Men's Hats: A Discussion Thread, Questions, Opinions, Suggestions...

[Gus]

 

[Gus]

 

[mr monty]



How to Care For Your Hat

I visited San Francisco’s oldest haberdashery, Cable Car Clothiers, to meet with the proprietor, Jonathan Levin and to get some tips on men’s hats and hat care. He shared the following based upon the stores 74 years of history in hats and menswear.

- When putting on a hat or adjusting it, handle it by the front and back brim, never by the crown.

- Do not pick up a hat/fedora by the pinch; it will misshape it over time. A straw fedora will crack and a felt hat may split the seam.

- Touch your hat with clean hands; oils from your hands may stain a light hat

- Always hang a hat. If no hook is available store it by inverting it and placing it on its crown. Placing a hat on its brim may flatten or cause a hat to loose its curve, especially if wet.

- Do not leave a hat in a car or in the sun as humidity may cause any hat material to lose shape, shrink or distort.

- Hats of any material may be sensitive to prolonged exposure to direct sunlight causing colors to fade.

- Brush your hat periodically with a soft brush.

When Purchasing A Hat

- Seek out a quality hat store where someone with experience can guide you through the options that most compliment your complexion, shape of your face and needs.

- Look for hats that have a specific size and avoid S, M, L, XL for the best fit and comfort.

- Sizing will vary by manufacturer and even among the same hats. So, don’t rely upon the tag size. Only trying on the hat will assure you of the best possible fit.

By The Way…

Panama hats aren’t made in Panama. When the Panama Canal was being built, this was the most popular style of hat on the project. The name “Panama” thus became forever linked to these hand woven straw hats from Ecuador.

Cable Car Clothiersis located at 110 Sutter Street, Suite 108, San Francisco, CA 94104. Phone 415 397-4740 or you can see a sampling of their hats at www.cablecarclothiers.com

+1 remind the hat check folks how to handle your hat and watch where they place your hat.

 

[mr monty]

Borsalino I got on sale about 10 years ago from Saks. Not high quality, but perfect for foul weather

 

[AdamWill]

oh hey, hat brush tip - it's very hard to buy a hat brush these days, and when you can they tend to be ridiculously overpriced. All you really need is a brush with the softest bristles you can manage. I use a fine 'Kiwi' brand horsehair shoe brush, bought off the shelf at the grocery store for about three bucks

 

[Gus]

 

[FillW]

 

[FillW]

 

[Gus]

 

[AdamWill]

I seriously need to play a tennis match in that outfit.

 

[Celadon]

For some context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cavanagh_(hatter)

"Al Webb (b. February 15, 1920), who joined the company after the Second World War, was by 1961 Vice President of Sales for the Hat Corporation of America.[5] Like J. Garvan Cavanagh, he was a close personal friend of John F. Kennedy, whose dislike of wearing hats had led to a downfall in hat sales.[4][5] At a 1961 PT reunion in Washington, DC, Webb accused his friend of having ruined the American hat industry, and in response, Kennedy began carrying a hat around with him with the Cavanagh Hats label clearly visible.[5] The first incidence of this was when Kennedy met with Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 22, 1961, at Camp David.[5]"

 

[FillW]

I need to find a place near Baltimore, Md. that sells nice Panama or Fedora hats etc. I found a few hats at local Macy's but they looked like the hats Frank Sinatra used to wear. Those would not be my style.

I can understand why the guy (earlier in the thread) wanted to be convinced to start wearing hats. Not many young people wear many hats besides the ubiquitous baseball cap in all it's configurations. His peers would probably look at him funny but I think he would still look great.

 

[AdamWill]

fillw: A bit of Googling throws up:

http://www.hiphats.com/

I have absolutely no experience with 'em, but they hit several of the good points for hat shopping - they've been around forever, and they manufacture hats themselves. Probably worth a shot. They seem to have a decent range of panamas, fedoras, homburgs and derbies.

 

[Gus]

Brooks Brother straw boater

 

[FillW]

Adam Will: Thanks! I'll check them out soon!