Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Clothes for Sprinkles


The City had rain early in the morning the other day, turning to sprinkles by 10AM, and that is to my mind the perfect weather for a hat. Felt hats should not get soaked, but they do a fine job of keeping the head dry otherwise. Combine them with a winter weight suit and a scarf to cover the chest and a coat becomes unnecessary in 50-60 degree weather (10-15 degrees Celsius).

My favorite hat in brown beaver felt tops a gray flannel suit, blue silk scarf, navy and white mini-checked shirt, white linen pocket square and black semi-brogues. There is a dark purple cashmere necktie hiding beneath the scarf.

13 comments:

seitelman said...

Will, how about a feather weight raincoat? I have one from Macintosh of Scotland.

I know that a raincoat hides the suit, but I wear one unless we're in the 70 plus range.

Horatio said...

That's a nice hat. I wonder, though, if it isn't riding a little high. Does the next size up come down to your ears, or is this your preference? Maybe the high crown is throwing me off.

Brummagem Joe said...

....Presumably you had a brolly with you if you were expecting rain.....I'm a hat guy myself....hat's are incredibly about the shape of face and size of head....forget what you "think" will suit you and try on a selection of sizes and styles until you get one that fits....I like the Borsalino trilbies in brown or grey myself with slightly wider brim but not as wide as yours Will which is positively Western...then tilt and adjust snap to suit (or don't snap at all and go the Woodrow Wilson/Corleone route)

Will said...

The hat is worn tilted to the side, so it is above the ears on the high side and on the ear on the low side. Any other way and there would be no tilt.

Nothing wrong with raincoats. Personal preference, and mine is to leave the coat home whenever possible. I did carry an umbrella but it was never unfolded.

Levi said...

Realizing of course that weather tolerance is highly regional, I always smile at your references to temperature. Here in Canada, we've recently been blessed with -2 to +5 degree Celsius temperatures, and a suit without a coat is more than adequate for those of us accustomed to it.

Richard said...

Nice combination, although the brown hat is a bit of a "stuck on outsider" in this outfit -Brummagem Joe's idea of a grey Borsalino sound perfect here. Great scarf and suit!

Laguna Beach Trad said...

That's quite an outfit just to buy a cupcake.

Brummagem Joe said...

"Nice combination, although the brown hat is a bit of a "stuck on outsider"

.....I'm somewhat inclined to agree....for one as svelte as you Will the hat is a bit too rustic....nothing wrong with the brown but the style is too chuck wagon....great with a shearling or leather coat like the one you own but not sophisticated enough for the suit

Horatio said...

Will's hat is a classic broad-brimmed fedora. Those of you who think this hat is somehow off--what do you propose instead?

Brummagem Joe said...

Horatio said..."Those of you who think this hat is somehow off--"

Regardless of what it is the resultant "look" is a bit too Indiana Jones for my taste....Probably a narrower brimmed (say 1 3/4"- 2") trilby in grey

Horatio said...

Fair enough, though I have never let the fear of being mistaken for Indiana Jones keep me from wearing my fedoras, just as I never let my fear of being mistaken for Thurston Howell III keep me from wearing ascots.

How would you feel if, instead of brown, Will had worn a hat in the same style but in gray or navy or black? Is the look "too chuck wagon" regardless of color?

I'm just trying to figure out your aesthetic, not trying to attack, so please forgive me if my words fail to convey the right inquisitiveness.

Brummagem Joe said...

Horatio said..."I'm just trying to figure out your aesthetic, not trying to attack,"

....I didn't assume you were....hat lore is an entirely personal thing and since other than baseball caps they are a relative rarity it behooves one to avoid slipping into caricature.....personally I've no desire to evoke images of Indiana or Thurston (which is why I never wear an ascot)....nothing wrong with brown hats with formal clothes per se (I was wearing a brown borsalino trilby ~2" brim/vicuna chesterfield three button/blue chalkstripe suit/black oxfords yesterday!)....the point about Will's hat is that it has a slighly western slouch look to it that is out of sympathy with the formality of his dress imho....some guys wear western stetsons in NYC....I wouldn't but would with shearling coat in a ski resort.....my aesthetic is simple....as I'm not a film or sports star the aim is to look stylish but not comedic.....am I making sense?

Horatio said...

Brummagem Joe,

Yes, you are making sense. Thank you for explaining.

I like hats too much to let what some ignoramus thinks keep me away from them. Also, since I dressed to get attention in high school, and have lived places where I stuck out regardless of how I was dressed, I'm pretty much immune to strange looks from strangers.

Regardless, I appreciate your point, and agree that we have to avoid looking like caricatures. So, no bowlers or boaters for me; I consider those particular pieces of headgear extinct (though I would love to be wrong about boaters).

 
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