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Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

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Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#81

My wife is Japanese. She trained as a Milliner, and has been desinging and making hats for decades. She's a damn great milliner. She won 1st prize in The Worshipful Company of Feltmakers of London competition, in the 90's. She worked for Philip Treacy. She's been in numerous magazine and newspaper articles. There is only one problem: no one buys hats these days :/

Would you be willing to share some pictures of your wife's hats? I'm very curious!

(also curious about the prices, maybe it's time for me to wear a fancy hat?)

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#82
post #34

I've been wearing a hat outdoors for about 10 years now, since the doc carved pieces of flesh out of my forehead. It was annoying at first, but I grew to like it. It keeps the sunburn away. I was surprised how pleasant it made walking in the rain. It doesn't affect my hairstyle because my hair departed long ago. I do get ridiculed for it now and then, but one advantage of getting older is one stops caring about that,…

> I do get ridiculed for it now and then I have similar experiences with dyeing my hair in bright colours as a guy; most people react neutrally or positively, others ... not so much. There seems to be something of a cultural difference here too; in Ireland, New Zealand, and Indonesia I don't get too much grief from it, in the Netherlands ... meh. One guy (random stranger) even went so far as to shout "hey homo!" :-/…

the same thing happened to me with my hair bleached. got told I was in the wrong toilet...

for your filter analogy, tattoos have a similar effect. one of my smartest friend has a great education with merit... and knuckle tattoos. he never wasted any time with a company that would not respect his life choices outside the job.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#83

I've been wearing a hat outdoors for about 10 years now, since the doc carved pieces of flesh out of my forehead. It was annoying at first, but I grew to like it. It keeps the sunburn away. I was surprised how pleasant it made walking in the rain. It doesn't affect my hairstyle because my hair departed long ago. I do get ridiculed for it now and then, but one advantage of getting older is one stops caring about that,…

Almost the same here. Picked up a Tilley had on impulse one day, and started using it for my scout evenings and trips. Before long, going outside without a had felt naked: a perfect piece of clothing for Scandinavian weather with showers, wind and sun.

The King of all Hats!

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#85

> dried up in just a few generations I think a decade from now they'll be analyzing the even more rapid demise of suits and briefcases. I remember when 'casual dress Fridays' started. A leading men's shop took out full page ads in the newspaper extolling the virtue of looking professional vs. casual . They've since gone bankrupt.

I hope we don’t lose the blazer and sport coat, at least. They’re great. Like a purse for men, but even better than that because you wear them. Unlike winter coats or hoodies they’re not shlubby-looking and you can wear (appropriate cloth & weight) ones in almost any weather. I’m OK with the suit going but damn, without those there’s not much left for guys to wear that’s not athletic wear of some kind or another (and…

Shit, man, I'm just waiting for the Romper to cross over from women's fashion. Loose-fitting, linen combination shorts / tank? Yes, please!

I'd even settle for denim if we must play at working on cars for women to accept it as fashionable. Maybe then I can finally have my cargo pockets back!

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#86

> dried up in just a few generations I think a decade from now they'll be analyzing the even more rapid demise of suits and briefcases. I remember when 'casual dress Fridays' started. A leading men's shop took out full page ads in the newspaper extolling the virtue of looking professional vs. casual . They've since gone bankrupt.

Hmm, I would have said the briefcase was essentially already dead. When's the last time you actually saw someone carrying one?

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#87
post #55

If I could get a nice wide-brimmed sunhat that didn't blow off in the slightest breeze I'd be a happy man indeed.

You want a Tilley Hat... prized by boaters for not falling off in even the stiffest of winds, keeps your head/shoulders from burning in the sun, floats, and nearly invincible.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#88

I've been wearing a hat outdoors for about 10 years now, since the doc carved pieces of flesh out of my forehead. It was annoying at first, but I grew to like it. It keeps the sunburn away. I was surprised how pleasant it made walking in the rain. It doesn't affect my hairstyle because my hair departed long ago. I do get ridiculed for it now and then, but one advantage of getting older is one stops caring about that,…

I find that putting on a big floppy hat is quicker and easier than applying sunscreen to my face. So I wear one during the summer when I'm outside. I keep an additional one at work for summertime lunch. The only obstacle is, when I'm outside, I'm often wearing a bike helmet.

Problem solved. https://www.etsy.com/listing/197194627/blake-helmet-cover?ga...

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there’s not much left for guys to wear that’s not athletic wear of some kind or another (and hell, sport coats kinda are anyway) Sport coats are athletic wear? To me, a sport coat is the same thing as a suit jacket, with the only difference being that a sport coat isn't the same color as your pants. It will literally become a suit jacket if you put on matching pants. For example, a sport coat, very much unlike athl…

Sport coats evolved from riding and shooting jackets. I suspect some mobility has been lost over the years, but neither of those sports requiring raising your arms very high.

I would hate to shoulder a firearm wearing a modern sport coat. The dimensions of the parts of fabric and the orientation of the seams at the shoulder just don't permit the jacket to fit well while you to bring your hand out in front where it needs to be. I think more than a little mobility was lost (probably in the name of tighter fitment) over the years.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#90
They don't mention that so few people have served in the military these days.

Wearing hats could have easily been more popular because so many more men were veterans back in the days after WWI and WWII. They would have been used to wearing hats after being in the service. The time hats started dropping off in popularity also correlates with the rise of the anti-war movement brought on by the Vietnam war.

Also in the 1960s the Catholic Church stopped requiring women to wear hats in church.

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