Life and saw the article: https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/curious-questions-when-and-why-did-we-stop-wearing-hats-and-is-it-time-to-start-again-266025.
I was wondering if anyone on the list wears a hat? I do not. I think it has to do with growing up and always wearing a baseball hat and my parents telling me if I continue to do that my hair will fall out. When you are young you believe anything your parents tell you.
I wear a tweed flat cap to the races. Even here in Virginia it’s unusual to see anyone wearing something other than a baseball cap at point-to-points or sanctioned meets.
ReplyDeleteI also wear it to hunt meets when the weather is cold. Then switch to my helmet,
Funny, but I never would have thought to wear my cap at school.
I like to wear hats, and own a variety.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young and going to school in Germany, I took up wearing the Basque style of beret (it has an inside leather band, and is flatter and larger in diameter than the French version). In German it’s called a “Basquen Muetze” (Basque Cap). Being floppy, you can tilt it in daring directions while being jaunty, and looking quite dashing in my opinion.
And for true Bogart swag, I have several felt Fedoras – one by Barsolino and the other by Stetson. Also, two straw Fedoras for summer by the same makers.
Two Cordings’ tweed caps, a Vermont Originals’ ski cap with flaps, an NHL hockey cap, a golf hat, and a fly-fishing hat decorated with colorful flies completes my cranial accessories.
They say that JFK killed the hat industry in 1960 by refusing to wear the mandatory Fedora (ALL men wore them before that – check out the movies, and newsreels from the 1940s and 50s.) It’s a shame – the Fedora is so much more sophisticated than a baseball cap.
Do you still wear the "Basquen Muetze". It does sound quite dashing. I have a French friend who wears a beret and it suits him perfectly. Mind you, he looks French even without the beret!
DeleteYes, I still wear my black Basque Cap now and then, and believe me, it attracts attention no matter what part of America (and would so in Britain too) you’re in. I guess people associate it with the WWII French resistance, military commandos, or Avant-Garde artists. And besides its looks, it also has the advantage of staying on your head in strong winds.
DeleteI picked up my current one about ten years ago on a visit to Bilboa to see the Guggenheim. It’s by Elosegui of Tolosa in Spain, although Salmagundi in Boston has a very nice one as well. I’d go for their 62cm size for a dramatic flop. Hope this helps.
https://salmagundiboston.com/products/basque-beret
https://www.rongreer.net/
Opps, I made a mistake. My Spanish cap by Elosegui is 12" in diameter, while the one offered by Salmagundi is French and is only 10." I recommend the Spanish one. Thanks.
DeleteMany thanks
DeleteThere's a book titled "Hatless Jack" debunking the myth of Kennedy killing the hat industry, which actually had been sinking rapidly since the '30s. And I could have retired at forty if I'd had a dollar for every time I read that JFK was hatless at his inauguration--to which he wore a top hat.
DeleteI started to wear hats again after going thin on top. My usual choice is a Garforth flat cap from Cordings in tweed, corduroy or linen. My trilbies tend to be worn at social occasions, e.g. tweed or felt in the cooler months and cotton calico or Panama in summer.
ReplyDeleteTilley's brimmed hats offer excellent sun protection, ideal for sailing, on the beach or by the pool. Failsworth and Bailey are two affordable brands that are available widely in retail stores and on the internet.
My old tweed flat caps, with my equally old european auto racing/brand pins!
ReplyDeleteI've been a hat wearer for years (partly due to being follically challenged). My mainstay for a large part of the year is a tweed flat cap, being a countryman. I have several but my favourites are from Schofell. I also wear a trilby on occasions (always at the races) and sometimes a tweed trilby. During the warmer months I wear a straw trilby or a Panama. I do also on occasion wear a baseball cap.
ReplyDeleteBall caps with golf or boat club logo... same with bucket hats.
ReplyDeleteI almost always wear some form of headwear when outdoors. I usually wear a Western hat - fur felt in fall and winter or other inclement weather, and straw in warm, sunny weather. I have a Tilley and various ballcaps, beanies, and one pub cap for hiking, running, Saturday afternoons, etc.
ReplyDeleteBall caps and Tilley hats to block harmful rays - I’ve had a couple of precancerous patches frozen off from a life hiking, paddling and sailing outside.
ReplyDeleteI wear an assortment of fedoras, depending on weather conditions and season, and like some of the other commenters I wear a beret at times, or an Ascot cap or crushable wool driving cap. I stay away from ballcaps now because it's impossible to look intelligent or mature when wearing one.
ReplyDeleteIn the summer, I wear a straw boater from Helen Kaminski and in the winter I wear a red fedora from Stetson that they made for "Agent Carter" television show.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, several genuine fedoras (Borsalino and Optimo Hats), a lovely tweed cap, and in warm weather a Panama hat. I know, I know. . .
ReplyDeleteKind Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
Ball cap for golf or exercise, Tilley for simply being outside, and Panama when relaxing. My son in law wears an Open Road. I am tempted.
ReplyDeleteI've worn hats for some years now. A brown wool felt semi-fedora, semi-safari style when it's chilly, a tan cotton safari style when it's warmer, and a Panama hat when it's hot out. I'm careful to get advice from a (woman) buddy when choosing hat styles and that seems to work out pretty well since I occasionally get compliments on them.
ReplyDeleteHanna (Walking hat Irish tweed) model. Wonderful hat/guaranteed compliments.
ReplyDeleteGot a couple of boonies, one in tan the other olive drab. Also have an old Tilley (which has not gone through an elephant although it kind of looks like it). But it doesn't squash into the pocket as well as the boonies do, so it now gets left at home.
ReplyDeleteTweed flat cap in colder weather; lighter version in warmer weather (O'Connell's has some nice ones), especially on the golf course. Also, I have a bunch of bucket hats and golf hats from my club.
ReplyDelete3 felt fedoras, 2 plaid flat caps, 1 Panama, 1 broad brimmed straw hat (for Newport Jazz Festival!!), a couple straw hats I hear for garden work, and a myriad of ball caps. I wear them all. I get compliments constantly for the fedoras.
ReplyDeleteI neglected to state, Meyer the Hatter in New Orleans is the premier hat shop for men.
ReplyDeleteI love to see a nice hat. Sadly, the only hats worn nowadays are by those who think a polyester, flat brimmed pot with a sports logo or vulgar saying is proper outerwear. And don't start me on those who refuse to take said hats off when entering a building, restaurant, church, etc.
ReplyDeleteYes, we rarely venture out without a hat. A tweed flat cap/newsboy type number when there’s a chill in the air and a Moriarty (not a “beanie”) when it’s colder. We like brims because we wear glasses and if it rains a bit… thus ball caps are ok, even with a logo. Meanwhile a wide, floppy or not, brim works in the garden. Blaze orange is best for being in the woods, and is also good to wear if walking on the road. If it ever gets good and cold again we’ll wear the nice black Persian lamb hat. It’s fur guaranteed taken from animals who died a natural death. We sometimes wear a fedora in the big city or across the pond. Again, if it’s a little cold, and usually at night. We take off hats when we’re inside. So we don’t wear cowboy hats.
ReplyDeleteI use a tweed cap from Lock and Co. Hatters with folding ear flaps which I wear most of the fall and winter. Sometimes I’ll substitute a Cording’s tweed cap on Sundays. Once the weather is warmer, I’ll wear a ball cap in most casual situations and sometimes a Panama if the situation calls for a bit more dignity. If I’m in a more cosplay mood, I’ll wear a British Pith helmet.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the season and weather. In winter its an quilted insulated black wool cap from Wigens with folding ear flaps. In milder weather its a brown tweed cap from Biddy Murphy to match the same fabric tweed sport coat. In summer its a ball cap for very informal occasions or a brown leather stetson style hat.
ReplyDeleteI wear straw hats all summer, and I have a Trilby I wearing the fall and winter. While they can look affected on men who are too young to carry them off, they suit later middle age beautifully, and I'm safely past the draft age of fashion anyway.
ReplyDeleteJFK did not wear hats. That's when it ended.
ReplyDeleteThere are innumerable photographs of JFK wearing his fedoras.
Delete