On a shelf in one of my closets lies an article of clothing I hope never to need again. That is a version of the world's warmest hat, the Astrakhan Ambassador, perhaps Russia's only contribution to classic mens clothing and a regular atop my head on winter days in America's midwest years ago.
Usually seen in black or gray Persian lamb but available in more esoteric furs such as mink, the Astrakhan keeps a head toasty on the coldest of days while its built-in ear flaps do the same for those vulnerable extremnities. It is frankly too much hat for genteel commutes by car or train, but comes into its own on a ten block subzero walk across town when an ordinary fedora fails completely.
If only there was some equally effective covering for the nose.
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Warmest Hat
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5 comments:
Absolutely beautiful hat! It just so happens I'm in the market for a black hat like that. You wouldn't happen to know where I can get a quality genuine article?
Astrakhan is warm stuff indeed. I've a 1930s overcoat made entirely of the stuff.
A bit of personal trivia: My late grandfather, who
died over sixty years ago, was trained as an
Astrakhan cap maker. After deserting the Czar's
Army, he emigrated to the United States in the 1890s.
Being pragmatic and entrepreneurial, in the face of
a very limited demand for fur caps, he decided to
produce cloth caps, The business prospered early especially from military orders during World War I. Eventually,he turned to real estate and other ventures.
The family business continued through the decades, however, and was only recently sold upon the retirement of my second cousin, now in his 80s.
Hello
You can get one at Lock's here: http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/.
But really, the original doesn't have any earflaps and nobody really wears one as it is somewhat outdated and is usually associated with the guys from the ex-USSR elite, who liked to wear them. Russian (that's me ;-)) now wear ushanka (trapper hat), beanies and different kinds of caps and baseball hats and somethinkg of the kind made of sheepskin and furs.
This hat design is used to be called pirogok (russian for a small pie) due to the similarity of its top crease.
I wear a very similar hat, made in Winnipeg, I believe. It does not have that fold or brim around the edge, however. And yes, the earflaps come very much in handy December through March around here!
I only wear it because it is what my father wore to walk to the train to go to work when I was a boy -- as such, for me it represents a proper man's winter hat.
I do take a fair bit of stick, for all that, from my friends who make the usual "comrade" cracks -- mind you, they are cold, and I am not.
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