Who here wears hats?

[Matt Deckard]

I'm just curious to find out who in this forum wears hats and who thinks that they are an unnecessary item.

Great to see the London Longe up and running. I hope to see more pictures of loungers in their wears.

[Guest]

Well, you can see my post under Dressing.

I always wear a hat or a tweed cap outside. I''m 35, I do not think is a matter of age.

[Matt Deckard]

I've been wearing hats since I was around 14... the rest of the clothes came later. I agree, it isn't a matter of age, just a matter of style.

[ccox]

Dear Mr. Deckard,
Hats only make sense.

I have many -- caps, fedoras, trilbys, a bowler, skimmer, pith helmet, straw Montecristo, deerstalker, Greek fisherman and fez, just to name a few. My Borsalino crushable waterproof trilby has traveled with me everywhere.

It's probably a vestige of growing up with a father who was a career Army Officer. Hats are just another part of the complete uniform. And yes, I do get looks. I'm 38.

Wear yours in good health!

Cheers,
Chris Cox

[Alias]

I can't wear hats because of my hair. My hair is cut in that shaggy, slightly-spiky look that's popular here, and a hat would just mat it all down.

Still, I do love how they look.

[dopey]

I wear hats daily. All are variations on a trilby/fedora. I have narrowed the rotation down to an olive hat bought at Simpson’s (house brand) in 1986 and a gray Borsalino that I bought three years ago. The only vintage hat I own is a light gray vintage Borsalino Homburg that my brother bought for himself but didn’t fit and gave to me. I never wear it. I have a beautiful tan Borsalino that I just had cleaned and blocked but it is in a hatbox and therefore out of the rotation. I have a large black one that my wife and daughters wont let me wear. I need a nice summer hat and would also like a blue fur felt one.

[Matt Deckard]

Do you guys have any pictures of yourselves wearing hats?

[Matt Deckard]

[Matt Deckard]

[AnthonyJordan]

Thought I would kick off this thread again by confessing to being an inverterate hat wearer, although limited to the cheaper end of the spectrum, unfortunately. At present my collection consists (in order of wear) of a mid-grey snap-brim by Herald and Heart, black and brown "Brompton" fedoras by Olney, a green velour fedora, again by Herald and Heart, two tweed caps, optimo crown and fedora panamas, again by Olney, a lightweight bowler and a rather battered high-crown silk top hat. In the past I have experimented with bowlers in various styles and black, brown and pearl grey homburgs but I have decided that they don't suit. It probably won't stop me trying again though. I like quite a firm hat which put me off vintage felts for a long time but, particularly in the light of Matt and Dopey's comments, I may starting looking at them again.

Anthony.

[dopey]

What a difference a few months make. Since my prior post, my inventory of hats has grown to about twenty five or more. I have been buying vintage Borsalinos, which after some investigation seem, to my mind, among the best hats out there. If you can find old Borsalino hats in your size, unused or nearly so and marked Qualita Extra Extra Superiore, or even better, Marque Grand Luxe, snap them up. You will be stunned. Qualita Extra Superiore is also very good as is Qualita Superiore (particularly if it is from older stocks).

What size are you? I am sure that I don’t need all that I have.

[whittaker]

Are Borsalinos the same as trilby hats? From what I can see, they look the same.

I'm wearing a hat again after a break of almost twenty years. At uni I was a tad dandyish and proudly wore a fedora. A few weeks ago I was strolling through St. James, passed James Lock and decided to buy a felt Voyager trilby in dark brown. Its become a regular town item.

[dopey]

Are Borsalinos the same as trilby hats? From what I can see, they look the same.

Borsalino is a brand they make or made many styles including Trilbys, Homburgs, Fedoras, Tyrolean style, etc. To be frank, I have a hard time telling the precise line of demarcation between Fedoras and Trilbys, although Homburgs are clear enough.
I have also seen references to Cavalier hats in old Esquire illustrations; they are more or less the same hat with a somewhat flatter, rather than snapped brim.

[AnthonyJordan]

What a difference a few months make. Since my prior post, my inventory of hats has grown to about twenty five or more. I have been buying vintage Borsalinos, which after some investigation seem, to my mind, among the best hats out there. If you can find old Borsalino hats in your size, unused or nearly so and marked Qualita Extra Extra Superiore, or even better, Marque Grand Luxe, snap them up. You will be stunned. Qualita Extra Superiore is also very good as is Qualita Superiore (particularly if it is from older stocks).

What size are you? I am sure that I don’t need all that I have.

Well, I am about a 7 1/8 (UK) or 58 (European). I can take a 7 at a pinch, provided it is a soft hat, or 7 1/4 comfortably. One hardly ever sees Borsalinos over here; Jenners of Edinburgh used to stock them but they are the only stockist I can think of and there are none on eBay UK at the moment. Whittaker's question reminds me that when I first heard the name Borsalino, from the way it was used I also thought it was the name of a type of hat like fedora or trilby, rather than a maker, e.g. "Edward Raft in his trademark Borsalino". I wish I could find a maker in my price bracket who offers a light grey fedora with a dark band; Olney headwear is very conservative in that they only offer hats in three shades (black, navy and a shade of brown called vicuna) with self bands whilst Herald and Heart also offer only self bands, albeit that their overall colour range is dazzling (should I mention cherry and purple?)

Anthony.

[dopey]

AnthonyJprdan:

I am a 6 and 7 / 8 (US) so, unfortunately, my excess stock will not fit you. There is an ebayer who is selling a supply of NOS Borsalinos from Bulgaria that are of very high quality and in excellent, unworn condition. Bulgaria is closer to you than to me and there is no reason why he wont ship to you. He lists them in waves and currently has one listed that might be in your size. I would look for his listings every week or so - the seller id is 1001pc . I am sorry I don’t have any that will fit you.