Friends, the
It isn't just that hats provide shade in the summer and warmth in the winter. It's that they really do enhance your face, provided you have the right hat and the right face of course.
I saw this chocolate brown felt fedora (above and below) at an antiques store in Lambertville, New Jersey, where I spent a few hours yesterday, and it was love at first sight. The hat is a vintage (1950's I believe) Knox Twenty, which means that it originally cost $20 -- not a small amount back then. I tried the hat on, looked in the mirror, and knew it was coming home with me. It looks especially good paired with my new camotooth jacket -- I'll post a pic as soon as the weather cools; maybe sooner.
I tried on a few other hats yesterday. Some worked better than others.
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| Didn't Doris Day wear this in "Lover Come Back"? |
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| Very "Steppin' Out With My Baby" |
This hat was a little too big....
But certainly no bigger than this one.
There's a wonderful hat store not far from the Garment Center, just south of the Empire State Building, called J.J. Hat Center. I bought all the caps below there:
I found my white Panama-style Stetson on Amazon and I wear it constantly. It's extremely comfortable and surprisingly durable.
I found this vintage straw hat (below) last summer at the flea market. I think it cost $10 and I've worn it to death. Actually it has a lot of life left in it yet.
Of course, nobody looks good in every hat...
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| Does anyone remember Roy? |
In closing, friends, are you a fan of hats, either new or vintage?
If so, where do you find yours and where do you wear them?
Have a great day, everybody!
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| A box of vintage ladies hats for sale at Modern Love in Frenchtown, NJ |
Posts
'Hurray for Hazel' (Tommy Roe, a 60's pop song. She's wearing a HAT. Yes, HATS RULE. and you wear it well. Very well.
ReplyDeleteYes to hats.
ReplyDeleteI've made 4 beanies this winter. Next year I plan to spoil myself with a custom-made cloche and perhaps a beret. Couldn't believe my luck in finding a milliner who worked on the 80s BBC TV series The House of Eliott - do you know of it? It's about two sisters who open a dressmaking business and eventually a couture fashion house in England in the 20s. If you plan to watch it, be sure to follow up with the French and Saunders spoof on youtube. It's called House of Idiot :(
Spud
I love hats. I primarily wear them to keep the sun off my face, but if it didn't make me look even more eccentric I would love to wear hats all the time for fashion. Nobody around here (Texas) wears hats except ball caps and occasionally sun hats to the pool.
ReplyDeleteLove the blue jacket. Is it a me-made? If so, what pattern?
ReplyDeleteThat's a vintage McCall's unisex cardigan pattern:
Deletehttp://malepatternboldness.blogspot.com/2014/05/peter-models-shawl-collar-cardigan.html
In England those caps are 'Peaky Blinders' caps. I recommend looking out for the TV series of the same name, it is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI love hats! I currently have only two, both cloche style, a wool one for winter and a straw one for summer. I've been looking for a nice straw Panama hat for ages as I'd like a wider brim in summer, but I've had a terrible time finding any that are good quality vintage or handmade locally! The search continues...
ReplyDeleteLOVE hats! I suit and wear wide brim hats and have a tutorial on my blog about how to make one. I also own a top hat, a mini top hat, several velvet berets of my own design and many, many, many hair pieces ranging from a flower to several, for stage! http://sentfrommyiron.blogspot.co.nz/2011/03/hat-trick-making-wide-brim-hat-tutorial.html
ReplyDelete"You can never be too thin or too rich..." or have too many hats. As someone who has been hair challenged since his late 20s (over 30 years ago - ouch), I have had a zillion hats, although the dermatologist claims I didn't wear them enough (as he peels off another layer of pre-cancerous skin - yuck). But in fact, everyone should be wearing hats, not just those of us in various states of scalp exposure. Wear a hat. Believe me, you will be glad you did!
ReplyDeletei totally want to make a cloche hat sometime soon. i just haven't had time or money to buy the pattern and sew it. i usually only wear a hat on the beach.
ReplyDeleteAnother great hat, Peter!
ReplyDeleteMy car came with the previous owner's ball cap style hat (actually it was his late wife's car, I think the gent took it off and forgot doing so while I was test driving it), which I soaked for several day and now wear when walkin' the dog. It's a University of Kentucky cap - shields my cranium and eyes from harmful rays.
A dog no less. I'm beginning to get a clearer picture...
DeleteI have far too many hat patterns, and have only begun to sew them (mostly are UFO muslins). They don't take a lot of fabric or time, which makes them candy.
ReplyDeleteThe hat making class however, that was an entree....
I love the Doris Day hat. I'm pondering the second hat class where I could make one of them. The $200 hat/class? Hm. Still pondering. She does have some CRAZY hat blocks.....
Love hats, especially vintage. My grandfather had a brown fedora and he always looked so handsome in it, as do you!
ReplyDeleteI joined the American sewing Guild. Our local chapter is planning to go to the annual fashion show. We decided to make hats and all go as a group. I love hats.
ReplyDeleteGood to see - yes I wear hats but here it is to help prevent skin cancer. Unfortunately they must have a wide brim but other styles can be worn in the winter eg a cloche when traveling in parades in the Model T Ford:) All school children must wear sun safe hats all year round in Queensland and Northern Territory but southern states not in winter. Looking to make some sunhats for my little grandchildren this year. Sam the Aussie
ReplyDeleteI love hats and have some fantastic vintage ones. Being out in the country as I am, I look rediculous wearing them. I might have to re-new my website with a hat post when I feel a bit better.
ReplyDeleteI love hats, and wear one almost every time I leave the house. I must own (and wear)a good 15 berets. I recently found a $150 Eric Javits hat second hand at a tenth the price that's been a summer staple. The one hat that garnered the most compliments by far was a very cheap little fedora I talked my nephew into selling me. The quality was nothing, but I think the proportions must have been exactly right for me. Lost it at the Boston airport a couple of months ago. You never know where or when the perfect hat will turn up. J J Hat Center is wonderful! All the staff is great; I enjoyed meeting their hat repair/design person on a recent visit. Delightful.
ReplyDeleteI love hats. LOVE them. And I look good in most styles (I can't wear baseball caps at all), but especially fedoras (that Annie Hall look in the 70"s was a good time for me). Unfortunately I rarely wear them because of a reverse hair problem... I have long thick hair and, up or down, hats aren't shaped to fit my hair!
ReplyDeleteI love hats but usually have to resort to a man's hat because I have a punkin head and no woman's hat fits me.
ReplyDeleteI like hats but wear only a visor while gardening or at flea markets. I keep my hair clipped up so finding hats that fit over all that is really difficult. I used to think I did not have a hat face, until I figured out I need one with a brim or volume somewhere around the sides. At least now I have an good excuse to get rid of the stocking hats.
ReplyDeleteYes to hats. DEFINITELY yes to hats. I wear them all the time. In fact, visiting some friends last summer, the first thing we all did when we met up was argue over who had the best hat.
ReplyDeleteMostly, I prefer cowboy hats and fedoras. I buy them at antique malls and thrift stores. I tend to avoid photographing myself in hats due to the technical difficulties involved, but here are a few photos:
http://sewingfaille.blogspot.com/2015/12/self-drafted-pattern-rhino-print.html
http://sewingfaille.blogspot.com/2015/05/self-drafted-pattern-tube-dress-with.html
I love hats and wear them more now that my hair is thinner and need to protect my scalp from this CA sun!! I make them and buy them. My current fave is a linen 1930's cap.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a hat but I'm not so good at wearing them... My significant other has told me to stop buying hats until I actually wear the ones I have.
ReplyDeleteHat etiquette is vague to me: Do I take my hat off when I'm inside? Traditionally, as a woman, I should not have to take it off when I'm in a public place (unless it's a theatre or cinema) or just visiting but it would be weird to wear a hat in my own home. That's the old rule but does that translate to the 21rst century?
And if I take off the hat, there is the notorious "hat-hair" issue...
And talking about hair, mine is long and I have a fringe. Not a hair style which works with a lot of hats. Even though I can often improvise and make it work, that leaves me with a very un-flattering hairstyle when the hat comes off.