An Alternative to the Baseball Cap

It's not difficult to find casual alternatives to the baseball cap that don't look like they just stepped out of a black and white movie. And it's worth the effort.

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Looking at the World Through Rose-Colored Glasses

It's said that some unfortunate people never take their rose-colored glasses off, but everyone wears these spectacles occasionally.

Man returns from the car wash wearing saddle shoes, green corduroy trousers, a linen sweater and a green fedora with his rose colored glasses.

Quotation: The Real Hat of the Old West

"A strong case can be built by any perceptive historian for the derby and not the Stetson as the authentic hat of the Old West. The Stetson was almost unknown outside the Texas ranges until it was popularized around the turn of the century by Remington, but a short time spent in any photographic file of the Old West from Chicago to San Francisco in the '70s, '80s and '90s, including those regions where firearms were conspicuous and the stagecoach had not yet been supplanted by the steam cars, will show the hard crowned derby in florid and almost universal abundance."

-The Provocative Pen of Lucius Beebe, Esq.

A Conspiracy Against Coats

I've never understood the automakers' conspiracy against coats and hats. After all, automaker executives at least theoretically go out into the outside world, and you'd think they'd need coats in a Detroit winter. And hats - perhaps the most important reason my father stopped wearing hats was that there wasn't enough headroom to wear his hat while he drove. But, as I wrote yesterday, fifty years later there's still no place to store a coat or a hat in the passenger compartment of an automobile.

Compounding the problem, now that cars have good temperature control it's difficult to ride in them with a coat on. So we're forced to stand in the cold and remove our coat before we get into our cars (I usually put mine in the trunk). And then go out into the cold to put our coats on again. It's such fun in a cold driving rain or a snow storm!


Of course, there's absolutely no reason that coat wearers should have to suffer like this. The photos are of the passenger compartment of a Maybach, a luxury sedan that is to Mercedes as Lexus is to Toyota. For the price of a small airplane it offers every conceivable option, including a pull-out drink service cart. But you won't find a place to store a coat while you ride unless you commission something bespoke.

Why the conspiracy against coats?

Not Quite Right

I came across this image of a model wearing Borsalino's "Cobra" hat the other day. The hat is one of those unfortunate creations with the maker's label on the band (it's barely visible in the photo). Too bad. If they'd tucked the silk square a little further into the guy's pocket and put a Milan style straw on his head he'd have looked rather dapper (it's a black suit but it's striped which makes it OK in my book).

As it is, it's not quite right.

Labels and Logos

I tried on a pair of Mephisto walking shoes once. They were very comfortable and I took a closer look. That was as far as it got. There on the side of the shoe was a label with the maker's name. On the outside of the shoe, mind you. Just look on the heel on the right side of the photo.

So let's get one thing straight right off the bat. As far as I'm concerned, external labels of the sort found on certain brands of shoes and hats are not venial sins. They're mortal. Unforgiveable, you'll-never-lunch-at-the-Four-Seasons-again class sins. The venial sort is the alligator or polo player logo on polo shirt type, like the one on Ralph Lauren's shirt in the photo below.


Now, in tolerating these I'm probably being generous, as those little icons were the first step down the road to the man-as-walking-billboard wear we see around us today. And I need to be clear that I don't possess a single one of those logo'd shirts so I hold the moral high high ground in any debate. But I consider them a minor sin. After all, if I took them more seriously I'd never find anyone to play golf with.

Don't even get me started on those neckties with the maker's logo woven in.

Buttoning Up for Winter Golf

On the Northern California coast, the cardigan sweater comes into its own on the winter golf course. I love the light gray flannel trousers and green cavalier's hat on the man putting in the illustration.

Most of all, I appreciate that his cardigan buttons rather than zips. I think zippers are fine when covered by cloth. But, rational or not, my eye just doesn't like looking at them on clothes.

Of course, that's not a problem in this mythical place where caddies wear wrap coats and neckties.

Cover Your Ears

With the onset of winter it can sometimes be necessary to cover your ears to stay warm. As I was recently reminded by a reader, that's hard to do with a homburg or fedora. Which makes it time to reach into the back of your closet for your ambassador hat (like the one in the photo) with the pull-down ear flaps.

The best ambassadors that I know of are made in Canada of water-resistant beaver fur ($300), though they also come in mink ($300) and curly lambs wool ($200). You'll find them at hatters, including Brooklyn's Bencraft Hatters. Avoid the version sold at London's James Lock, which, like too many of Lock's current products, is a vastly over-priced imitation.

Living as I do in Northern California my ambassador has had about a decade of rest since its last trip to Switzerland (I try not to travel to cold weather cities between January and March). But I still have a vivid memory of sweat pouring off my head after I spent a few minutes inside a shop without removing my hat. They're very warm, and that's usually a good thing.

A Small Mystery Solved

Today's illustration is one of the first Fellow's drawings I ever saw, and the caption puzzled me for years. It said the fellow on the right was wearing a "lord's hat," which made no sense because it looked to my eye like a homburg.

When I saw another reference to the lord's hat recently I was driven to research it. Lo and behold, a lord's hat turns out to be a more casual version of the homburg. Where the homburg's edge is bound with silk, the lord's hat brim is left raw. The brim is still turned up but the unconstrained edge looks more casual. The lord's is also worn pinched, adding to the less formal air.

I'm thinking about midnight blue beaver...

Reader Questions

From John
"I've been thinking of getting a pork pie hat made, and VS Custom Hats and Optimo in Chicago are the names that keep coming up. Would you mind giving me an idea of how the process works?

Specifically, my problem is that I don't know a heck of a lot about hats other than the basic shapes, so I don't know what all the options are. How much guidance do the makers provide for a neophyte?"

They are both quality makers with excellent service. Optimo is $500 for a beaver felt with pre-war ribbon. Fawcett is $305 for the same materials and the quality is very close (Optimos may be sewn a bit better, but I haven't noticed a difference).

Optimo's shapes are as conservative as London's James Lock. Fawcett's shapes are a touch more flamboyant, but he reigns in if you are clear that you want conservative. Fawcett sends you a conformer for an exact fit where Optimo conducts a phone call with you and then makes your hat in a standard size. On the other hand, Optimo has a wider selection of straws. Their Milan is particularly nice.

You won't go wrong with either maker.


From Chris
"I have a couple of questions about cool-weather fedoras:

1) How do I determine what style/shape/size brim and crown is best suited to my face? I have a longish face and a spacious forehead -- recommendations are welcome. My preference would be for a high-ish crown and very narrow brim, but this is based on little beyond personal taste.

2) What would be the most appropriate color if I was to buy a single hat for winter wear with several different dark suits? My instinct would be to lean towards mid-to-dark gray with a charcoal or black band.

3) When it comes right down to it, can a man in his mid-late 20s (in a rather poorly-dressed town like Washington DC) really pull off a fedora? (I know this sort of question is usually answered with something like "a man only looks good in clothes in which he's comfortable and confident" and all that, but... really?)."

I have found that no-one looks at our dress nearly as much as we think about it ourselves. By your second week with a fedora neither you nor passersby will notice.

If I had to choose one felt for the city it would be dark gray, unless I wore a charcoal overcoat every day. In that case I'd choose brown or navy.

From what you write, a normal brim width might help balance your face but any good hatmaker will help you to determine what will look best on you.

Little Bits

Four In Hand is having a necktie and cashmere sale that includes Begg's cashmere scarves like the chocolate one in the photo.


Cravate Royale is also having a sale, in this case on its superb bow ties. Pictured is the Royal Woven Kent mini-basketweave in navy silk with blue and purple paisleys. $45.95 each while they last.


And here is a photo of the pork pie hat that I wrote about last week, after a day's hard work.

A Pork Pie for the Car

I drive a convertible and the top is open unless it's raining cats and dogs. But sunglasses leave a glare gap above the lenses and don't do any good at all when it's sprinkling. So, in the car, I'm a hat wearer.


Inspired by a photo of Fred Astaire, I recently commissioned a light-weight beaver felt pork pie for days when a standard felt is too warm and a straw too out of season. Here's the result of my day dreams in light gray, thanks once again to Art Fawcett of VS Custom Hats. The shape proved unexpectedly elegant in person and has quickly become my favorite.


A hat in the car keeps a man stylish, dry and nicely shaded, without the "no place to put it" annoyances that crop up if I'm walking around town. I'll try to have action photos for next week.

Changing Hat Seasons

Some put the actual date at September 15, but for many, Labor Day in the United States is the end of straw hat season. I for one will be retiring my James Lock boater for the season after this coming weekend.

Straw hats in general, and boaters in particular, make an elegant statement on the golf course when worn with trousers (shorts don't have the necessary gravitas). Although, when introducing one into a baseball cap wearing foursome for the first time, there can be criticism. I found that a straw fedora (what used to be called a jippa jappa) can help ease the way if worn a few times before the boater. And it helps still more if the wearer has enough game to win the Nassaus for front, back and round from any parvenus who lack an appreciation of classic style.

The Shaping of a Hat

I received an email from Art Fawcett last week with some photos of my in-process beaver fedora, asking that I choose the ribbon color for it. The initial choices were varieties of medium gray, which I thought had too much contrast. The next possibility was black, above, which was too dark.

Notice that Art has given the hat a simple center dent and side pinches in his studio. It has a high crown - I'd asked for a hat that could have been made in the 1930's, and men wore crowns that were about 3/4" higher than most of the hats made today.

The charcoal ribbon seemed ideal to me. It offers just a bit of textural contrast, like my Lock hats. I resisted an offer to add a colored stripe to the ribbon.

And then the hat arrived, beautifully packaged in a large hat box. During the journey, the crease and pinches had come out, leaving what appeared to be an enormous felt dome, nearly six inches high and looking rather like a turban with a brim. At least it did until after I spoke to Art, who reminded me that a crease would lower the height of the crown significantly.

The call with Art gave me the courage to bash a deep crease into the crown. And now my hat looks ready for September.

A 'Tropic-Aire' Fedora

Art Fawcett is one of a handful of bespoke hatmakers remaining in the United States. Based in rural Oregon, his VS Custom Crafted Hats web site is more proof that great craftsmen can use the web to attract a clientele from all over the world.

My colleague AlanC recently took delivery of one of Fawcette's first 'Tropic-Aire' fedoras in natural felt. Unlined, it has a weight of just 3 ounces (a third lighter than standard). The high crown complements his face perfectly.



Hatmaking is a labor of love for Fawcett. He pays about $100 for a hat body and it takes him 8-10 hours to block and hand finish a $300 felt, so he's earning about $20 an hour. He uses nothing but pure beaver felts, new high grade leather sweats and pre-war vintage ribbon made from wood pulp instead of synthetics so it conforms closely to the shape of each hat. He starts the process by sending his customer a "conformer" device that gives him a precise measurement of the to-be-hatted head. And when he's done, he signs each hat by hand. Recommended.

Ecuador Hats

A generation from now, the centuries old art of the Panama hat may have disappeared. Where there once were more than 2,000 of them, today a dozen master weavers, capable of making hats so finely woven that they feel like they are made of linen, remain in Ecuador. And no, the others have not moved to Panama. Panama hats are made in Ecuador.

Weaving a quality Panama is slow, difficult work and a man (or woman, but the weavers tend to be men) can weave only enough tequila palm fibre for half a dozen Montecristi Finos in a year. Which is why the very best hats sell for upwards of $10,000 each. Fortunately, reasonable quality hats that less time to weave are obtainable for $350-$500. High quality Superfines run about $1,500 apiece.

Panama hats are ideal for summer as they keep the wearer shaded, weigh little more than a pair of sun glasses, and have an open weave that promotes air flow and cooling. There are many styles but the classics are the Optimo, with a rounded crown like the hat in the drawing, and the fedora/trilby, in a variety of brim sizes. They typically have a black ribbon.

B. Brent Black is the proprietor of the Panama Hat Company of the Pacific, located in Kailua, Hawaii. Black is a specialist in Montecristi Fino quality Panamas and his web site has a wealth of information on the hats, the weavers, the weaving process and the area. He also offers a wide variety of styles in every shape under the sun and dealing with him gives the buyer some guarantee that he is getting what he is paying for. Since there is no formal grading system for Panama hat quality, it's not surprising that there are many more sellers of “Super Fino” hats than there are weavers of Super Fino hats. Some of them don't even come from Ecuador.

How Many Hats?

I'm probably writing about hats a bit too often since many if not most men, even suit-wearing men and particularly men under 30, don't wear them (baseball caps do not count). Jack Kennedy and the automobile get most of the blame, but that's not the point. There are occasions when wearing a hat is smart (intelligent), as well as smart (good looking). By the time a man begins to lose his hair he should own a few.

There are several styles of hat, in two basic constructions for spring and fall. That's straw in the summer (May 15 to September 15 in temperate Northern hemisphere climates) for protection from the sun, and felt, preferably beaver felt, the rest of the year for protection from the cold.

Formality in headwear descends from top hats to homburgs to bowlers to fedoras to trilbys to more casual hats like the pork pie and finally caps. A man chooses the right hat for the day based on the rest of his clothes.

Top hats of the right sort aren't made any longer and high quality used ones cost more than many automobiles. But that's OK unless you are going to be attending a full dress ball or Royal Ascot. The rest of the time, a black felt Homburg does nicely with black tie and dark city suits.

For less formal occasions, dark gray or navy fedoras look very elegant with suits as do brown trilbys on the weekend and tweed caps to complement - but not match - your tweeds.

In summer, the Panama hat comes into its own as does the straw boater, seen at Henley Regatta and in the evening, and linen caps for casual wear.

That amounts to half a dozen hats and as many caps:

-black Homburg
-navy and gray Fedoras
-brown Trilby
-Two Panamas (alternating them gives the sweat bands time to dry out)
-Three tweed caps
-Three linen caps in cream, buff and light blue

And that's all I'll have to say about hats for a while.

Straw Hat Day

May 15 is Straw Hat Day in the United States, the official start of straw hat season if you were worried about when you could begin wearing yours. And you should be worried as this stuff matters. According to Neil Steinberg's book Hatless Jack, men have been murdered in living memory in the United States for the crime of wearing a hat out of season.

Felt hats, if you have them, should be put away until September 1, which makes perfect sense in most places as straw wears much cooler because it lets air circulate. And protection from the sun seems to me a better reason to wear a hat than winter's "75% of your body's heat loss occurs through your head" rationale. So break out those Optimos and boaters tomorrow!

An American Original

I'd been thinking about a straw homburg for next year and thought it time to re-acquaint myself with Paul's Hat Works. Founded in 1918 and occupying a small hatbox of a shop out on the Avenues in San Francisco, Paul's is one of those completely original places that should probably be famous but isn't known outside of a small circle.

Michael Harris, who became the current proprietor in 1980, is the third to own the business. A hatmaker's apprentice early in life, Harris hand blocks, hand stitches, and crafts Ecuadorean straw and beaver felt into some of the finest hats in the world using machinery from the 1930s. B. Brent Black, the leading American importer of hatting material from Ecuador, calls him one of only five or six craftsmen in the United States capable of high quality hand blocking of Montecristi hats.

That reference sold me on his straw hats, which start at $500 and go to the stratosphere (I asked the price of an exceptionally fine sample and was told "It's a car"). And then I got a look at the beaver felt fedoras.

Felt hats were fashionable in Europe from 1550 until 1850 when silk hats took over, and a beaver hat was so desireable that the European beaver was hunted to the brink of extinction. Beaver was held to make the best hats because, after a wetting, beaver holds its shape better than felt made from wool or other types of fur. Water off a beaver's back, so to speak. That matters in San Francisco, and for that matter most of the other cities in the Northern hemisphere.

There are very few true custom hatters remaining in the world today. The best known high end hatters in the world, such as London's James Lock, don't make custom hats any longer, but Harris does. He measures your head individually and takes that individuality into account when he shapes your hat, so you get a height and a brim that works for your head. His fedoras are made of "100% beaver, unlike that stuff they sell you elsewhere." Even the hat bands are made from pre-war material, which he buys up as the few remaining traditional hatmakers go out of business because it resists the elements better than anything made today. $1500 each and worth a special trip to San Francisco.

A New Straw for the Season

Kelly Christy is a milliner based in New York City. She began offering women's hats in 1996 and has since added a ready to wear line of hats for men that can be found at New York retailers such as Barney’s, Seize Sur Vingt, and Stackhouse. But for me her appeal is that she also makes custom hats.

I met Kelly last month at the Collection of Sartorial Excellence in New York where she was showing ready to wear examples of what she can do. One of her straws caught my eye - a short brimmed pork pie hat with a black edge that was a bit too much for me. But we talked, and she showed me how she could give me an edge that blended in. I was hooked.

Working with Kelly is similar to working with a bespoke tailor - she can make just about anything but has a definite house style that influences the finished product. In her case, the house style is what I'd describe as hipster. Her top hat and bowler models, for example, pay homage to the past but are definitely not part of it. By dialing her style all the way back the result is something that a London hatmaker might not make but shouldn't have nightmares over either. I like it.

For an appointment with Kelly, contact her at 212 965-0686 or drop by her studio at 453 Broome Street Tuesday through Friday from 12 to 6 or on Saturdays from 12 to 5.