It was the Italian immigrants who brought this straw boater, or also known as "skimmer" hat, to America. It's prime era was between the 1880's and 1920's, and was worn to summer 'at the park' events, at jazz events, semi formal to formal outings; and just about everything for every class and gender. What you wore with it gave the hat it's character. These hats were even worn by famous mobsters such as John Dillinger. Very few know that it's also associated with the headwear of FBI agents around the time of it's establishment in 1908.
I purchased this hat at Miller Hats for $98.00. I tend to wear my Italian straw boater hat during the spring and summer just about anywhere. I love it cause it's rarely seen, what you wear with it gives it it's character; and it's one of few vintage hats I like that haven't been ruined for me by pimp, hip-hop or rap trends. ;p No offence to those who like the music obviously, I'm just not a fan of classic things being portrayed with an image they were never meant to have.
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I never cared much for the red and navy striped club band that came standered with the hat before. It seemed too 'live entertainment' to me. I wanted the boater to look more like a dress hat to go with the more basic colors I wear. I went to the fabric store and bought two grosgrain ribbons; one back, the other a smaller ribbon of shades of white, black and gray stripes. This would be my first time trying to remove and add a new band on any of my hats. So I was a bit nervous about messing up this one; which wasn't cheap.
After removing the old hatband, I did the sewing to try and match it's size. The hatband is made up of three parts. The band that goes around the circumference of the hat's crown, the part on the left that folds behind itself and makes part of the bow; and the center stripe that bends the bow down at the center. Each part had to have the smaller ribbon sewed onto it on the top and bottom. I made the band tighter, so now it just slips on the hat without the need of actually sewing the band to the hat.
I also changed the old lining; which was smeared by wear and me trying to clean it. The way I simply did this was came up with a design on MSpaint. (I used my stoat I drew from a little while back) After that I printed it out on thick photo paper. Cut it into the shape of the hat's crown, gave it a smooth plastic covering to prevent damage by wear; and sewed it together on top of the lining that was there before. The whole thing took about 3 hours.
I think this looks a hell of a lot better than it did before. Moreover, even with the few boaters out there, no one has this band. So it's even more unique while still staying true to the hat.
NOTE:Stoat Bros. was just a name I randomly chose to go with the design. "Venice, Italy" however, was what was printed on the previous lining that came with the hat. I decided to keep that; since the hat is from there after all.
The flat cap was worn by boys in Great Britain and North America of all classes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the popular image of the cap is it's being worn by "newsboys". Cloth caps were worn by fashionable young men in the 1920's. Flat caps were also popular among the railway workers. They were worn most of the year around (save summer) and the winter ones had built in protective ear flaps. Today the flat cap is sometimes associated with old men, but has been revived occasionally among younger people, particularly SHARP Skinheads and those who associate with the punk and Oi music scenes.
I purchased this cap at a local mall for around $10.00. I wear it whenever I'd like dress headwear I can fit anywhere; wear it when I want and place it in my pocket when I don't. I'll also wear it to get me from one place to another if it's raining.
The fedora was invented in the mid-1910s and is very much still around today. It is often associated with Prohibition-era mafia and private detectives and tops off most zoot suits. In Europe a fedora is also called a trilby. They typically have a shorter, "stingy" brim and the back of the brim is distinctively more sharply upturned as a result. This hat was a birthday gift from a relative. I tend to wear it during the winter to replace the skimmer.
The English Bowler is a well known hat. It was designed by the hat makers James and George Lock of Mr. Lock of St. James's Street. Peaking in it's popularity towards the end of the 19th century, it offered a midway between the formality of the top hat, associated with the upper classes, and the casual nature of soft felt hats worn by the lower middle classes. This hat I bought at Miller Hats for $95.00. Usually I will wear it during the winter.
The civilian beret completes the image of the stereotypical Frenchman, especially French peasants, artists, and intellectuals, even though berets are fairly rare in France nowadays among men under 60. It also was the stereotypical headgear of film directors until it was replaced in the public eye with the baseball cap in the 1980s.
This beret was given to me by my mother; and this particuler one has a pencil holder on the left side. Can't say I've worn this hat in years.
The ever great top hat was worn by men throughout the 1800's and early 1900's; but which are now usually only worn with morning or evening dress. The first top hat was made by John Hetherington in 1797, however, the hat only became popular in the 1820s. In the latter half of the 19th Century, the top hat gradually fell out of fashion, with the middle classes adopting bowler hats and soft felt hats such as fedoras, which were more convenient for city life, as well as being suitable for mass production.
I bought this hat at Miller Hats for $102.00. I tend to wear it on the week of Christmas, on New Years, and my birthday. Usually with a scarf and my long double-breasted coat.
This is a Spaniard Pilot's cap given to me by a friend of mine. I'm not certain about the history behind it. This hat I'll wear once every blue moon.
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