Last edited by Terry Lean (2007-01-29 10:57:00)

True, brother, true...

Back to hats for a bit?

The 'WASP hat' is a bit of an anti-hat maybe. Not without a style of its own, but not up there in the pantheon of high style head wear for sure.

Any tips for those looking to move beyond the basic bucket?

I'm thinking of how best to wear a 'real' hat - should it be matched or complementary to the colour of the suit in some way? Or as it is an outer garment would you match it to the topcoat?

Any tips would be of great use to a hat novice like me.

Thanks -

t.

Here is a copy and paste from that link in plain text. Please understand this is just a Q&D paste and not a sales in.

"Your hat, by it quality and individuality; poise and pitch; angle and droop can be made to take on as many varying moods as the face underneath. A hat may look aristocratic or vulgar; serious or humorous; gloomy or cheerful; dignified or flippant; radical or conservative; rakish or righteous; fresh or wilted; alive or dead. Your hat is YOU. It commends or condemns you. It bestows character or becomes a caricature. Hence, it should not be selected at random, but chosen with care, to be a reflection of the wearer's taste, position and personality. Thus, really a fine hat is not just a disbursement to cover the head, but an investment in individuality, self-respect and the respect of others"

In the Golden Era, people knew about hats because they wore them often, and this knowledge was passed down father to son.  As time passed, bare heads and ballcaps came to the fore as temporary fashion surpassed true style for a while, and classic hat knowledge faded into obscurity.  However today,  as more and more people continue to seek a return to the dignified good looks and functionality of classic hats, they have questions regarding quality, style, materials, etc, but no place to turn for honest answers.  It is our pleasure to extend to you an invitation to the Sterling Beaver Saloon & Forum, a place where hatters and hat wearers can exchange information in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  There are many examples of premium quality custom hats, in both words and full color pictures, along with comments from the people who wear these hats everyday.  See you there!
www.gladhatter.com/forum 

While we offer hats from most hat makers in the world, Gladhatter also proudly produces custom made hats, 100% handcrafted by our highly skilled hatters right here in America.  In the centuries old tradition of fine hat making and attention to detail, we feature the highest quality hand stitched, hand tooled hats available anywhere.  Using only hand selected premium quality fur felts for our hat bodies, supple roan leather sweatbands, luxurious bridal satin liners, and the finest grosgrain ribbon; we produce hats that are as much works of art as they are comfortable and durable headwear. 

Our premium fur felt hats range from 25X to 1000X in Sterling beaver up to our Signature line, at surprisingly affordable prices. Each hat is custom made to your specifications, and custom fitted for your head for an exceptional look and feel that must be experienced to be believed.  A truly one of a kind hat designed exclusively for you: the perfect shape, style, cut, color, brim, and trimmings. If you can imagine it, we can create it for you. 

Our services are not limited exclusively to gentlemen's headwear. We offer a full range of millinery services for the ladies, from the styles of the best designers, to custom made, one of a kind creations - including those for the special occasions in life such as weddings, proms, etc.

Gladhatter also offers restoration and custom services for your fine hats. Reblocking and resizing, new liners and ribbons, that can make a vintage hat look and feel like new. We currently are only offering this service to existing owners of our hats.

We can make custom printed, stamped and/or embroidered hats for wholesale or lot sales for advertisement or special occasions of any kind. Custom art, custom liners, accessories, leather sweat bands and wind cords are available individual or wholesale.

Gladhatter offers select opportunities for wholesale and private label manufacturing: Call for details.

Whatever your hat needs - from formal to casual, contemporary to classic -  Gladhatter has you covered.  If we cannot find it, we can make it for you.

We firmly believe that the best hat is subject to your preferences and personal style.  Along with proper fit, shape, and style; color determination is important in selecting the right hat.

The color of the suit or outerwear will determine the color of hat required. For example certain colors will compliment the look of a blue suit better than other colors. Here are some general tips for selecting a color for your hat.


Light grey:  Goes well with fair complexion, blond and brown hair. Goes with blue, navy, dark grey or black outer clothing.


Dark grey:  Goes well with fair complexion, blond and brown hair. Goes with grey and green colored outer clothing.
 

·     Navy:  Goes well with blue eyes and any hair color, but particularly suits auburn and red heads. Goes with navy blue, grey, brown and tan or khaki colored outer clothing.
 

·     Brown:  Goes well with dark and ruddy skins and auburn and red heads, although can be worn by any complexion.  Goes with brown, green, olive and tan or khaki colored clothing. Can be occasionally worn with navy outer clothing.
 

·     Green:  Goes well with blond and brown hair, although green can be worn by any color hair.  Goes with green, olive, brown outer clothing. It can also be worn with navy outer clothing.

These are merely suggestions and your final decision should be based on what you personally like.  We offer a variety of standard color choices, as well as custom color options.  Give us a call and let us find the right color for you.

Too much to think about in my opinion but its only mine.  Best advise is start off with medium Grey hat and expand from there.   If you do not like greys then start with a mid tones brown and expand from there.  If you are just completly conserative then get a black hat and wear it with every thing.

If you can afford it then get a Grey, Brown and Navy to color most sins.  If you have a budget for 5 hats you can cover the entire spectrum including summer. If you have a luxurious budget then you can cover summer and winter well with 7-8 hats and all outfits.

Single hat in UK however can vary from Black to Camel to a Green for some.  In the end its all about personal taste imo.

You are welcome Mr. Lean and do take a look around in the hat gallery at : http://www.gladhatter.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=22 at a pythorea of colors and syles and combinations.  About any competent hatter can reproduce anything you see there and not every one requires the level of felt, workmanship or customer care we offer as well so feel free to borrow any ideas you like from our site and whatever hatter you choose can also borrow of what ever we have to offer as we try to share freely with all for the benefit of hat wearing.  The real truth is that if you get a well fitting hat of any color, then you will find a reason to add on more of any and all colors as finding a comfortable hat over one that you thought was just acceptable is the difference between heaven and earth.  Of course if you have a really ill fitting or poorly conformed hat then its the difference between heaven and hell.

I loved that shoe porn post as well and they sure had some beautiful shoes posted.  I cannot imagaine having a million pairs of shoes that are just collected but instead a dozen pair of well made comfortable and wearable art would be an assest to any one.  For me the feet and the head are the most important parts to cover correctly and comfortably and the rest is as easy as falling off a log.