Where to buy a hat
Dear all, I am having chemotherapy treatment at the moment and my hair has started to fall out. I live in Oxford UK, but am currently unable to travel due to very low energy levels. I have always had a very good head of hair so have not needed a hat before. I want to buy a hat that will see me through the winter in style ( not baseball or beanie hats!). Can you recommend a style that is likely to work well and a supplier who will do mail order- a visit to Jermyn street is out of the question currently
Morning MRJ,
Sorry about the reason for your need to wear a hat, but nevertheless you will cut a dash.
I do hope it all works out for you.
Try Locks hatters, also in a smaller way but equally good are Bates hats. Both do mail order, you just need to know your head size.
Best of luck.
Sorry about the reason for your need to wear a hat, but nevertheless you will cut a dash.
I do hope it all works out for you.
Try Locks hatters, also in a smaller way but equally good are Bates hats. Both do mail order, you just need to know your head size.
Best of luck.
I second the good wishes and add my compliments for turning an unfavourable situation into the opportunity to acquire a nice hat. Gotta smile at that! 
You asked about style. Obviously, there is an element of personal taste but I think that a dark brown Trilby is very versatile from tweed jackets to fairly smart suits and Lock make very nice ones.
You asked about style. Obviously, there is an element of personal taste but I think that a dark brown Trilby is very versatile from tweed jackets to fairly smart suits and Lock make very nice ones.
My best wishes for your treatment and return to health. That being said, a good hat can raise your spirits as well as protect your head. As you need a hat now rather than wait for one to be made then I would also recommend Locks or Bates. I have found both to be very helpful on the phone or by email and both do mail order. You may want to consider a hat and a cap which will cover most occasions. For the hat I would suggest a fur felt rather than wool felt, it looks better, feels better and shapes better, the suggestion of a brown trilby is good, a very versatile hat. Also look at the fedoras if you want a little more flamboyance. For more casual occasions a cap would be useful, I like the eight piece style, also called gatsby or baker boy.
My very best wishes to you.
My very best wishes to you.
MRJ,
Get well soon man. You'll like wearing a hat so much you'll continue the pleasure even when the hair grows back.
The Burlington model in brown by Bates is my choice.
Cheers
Get well soon man. You'll like wearing a hat so much you'll continue the pleasure even when the hair grows back.
The Burlington model in brown by Bates is my choice.
Cheers
Dear MRJ,MRJ wrote: Can you recommend a style that is likely to work well and a supplier who will do mail order- a visit to Jermyn street is out of the question currently
I hope you get well soon.
I think a dark brown Chelsea fedora from Lock & Co. would be perfect for winter. Elegant but still versatile. If you want something a bit more informal, softer felt and with a lower profile, their Trilbys are excellent too. If you buy only one hat, maybe the latter would be preferred.
If you can't make it to St. James's Street, they'll provide instructions on self-measuring your head and a chart with their corresponding sizes, and of course they'll mail it to you in a box.
Warm regards
I agree a fedora or trilby would be a very versatile hat. Also worth considering is a tweed or balmoral cap. It should be nice and warm and perfectly suitable in most parts of Oxford from going down the pub to a visit to the Ashmolean, and fine with jacket and tie or with jeans and Barbour. Lock's and Bates both have good selections in their online stores.
I also enjoy wearing a beret occasionally. Others (like my wife) will tell you it looks naff but you will know otherwise! Never pair a beret with a trench coat, however, unless your wife's name is Betty ("Some Mothers ...").
I also enjoy wearing a beret occasionally. Others (like my wife) will tell you it looks naff but you will know otherwise! Never pair a beret with a trench coat, however, unless your wife's name is Betty ("Some Mothers ...").
Dear all,
Thank you for your advice. I would have liked to see the colours and styles of hat up close but energy levels did not permit. So I worked from the websites and bought a navy fedora from Lock& co. I get loads of positive comments as I wear it whenever I go out- not that I am able to do this frequently. I borrowed this idea from an old boss who unfortunately died from cancer some years ago. When he started losing his hair he bought a hat and looked splendid in it. Because of the practical need it was not costume. I am not really sure why hat usage fell away as for many men it is extremely practical
Thank you for your advice. I would have liked to see the colours and styles of hat up close but energy levels did not permit. So I worked from the websites and bought a navy fedora from Lock& co. I get loads of positive comments as I wear it whenever I go out- not that I am able to do this frequently. I borrowed this idea from an old boss who unfortunately died from cancer some years ago. When he started losing his hair he bought a hat and looked splendid in it. Because of the practical need it was not costume. I am not really sure why hat usage fell away as for many men it is extremely practical
Can't argue with a navy fedora... Very versatile and smart.
All the best with your present challenge, MJR... and when it's all behind you, you'll still have a damn nice hat!
All the best with your present challenge, MJR... and when it's all behind you, you'll still have a damn nice hat!
I have a nice brown trilby from bates, probably the Burlington.
A fedora won't work for my long narrow face; too high in the crown.
A tweed cap is best simply because it stays tight on my head when the wind blows and is easy to fold up and put in your coat pocket.
A hat is not much good; it doesn't keep you warm, blows off your head with the slightest gust and is just one more thing to carry and lose when traveling.
I have locks voyageur which is a waste, the felt is too flimsy, it doesn't hold it's shape as a result and generally it's just not a serious hat.
Still, hats are good to keep the rain off your head and when wet, they will reliably shrink.
They keep the sun out of your eyes too and look good on some faces but not many.
You won't look like bogart because you're just the wrong generation and anyway your girlfriend isn't Bacall.
It's probably best to wait till your 60s to wear a serious hat otherwise you may just look like an ironic fop buts that not necessarily so. There are exceptions to that rule too.
I generally like hats. I like ascots too.
A fedora won't work for my long narrow face; too high in the crown.
A tweed cap is best simply because it stays tight on my head when the wind blows and is easy to fold up and put in your coat pocket.
A hat is not much good; it doesn't keep you warm, blows off your head with the slightest gust and is just one more thing to carry and lose when traveling.
I have locks voyageur which is a waste, the felt is too flimsy, it doesn't hold it's shape as a result and generally it's just not a serious hat.
Still, hats are good to keep the rain off your head and when wet, they will reliably shrink.
They keep the sun out of your eyes too and look good on some faces but not many.
You won't look like bogart because you're just the wrong generation and anyway your girlfriend isn't Bacall.
It's probably best to wait till your 60s to wear a serious hat otherwise you may just look like an ironic fop buts that not necessarily so. There are exceptions to that rule too.
I generally like hats. I like ascots too.
MRJ,
Sincere regards and best of luck on a speedy recovery. Hopefully a cozy, well made hat will only help things along.
Sincere regards and best of luck on a speedy recovery. Hopefully a cozy, well made hat will only help things along.
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