It really is an absolute no, even when I been to some events that in the past would of been relevant.

^^^
I see so many people who look really silly in the boater because the hat doesn't suit them; they are not able to pull it off. Fortunately for me l look good in hats, and my face suits the boater hat very well. To pull it off you really need to look good in it, wear the right type of clothes and feel at ease in it; it needs to look natural. It doesn't have to be costume or eccentric or barber shop quartet, but it does have a unique look that will draw some attention because people are not used to seeing that hat.

I've loved the boater ever since l was a kid and always wanted to wear it. It was not until l was in my 50's that l got confident enough to wear brimmed hats and the boater. It doesn't need to be worn by the water; I often wear mine to a big city park once a week to part take in various activities, I wear it to various festivals etc; the key is to have it look natural on you. I have numerous boaters now, and l also have one being made on special order.

I can do the bowtie boater look, but l often wear long sleeved guayabera shirts with boaters, and the look is good. It is a very smart hat, and it is not for shrinking violets. When you wear it you are going to be the only guy in one, so you need to own the look and really enjoy wearing it.

The boater suits this guy, Big Pretty man. See, the bloke has a nice big oval face and look to pull it off with various different looks. Blokes with oval faces look good in hats. He is at ease with it too, and that helps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1UqonH7s4s

Ironically the people on youtube who teach people how to look good in boaters look the worst and don't know how to wear it.

Igents make too many rules and overthink things too much....it is all a bunch of bull dust. Too costumey...too anachoristic...blah blah blah. It all depends on the individual on whether it can work. Igents are a bunch of chickens who have no idea, they are scaredy-cats who have never tried anything adventurous in the real world (they are all theory). They constantly talk garbage on the internet. Can't do this, can't do that, blah blah blah.

here are a bunch of young guys role playing with their boaters, but good on them for having the guts to give it a red hot go. ole Charlie Huang is there too. Could most of them pull it off in the everyday world?...nup, but at least they had dreams.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sheridanclub/albums/72157617393170562/with/3480684752

Thanks Robbie for the comments, but boaters can be worn in many places.

Here are some old films of guys in boaters in the old days going about their daily business. It tells me we don't have to be by the river to make them work, we just need to look good in them and feel comfortable. These things are quite versatile, same goes with the striped blazer. The thing is though, you don't see them much outside of schools and water events because blokes are too chicken to wear them.

A sea of men in boaters in France in 1900
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqlFMdiSH3k

Many men in Boaters in New York in 1911
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ1OgQL9_Cw

ole Dandy Wellington tried out the boater and a tricky blazer with various winning combinations at 9:30. Dandy loves his boaters for everyday wear too. He's no shrinking violet or chicken, he loves this type of stuff like l do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ol_qYrQq0M

Last edited by The_Shooman (2023-12-28 12:25:43)

It would take some bottle to wear a boater in the UK. The only scenarios I could envisage wearing one would be at posh regattas, a day at the races or events like the Goodwood Revival where you know others will be dressing up - not that I frequent those sort of gatherings. Certainly not for routine visits to the pub or supermarket.

They are very nice hats though Shooey, I bet you look the business in a long sleeve shirt, bow tie and boater.

Wide brimmed hats are so rare in everyday settings in the UK that they attract stares and confer instant eccentricity in most people’s eyes. That said I often wear a hat, particularly in the summer for sun protection. If the weather obviously calls for a hat then wearing one seems to stand out less.  If it’s blazing hot or chucking it down with rain most people probably look at you and wish they were wearing one.

I enjoyed that film of New York thanks.

Last edited by FlatSixC (2023-12-28 14:53:00)

Hey Flatsix:

you reckon the boater takes major balls to wear, another hat that takes balls to wear is the aussie Akubra Sombrero. It is a massive cowboy hat, our most traditional hat that dates back over 100 years. I have one in it's original unbashed form...super wide brim and high crown (2/3 of a foot high); this is not a hat for shrinking violets. I get a lot of complements on it, but it suits my face and needs to be worn with the right type of clothes.

Here is a guy wearing it in the video. See him at 30 seconds in. Looks awful on him when the hat is in the unaltered state, but have a look at the size of that thing. A real boss daddy hat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxDuDN7QakE&t=57s

I also have the spanish cordobes sombrero (oversized boater), that's a fairdinkum ripper too. Gets lots of complements, but needs to be styled right for it to work.

Flatsix

Tibor takes it too far. With boaters and cowboy hats you can make it work, but when you are in formal wear everyday you are going to stand out and be looked at as strange. I do keep an eye on Tibor regularly, and now he has got more extreme and has gotten into Regency Attire.

You've got to be careful when doing these things. You could make a real fool of yourself if you get it wrong. Would l wear a top hat and tails to the supermarket like Tibor does?....NO WAY. It would be a dream to wear a top hat (my favourite hat ever), but l would have no-where to wear it.

I have seen Tibor in a top hat and tails to the supermarket, the local takeaway joint, to the pub, at the baseball (standing up in a sea of people in his top hat) etc. The mind boggles.

The key is to be able to pull it off and not look like an oddball.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2023-12-29 04:43:56)

Received my new custom boater today, the one with the black ribbon (photos in link below). it will look great with a navy blazer and bowtie or with a cravat.
https://www.dressedwell.net/threads/the-hat-thread.6749/page-12#post-319521

The boater doesn't feel as comfy as the panama, and it isn't as versatile, but it makes up for it with a really stylish look.

^^^
Yes, the baseball cap would be much easier to look after, but the brimmed hats are worth the trouble; there is nothing quite like a good brimmed hat when you get into them. The problem with the brimmed hats is storing them; all mine are stored in hat boxes, and they take up so much room. When l am in the car l also carry my hat in a hat case on the back seat, and then take it out to wear when l get out of the car. Got to be really into hats to own a hat case. I usually wear a hat whenever l am in public.

Lords is good for county cricket but many Middlesex matches are now at outstations.

Otherwise you can bring your own scoff and a bottle of wine and have a good days entertainment moving around the ground if it suits. Saw Middlesex v Yorkshire for county championship a few years ago. Free entry for pensioners on the crucial final day.

My company had seats at The Oval decades ago and there was an option of a days cricket at the weekend. It was in the days when pubs closed in the afternoons. I had a Pakistani girlfriend at the time who knew far more about cricket than me. In the end the appeal of all day drinking was not enough.

You can bring four cans of beer into The Oval for county games. At Lords it is only two cans, or a bottle of wine for county games.

No alcohol allowed for non county matches at either ground.

Just some more comments about the boaters......

Like the boater experts have said, you need to pick your occasion to wear it. It is one of the most difficult hats to wear, so it is not just a hat you put on willy nilly. The other day l thought about wearing it to the city to do social activities, but that day l wanted to be left alone and didn't want to be the center of attention, so l wore a panama instead. It all depends on the mood....if you feel vibrant and happy, you don't mind some stares, and if the occasion is suitable a boater can be worn. A boater will always get some stares because it is such a unique hat, but it is a very smart hat.

My coloured ribbon boaters get worn to weekly activities in the city park and to festivals, and my black striped boater gets worn to do smart activities/events in the city with my navy blazer.

I see my tailor next week, l will probably wear my boater with a bowtie and blazer.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2024-01-12 21:58:12)

I stand corrected about alcohol at Test matches at Lords.

Ticket prices are high, so savings on alcohol give some relief from the prices of alcohol within the ground.