RE: Champ Hats

There was a Champ factory in my home town (Sunbury, PA). It was still a hat factory when I was a kid in the '60's. The building has changed hands probably half a dozen times since then; not sure if they make anything at all there now. People still refer to it as the "old Champ Hat factory" though. Just wondering if any of your Champ hats might say somewhere inside where they were made.

Great thread, BTW. I scored a nice Harris tweed jacket off Ebay a bit ago. I'd be interested to read what you know about vintage tweeds.

Keep up the good work. It's a lonely fight, but its nice to know someone is trying to preserve a little piece of what remains of Western civilization

Doc H.




ETA: All your stylish vintage page 17 are belong to me!!!

Quoted: RE: Champ Hats There was a Champ factory in my home town (Sunbury, PA). It was still a hat factory when I was a kid in the '60's. The building has changed hands probably half a dozen times since then; not sure if they make anything at all there now. People still refer to it as the "old Champ Hat factory" though. Just wondering if any of your Champ hats might say somewhere inside where they were made. Great thread, BTW. I scored a nice Harris tweed jacket off Ebay a bit ago. I'd be interested to read what you know about vintage tweeds. Keep up the good work. It's a lonely fight, but its nice to know someone is trying to preserve a little piece of what remains of Western civilization Doc H. ETA: All your stylish vintage page 17 are belong to me!!!

Looking at my Champs, I don't see anything that says where they were made.  They all have union tags, size tags and style tags under the sweatband but no location information.  Older hats might say, but my Champs sure don't.  It's quite possible that one of mine came from your town!

I don't know a whole lot about tweeds (other than I like them), though Harris tweed jackets are nice.  Tweed is very English and was used for outdoor ventures like horseback riding and hunting not only because tweed is tough but because it acts as a sort of camoflage (just as argyle socks did for the Scottish).  Often times tweed sportscoats will have useful and traditional aspects, like belted backs, bi-swing backs and saddle pockets.

Here's my Ralph Lauren tweed, I really like it.  Has a belted back and saddle pockets.




Thanks for the compliment!
Cheers

Quoted: Quoted: Today: i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/thunderw21/me006.jpg i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/thunderw21/me007.jpg Really old U.S. military buttons turned into cufflinks a long time ago. These are old. i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/thunderw21/cufflink001.jpg Now that is a sharp looking set up.  That tie is awesome!

Thanks Engineer!  The tie is pretty unique.  Haven't found another like it, vintage or otherwise.
Though, in my opinion what sets this look off is the 1940s sunglasses and the pipe (the high-waisted trousers don't hurt either).
I bought the sunglasses several weeks ago for $7 and love them.  They're in great shape and work well, though they aren't the most comfortable things I've ever worn.

Quoted: Nice hats. OBird has the right of it. Why the heck did they ever go out of style?

As goofy as it sounds, I remember reading an article a while ago about this. It basically states that the start of the Fedora losing it's style in the mainstream was due partially to JFK. The first president to not wear one.

Maybe I'm wrong but that's what I remember.

Quoted: Quoted: Nice hats. OBird has the right of it. Why the heck did they ever go out of style? As goofy as it sounds, I remember reading an article a while ago about this. It basically states that the start of the Fedora losing it's style in the mainstream was due partially to JFK. The first president to not wear one. Maybe I'm wrong but that's what I remember.

That's the often quoted reason but had little to do with the disappearance of the fedora.  Infact, JFK did wear a fedora (though not often) and he also wore a tophat to his inauguration (though he took it off to speak).  JFK was only part of the problem.

Hat wearing started to decline in the 1920s.  Hat companies were selling fewer and fewer hats after the 1920s and especially after WW2.  Why?  Who knows.  Maybe the returning military men, who literally had to wear hat and helmets everyday of their military service, disliked doing the same in their civilian lives.  
Car ceilings started to lower and every family soon owned at least one car.  Now men didn't have to walk to work in the burning sun or drenching rain, ridding them of having to wear fedoras.  Sometimes they can be awkward to carry around, leaving you only one open hand.
Styles also began to change, perhaps distancing many wearers.

The decline of the fedora was due to a combination of things.  Things change as time goes by.  Back then they had fedoras, now we have baseball caps.  Hopefully in the future we go back more towards the fedora side of things.

Quoted: Here are some Apparel Arts illustrations for your viewing.  No commentary on these, you can make your own observations.  All of these are from the 1930s. Enjoy Spring/Summer: <snip>

If I'm gonna pull off any of those, I'm going to have to take up smoking, apparently!

Quoted: Quoted: Here are some Apparel Arts illustrations for your viewing.  No commentary on these, you can make your own observations.  All of these are from the 1930s. Enjoy Spring/Summer: <snip> If I'm gonna pull off any of those, I'm going to have to take up smoking, apparently!

Indeed, I thought the same thing.  

Hey guys, thought you'd find this interesting.

Classic Style Magazine is published by the owner of thefedoralounge.com and is a wonderful vintage-inspired men's clothing magazine.  It's been in business for the last year and a half or so.  I have each issue since its creation and it is a gem.

Unfortunately it's in trouble.  Like all new magazines, it's having trouble staying afloat.  Advertisers are few and far between, especially namebrand advertisers (magazines get most of their income from advertisers).  The fifth and perhaps final issue of Classic Style Magazine is about to be released at the end of May.  If this issue doesn't do well then it's down the tubes with the magazine.  

According to the publisher this is the best issue yet, definitely a feat when you consider the excellent earlier issues.  This magazine is a must for any average man who is interested in classic style.  CSM is today what Apparel Arts and Esquire Magazine were back in the 1930s and 1940s.  It would be a great loss if it were allowed to founder.

Topics of the new issue include:
-An exclusive interview with costume designer Bernie Pollack, who has created wardrobe for Hollywood's top leading men, including Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman and Harrison Ford.
-Hollywood's Bias Against Marriage
-Bow Ties
-Leather Flight Jackets
-California Wines
-Style Icon: Fred Astaire


www.classicstylemag.com/
This magazine can be found at Barnes and Noble as well as other newstands and bookstores.

If you want to help keep this much needed resource afloat write letters to mainstream stylish companies such as Ralph Lauren asking them to advertise in Classic Style Magazine.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Yesterday I wore this:


Friday and today I wore this:



This shirt has yellow stripes in with the white stripes.  The yellow doesn't show up well in pics.

A new post on my blog.  You've seen some of these hats, though the last one is new.

mrlapel.blogspot.com

Yep, the number of hats continues to grow. Recently I've been going after more unusual hats. I have more than plenty wide brim, tall crown lined fedoras in different colors from different companies. I'm trying for some of the different ones to round out the collection. First up we have this brown light-weight/summer-weight Mallory "Nokabout". I got it off ebay for a decent price, though it was quite dusty and crumpled when I recieved it. I'd date this hat from the late-1930 to the 1940s. After a couple supremely long days on the block... ...and it was good as new. Q: What makes it a light-weight hat? A: The lack of a liner and the presence of the company logo on the crown felt. Continuing with summer hats, here's my Champ boater. It was $20 at a junk shop I regularly visit. The owner knows I collect and wear old hats so as I was about to leave the shop she pointed out a couple old hat boxes hidden away where I would have never looked. One box contained an incomplete fedora body (missing the liner, ribbon and bow) while the other one held two boaters. I picked the better of the two. Dated to the 1950s because of the dark brown textured sweatband, it's in nearly unused condition. I just don't know if I'm brave enough to wear it yet, though it would look nice with a good seersucker. And last but definitly not least is this Cavanagh Brand hat. Best know for its rare and no longer made cavanagh edge, the Cavanagh company was a relatively high-end hat manufacturer back in the day. The hat below is unique in that it is my only Cavanagh hat as well as it has a different style. While the brim has a pencil curl it lacks the bound edge so often seen on formal homburgs. So what is this hat? A fedora? A less formal homburg? Some kind of hybrid? What puzzles me more is my inability to date it. It's outward appearance is that of a 1950s or even an early 1960s hat. The crown is relatively low and a bit tapered, though not bad. The brim, however, measures a full 2 1/2". Definitely not a Stingy. The interior is very clean, virtually unworn... ...and the sweatband is brown. But it's not the type of sweatband found on 1950s hats (dark brown, textured, etc.). My gut says 1940s, so maybe I need to trust it. Whatever the date, it's quite a unique hat. All three of them are.

Here's a topic I've been discussing with some fellow fedora lovers and historians.

What is the quintessential WW2 era hat?  We were talking about the average joe on the street, not the Wall Street dandy with money to spend on a fancy custom hat.

While many of us agreed it was the the M-1 helmet, we also wanted to point out a style of fedora.


Looking through multiple photos of fedoras from the 1940s, we see many styles.  Like today, style and fashion back then often changed rapidly.  Crowns went from tall to medium height.  Brims when from medium width to very wide.  Things changed, even within 10 years.

Here are some of the entries.  Note that they are all "big" with tall crowns and pretty wide brims.








Though, as one astute participant stated, "I cannot imagine people in WWII knowing the minutiae of their hats any more than a fellow off the street today quoting measurements of his baseball cap".
Men bought the styles of the time and what they liked, just as today we wear the ball caps of our favorite teams or whatever looks good to our eyes.  Ask any man on the street if he knows the history behind the baseball cap and he'll give you a blank stare.  In this aspect very little has changed since the 1940s.



What about me?  What do I think is the quintessential WW2 era hat?

*Big -3" brim, 5 3/4" open crown
*Reverse taper
*Cavanagh edge
*Diamond crease with tight front dents
*Dark color, like gray or brown

This hat is a Dobbs from the mid-1940s (circa 1944).

Photos from the 1940s.  No commentary needed.

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02647.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02301.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P03438.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02303.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02300.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02306.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P01546.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P01688.jpg

webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/cushman/full/P02521.jpg

Count the boaters.

Quoted: Count the boaters. img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/silly-password/21980u.jpg

That's pretty funny.

A new post on my blog.

mrlapel.blogspot.com

On Dandyism The following piece, written a long time ago, still rings true today. Dressing to the nines makes one feel not only good but irresistible, indestructible. And in today's world such a feeling is often needed. This piece was unabashedly borrowed from dandyism.net. ------------------------------------------------- On Dress and Deportment From "Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow," 1886 By Jerome K. Jerome They say — people who ought to be ashamed of themselves do — that the consciousness of being well dressed imparts a blissfulness to the human heart that religion is powerless to bestow. I am afraid these cynical persons are sometimes correct. I know that when I was a very young man (many, many years ago, as the story-books say) and wanted cheering up, I used to go and dress myself in all my best clothes. When unpleasant sort of things happened and I felt crushed, I put on all my best clothes and went out. It brought back my vanishing self-esteem. In a glossy new hat and a pair of trousers with a fold down the front (carefully preserved by keeping them under the bed — I don’t mean on the floor, you know, but between the bed and the mattress), I felt I was somebody and that there were other washerwomen: ay, and even other girls to love, and who would perhaps appreciate a clever, good-looking young fellow. I didn’t care; that was my reckless way. I would make love to other maidens. I felt that in those clothes I could do it. They have a wonderful deal to do with courting, clothes have. It is half the battle. At all events, the young man thinks so, and it generally takes him a couple of hours to get himself up for the occasion. His first half-hour is occupied in trying to decide whether to wear his light suit with a cane and drab billycock, or his black tails with a chimney-pot hat and his new umbrella. He is sure to be unfortunate in either decision. If he wears his light suit and takes the stick it comes on to rain, and he reaches the house in a damp and muddy condition and spends the evening trying to hide his boots. If, on the other hand, he decides in favor of the top hat and umbrella–nobody would ever dream of going out in a top hat without an umbrella; it would be like letting baby (bless it!) toddle out without its nurse. How I do hate a top hat! One lasts me a very long while, I can tell you. I only wear it when — well, never mind when I wear it. It lasts me a very long while. I’ve had my present one five years. It was rather old-fashioned last summer, but the shape has come round again now and I look quite stylish. But to return to our young man and his courting. If he starts off with the top hat and umbrella the afternoon turns out fearfully hot, and the perspiration takes all the soap out of his mustache and converts the beautifully arranged curl over his forehead into a limp wisp resembling a lump of seaweed. The Fates are never favorable to the poor wretch. If he does by any chance reach the door in proper condition, she has gone out with her cousin and won’t be back till late. How a young lover made ridiculous by the gawkiness of modern costume must envy the picturesque gallants of seventy years ago! Look at them (on the Christmas cards), with their curly hair and natty hats, their well-shaped legs incased in smalls, their dainty Hessian boots, their ruffling frills, their canes and dangling seals. No wonder the little maiden in the big poke-bonnet and the light-blue sash casts down her eyes and is completely won. Men could win hearts in clothes like that. But what can you expect from baggy trousers and a monkeyjacket? Clothes have more effect upon us than we imagine. Our deportment depends upon our dress. Make a man get into seedy, worn-out rags, and he will skulk along with his head hanging down, like a man going out to fetch his own supper beer. But deck out the same article in gorgeous raiment and fine linen, and he will strut down the main thoroughfare, swinging his cane and looking at the girls as perky as a bantam cock. Clothes alter our very nature. A man could not help being fierce and daring with a plume in his bonnet, a dagger in his belt, and a lot of puffy white things all down his sleeves. But in an ulster he wants to get behind a lamp-post and call police. I am quite ready to admit that you can find sterling merit, honest worth, deep affection, and all such like virtues of the roast-beef-and-plum-pudding school as much, and perhaps more, under broadcloth and tweed as ever existed beneath silk and velvet; but the spirit of that knightly chivalry that "rode a tilt for lady’s love" and "fought for lady’s smiles" needs the clatter of steel and the rustle of plumes to summon it from its grave between the dusty folds of tapestry and underneath the musty leaves of moldering chronicles. The world must be getting old, I think; it dresses so very soberly now. We have been through the infant period of humanity, when we used to run about with nothing on but a long, loose robe, and liked to have our feet bare. And then came the rough, barbaric age, the boyhood of our race. We didn’t care what we wore then, but thought it nice to tattoo ourselves all over, and we never did our hair. And after that the world grew into a young man and became foppish. It decked itself in flowing curls and scarlet doublets, and went courting, and bragging, and bouncing — making a brave show. But all those merry, foolish days of youth are gone, and we are very sober, very solemn — and very stupid, some say — now. The world is a grave, middle-aged gentleman in this nineteenth century, and would be shocked to see itself with a bit of finery on. So it dresses in black coats and trousers, and black hats, and black boots, and, dear me, it is such a very respectable gentleman — to think it could ever have gone gadding about as a troubadour or a knight-errant, dressed in all those fancy colors! Ah, well! we are more sensible in this age. Or at least we think ourselves so. It is a general theory nowadays that sense and dullness go together. Goodness is another quality that always goes with blackness. Very good people indeed, you will notice, dress altogether in black, even to gloves and neckties, and they will probably take to black shirts before long. Medium goods indulge in light trousers on week-days, and some of them even go so far as to wear fancy waistcoats. On the other hand, people who care nothing for a future state go about in light suits; and there have been known wretches so abandoned as to wear a white hat. Such people, however, are never spoken of in genteel society, and perhaps I ought not to have referred to them here. By the way, talking of light suits, have you ever noticed how people stare at you the first time you go out in a new light suit. They do not notice it so much afterward. The population of London have got accustomed to it by the third time you wear it. I say "you," because I am not speaking from my own experience. I do not wear such things at all myself. As I said, only sinful people do so. I wish, though, it were not so, and that one could be good, and respectable, and sensible without making one’s self a guy. I look in the glass sometimes at my two long, cylindrical bags (so picturesquely rugged about the knees), my stand-up collar and billycock hat, and wonder what right I have to go about making God’s world hideous. Then wild and wicked thoughts come into my heart. I don’t want to be good and respectable. (I never can be sensible, I’m told; so that don’t matter.) I want to put on lavender-colored tights, with red velvet breeches and a green doublet slashed with yellow; to have a light-blue silk cloak on my shoulder, and a black eagle’s plume waving from my hat, and a big sword, and a falcon, and a lance, and a prancing horse, so that I might go about and gladden the eyes of the people. Why should we all try to look like ants crawling over a dust-heap? Why shouldn’t we dress a little gayly? I am sure if we did we should be happier. True, it is a little thing, but we are a little race, and what is the use of our pretending otherwise and spoiling fun? Let philosophers get themselves up like old crows if they like. But let me be a butterfly. Very young men think a good deal about clothes, but they don’t talk about them to each other. They would not find much encouragement. A fop is not a favorite with his own sex. Indeed, he gets a good deal more abuse from them than is necessary. His is a harmless failing and it soon wears out. Besides, a man who has no foppery at twenty will be a slatternly, dirty-collar, unbrushed-coat man at forty. A little foppishness in a young man is good; it is human. I like to see a young cock ruffle his feathers, stretch his neck, and crow as if the whole world belonged to him. I don’t like a modest, retiring man. Nobody does — not really, however much they may prate about modest worth and other things they do not understand.

bump for night crew    

Another new post on my blog.  Cheers

mrlapel.blogspot.com

Indiana Jones: Bane of Vintage Enthusiasts The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was recently released. Once again Indy donned that brown fedora and gripped his whip. This time, instead of punching Nazis he was crushing Communists. The biblical treasures gave way to alien crystal skulls. And people in theaters were taken back in time... Indiana Jones is the bane of wearers of fedoras and vintage clothing. Rarely can I place a brown fedora on my head or wear a leather jacket without hearing someone identifying me as the fictitious adventurer. "Hey Indy!" go the catcalls. Once while wearing my 1950s sivlerbelly Open Road fedora and a leather flight jacket with WW2-style nose art painted on the back I heard a lady behind me quietly begin to hum the Indiana Jones theme song. This proves two things. First, one does not need to be wearing anything similar to IJ's getup to provoke thoughts of archeological discoveries and slugging bad guys. Secondly, most Americans view the era of the 1930s-1950s through the lense of the Indiana Jones movies. And that's pretty sad. Though entertaining, the movies are completely insignificant in the ultimate scheme of things (like most movies). It is truly unfortunate that the struggles and triumphs of perhaps the most important era of the 20th century is almost completely forgotten only 60-70 years after the fact and are only brought back to life for most Americans by Hollywood stunts. The destruction of the Golden Era lifestyle, architecture, value system and way of life in general is almost complete. And once it is complete we will only be able to glimpse at the past through the work of actors and directors. Just like Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg. Recently a fantastic Royal Deluxe Stetson homburg sold on Ebay for $200. And while homburgs usually don't sell for half that much, this one did. It had a very tall crown and wide brim and was in almost untouched condition, but that's not why it sold for so much. It was because of Indiana Jones. Looking at the buyer's other items we see dozens of IJ items, from holsters to IJ dolls. Why would an Indiana Jones collector be so interested in an old brown homburg? One can only imagine the horrors that fine hat must be going through right now. Steam to flatten out the pencil curl, scissors to cut off the edge binding. Or perhaps to cut down the brim in an attempt to get rid of that 'unauthentic' edge binding. Most ignorance is willful and sometimes it ruins historically priceless items. But not all is doom and gloom. One bright spot is that more people will become interested in history because of these movies. With more vintage-inspired movies on the silver screen the more vintage enthusiasts we see. And maybe they will turn the tide against the historical ignorance. Inviting new folks into the hobby is always fun; helping them learn and understand the past is even better. So maybe the movies are important, at least to a certain extent. While they may help many people remain ignorant they also bring others out into the light of historical knowledge. And that is indeed a good thing.

bump

Finally warm weather today.
Sorry for all the pics today but I like them all.










I got an Indiana Jones comment wearing this too.  I don't understand why.    

Cheers

Some more Apparel Arts illustrations for you viewing pleasure.  Some with commentary.


Note the derby he's wearing, something that was getting somewhat rare by the mid-1930s.




Two variations on the dinner jacket (aka tux).


Some nice glen plaid overcoats.


A day in the great outdoors.  Notice that with the replacement of a couple things like boots and trousers each man could easily appear for a semi-formal event within minutes.


Nice use of the boater hat with a dinner jacket.




Graduation.


One must wear a boater to go boating.

I recently picked up this suit at a local Goodwill.

I think it's awesome, very late-1930s/early-1940s in style.  2-button SB jacket with a single vent (would prefer ventless but oh well).  Very vintage-style short vest with 4 working pockets.  Trousers are straight legged, flat front and decently high-waisted.  I'll need to add suspender buttons to them.





The fabric is heavy weight tweed in a herringbone weave.  Fantastic.


Unfortunately the suit has several holes in both the jacket and trousers.  The one shown below is the largest.  I'll try to fix them up with some 'stitch witchery' (the trousers have plenty of extra fabric at the hem for me to use).


Trousers are almost long enough for me, I'll have to take down the hem 3/4" to 1".  There is 2" extra for me to work with.


Coin pocket on the trousers.


Good lapels and fairly natural shoulders.






The vest.




Vintage style clasp.


Overall it needs a good pressing, some stitch witchery and a few suspender buttons added but I'm very happy with this $6 find.

These are a little dark since they were taken while it was raining.  It's a 1970s suit but it's not bad, the overall look is actually pretty decent.  And it's not polyester either!  

Vintage Champ boater and vintage clip-on bowtie.

I need a fedora and pinstripe suit.  Can't enjoy a fine cigar without that, or a cuban revolutionary outfit, and no way in hell I'm putting that on.

Quoted: I need a fedora and pinstripe suit.  Can't enjoy a fine cigar without that, or a cuban revolutionary outfit, and no way in hell I'm putting that on.

You might try Target for an affordable suit.  I have one and it's worth the money (less than $100).  Target is getting some nice clothing for once.  Nothing fancy but good for the average man.  Vests too!

Wear a hat.

Hats on CBS Sunday:
link

This thread has always made me want to look for vintage clothing.

Ode to the Necktie



Here are some articles and a video about the disappearing necktie.

------------------------------------


Ben Stein's Necktie Editorial from CBS THIS MORNING


(CBS) Bad news for one Father's Day gift-giving tradition: The Men's Dress Furnishings Association, a trade group of necktie manufacturers, says it's shutting down, due to slumping demand. Obviously these hapless haberdashers didn't consult with our Contributor Ben Stein:

You see this lovely silken thing around my neck? It's called a necktie.

When I was a lad and a younger man, men wore these to show they did not work with picks and shovels and pitchforks.

Ties were a symbol of white collar status, although even some workmen wore them under their leather aprons.

If you had on a necktie, it showed you had some sense of organization, some sense of dignity about yourself.

Even schoolboys wore them. At fabulous boarding schools like Cardigan Mountain in New Hampshire, where my handsome son went, boys still wear them. It showed, to use a word that you rarely hear, class.

Now, I read in The Wall Street Journal, on the front page, if you please, that men don't wear neckties any longer unless they are in subservient posts.

This will probably come as a bit of a surprise to Senators McCain and Obama, as well as to President Bush. They generally wear neckties, at least on TV.

It will probably come as a shock to all of the network newscasters and the late night talk show hosts. They're the coolest guys on the planet, and they wear neckties.

But never mind. The Journal says only 6% of men wear neckties to work, and the necktie is being run down by history.

I hereby quote my late great friend Bill Buckley and say, I am going to stand in front of the train of sartorial history and shout, "STOP!"

The necktie is a sign of a man who is there to work, not to play. It's what a man who takes his responsibilities seriously wears. Men who want to look and act like small children dress like small children, or surfers, or hoboes, or something.

Plus, the necktie covers over a little part of one's paunchy stomach. And it just generally makes a man look better, smarter.

My fellow men: stop dressing like children. Start dressing like grownups and acting like grownups. The necktie is a start.

Kids, it's the perfect time of year to get your dads a necktie. Get with the program, before we become a nation of open-collared slackers.

I mean it. Right now. And then straighten up your room.


------------------------------------------


A rather long piece about the tie:
www.wtop.com/?nid=111&pid=0&sid=1422276&page=1


------------------------------------------

And a news piece done by one of the members of the Fedora Lounge.

video


Cheers

Since I've been posting a bit recently I thought I'd give you a look at a new one to me.  I got it off ebay for under $20.

It's a late-1950s Mallory that I've given a "Raiders" bash.  It has a 2" brim, a 5 1/2" open crown and a huge 2 1/4" wide ribbon.  This would have (should have) been the hat Indy wore in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.







I don't mind an IJ comment or three when I'm wearing this one.  ;)


And a nifty animation of the evolution of the IJ hat from all four movies.

Today:



'30s tie.


Note that only two things, the fedora and the tie, are vintage.  The hat is a rare summer-weight ventilated Mallory made even more rare because it's white.  Probably from the early- to mid-1930s.




The tie, as can be seen, is in almost new condition.  Most likely from the mid-1930s.  The color and pattern is vibrant, unlike any modern tie I've seen.  It is also quite short at 46" while most modern (too long) ties are around 60", a full foot longer!

This shows us that a good vintage-looking outfit can be made with mostly if not completely modern pieces.  However, one must know what to look for to create a good vintage-esque look.

-High-waisted trousers with little to no taper in the legs; look for a full cut.  Avoid flared legs, they only look good on sailors and hippies.

-A suit jacket/sports coat that fits well.  Not too tight, not too big.  Most men today wear jackets that are too big and baggy for them.  I know I use to.  A jacket should be long enough to cover your behind but not so long that it hangs far below the tip of your thumb.  The sleeves should come down to where your thumb meets you wrist; roughly 1/4" to 1/2" of shirt cuff should show.  If it's too long or too short the sleeve should easily be able to be adjusted.
Look for jackets with unusual but attractive fabric patterns.  Also look for natural fabrics like wool, cotton, etc.  Stay away from 1970s jackets that are polyester and that have outrageous patterns.  Some 1970s jackets are okay but most are not.  Look for jackets with belted backs and other unique features like patch pockets, bi-swing backs, etc.  Also look for jackets with high button stance.


mrlapel.blogspot.com/

New post up on my blog.  It's about what to look for in a hat and this is the first of several.  There's so much to tell.

mrlapel.blogspot.com/

On May 22 Stephen asked: "I'm thinking of beginning a small [hat] collection do you have any suggestions?". After much delay and preparation I can now answer his question. But where to start? Like most things in the world, this topic has hundreds if not thousands of details that could be explored. I think for now we'll just get into the basics. So we'll start at the beginning. The first thing to decide is what kind of hat you would like to get. A fedora? Homburg? Maybe a classic Boater? Panama? Perhaps a Derby? Each one has it's own time and place. The fedora is the most readily available and most useful since it can be worn to both casual and semi-formal events in weather warm and cold, wet and dry. Homburgs and derbies are more formal. Boaters can also be casual or formal, though they are only worn during warm weather, just like the Panama. We'll stick with the fedora in this post. Alrighty, so you're looking for a fedora. You can go modern or vintage (vintage being pre-1970, modern being post-1970). The rule of thumb is that construction material of vintage hats will be superior to that of modern hats. It is widely accepted by hat enthusiasts that the last year of high-quality fur felt was 1968. After 1968 the quality of the felt began to decline and the affects can be seen today. Why the decline in quality after 1968? New laws and regulations restricted manufacturing processes, thereby hurting the quality. Before 1968 the felt-making process used many harmful chemicals like mercury to plump and thicken the fur, making it dense and soft. Today since that process is no longer used hatters must make the felt thicker and use more chemical stiffener to make up for the difference. Hence the usual poor quality felt found today. So, when looking at felt quality always remember that vintage beats modern nearly all the time. Of course, there are also fedoras made of wool felt, but wool is even worse quality than fur felt. Wool hats are alright and make fine, usually cheap beginner hats but don't last as long, wear as well or look as nice as fur felt. I prefer vintage. It's good to know your hat size, too. Click here to find your hat size. Now, you're looking for a vintage fedora. What style? Again, there are thousands of styles and it can be difficult to choose. The style needs to match your face and you must like it. Click here to visit a website that will help you find a style that matches your head shape. Of course, the best way to find the right style is to go out and try on some hats! Look at yourself in a mirror and decide which hat looks best on your head. Ask others what they think. Shop around. Investigate. And to help you understand some of the different styles I'll go into a few details, though not too many at first. I've thrown a lot at you already. First we'll look at the crown. You know, the top part of the hat that encloses your head. Each crown has a certain amount of taper to it. Taper is much (or how little) the sides of the crown lean in towards the middle. Below is an example of a fedora from the 1960s. Look at the bottom of the ribbon where the crown meets the brim and slowly move your eyes upward. Notice how the crown gets narrower as you eyes move towards the top of the crown. This hat has a lot of crown taper. This was the style beginning in the 1960s. Another way to measure crown taper is to draw two lines along the sides of the crown. This shows the taper very well. Now look at this hat from the 1940s. Note that it has a taller crown than the 1960s hat above and it has no taper, perhaps even a bit of reverse taper (where the crown sides expand outward toward the top). This was the style from the 1920s-1950s. Hat's also have taper in the side profile. The late-1920s/early-1930s style hat below has neutral taper since the sides of the crown are perfectly vertical. Again, neutral taper was very common from the 1920s to the 1950s, specifically durin the 1920 and 1930s. Brims, like crowns, changed quite a bit. Brims can be as narrow as 1" or as wide as 3". Hats with brims 2" wide or less are often called Stingy Brims. Stingies were the common style starting in the 1960s and are still popular today. Before the 1960s brims were wider. Classic brim widths from the 1930s were 2 1/4" and 2 1/2". During the 1940s they often went from 2 1/2" to 3" before slimming back down during the 1950s and entering the Stingy era of the 1960s. ------------ Here are the eras, beginning in the 1920s and ending with the 1960s, and the corresponding aspects of fedoras. Note that these were the most popular styles of the times and there are always exceptions to the rules. *1920s -Tall crowns with neutral or reverse taper. 4 1/2" or taller. -Medium width brims. 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" wide. *1930s -Tall crowns with neutral or reverse taper. 4 1/2" or taller. -Medium width brims. 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" brims were the rule until the late 1930s. *1940s -Tall to medium crowns with little to some taper. 4 1/4" to 5" tall. -Medium to wide brims. 2 1/2" to 3". *1950s -Beginning to get lower with more taper. 4" to 4 1/2" tall. -Back to 1930s-style brim widths. 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" wide. *1960s-today -4" tall crown or less. -2 1/4" wide brims or less. Here are some good places to begin looking for modern fedoras: -www.millerhats.com/ -www.optimohats.com/ -www.thefedorastore.com/ -www.hatsinthebelfry.com/ High-quality custom-made fedoras: -www.vintagesilhouettes.com/ Vintage hat and clothing forum, good for learning and fun to browse: -www.thefedoralounge.com/ The best place to look for vintage hats is antique malls and shops. Not only are a lot of hats be priced less than $20 but you get to try them on, hold them and examine them. Ebay is another place but expect to pay quite a bit for a good hat and you don't get to see it in person before you buy. There are also some sellers who aren't the greatest, so be careful and good luck. This post is the first of who knows how many about what to look for in a hat. It'll take some times to explain this extensive topic so check back once in a while, I might have posted something new. There's a lot more to come.

Cheers

Quoted: i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj149/halpark/lynd3.jpg

Actually, I think this is a great thread. The kid's got a lot of class wearing threads that the typical slobs I see today in backwards baseball caps, t-shirts and baggy jeans hanging down below their asses wouldn't know how to appreciate (let alone wear) even if they tried. Most people nowadays dress like eight-year-old boys. As somebody who wears expensive, hand-stitched, tailored period clothing much of my work week (see my avatar), I think the OP's doing a good thing. Puttin' on the Ritz, kid!

Quoted: Quoted: i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj149/halpark/lynd3.jpg Actually, I think this is a great thread. The kid's got a lot of class wearing threads that the typical slobs I see today in backwards baseball caps, t-shirts and baggy jeans hanging down below their asses wouldn't know how to appreciate (let alone wear) even if they tried. Most people nowadays dress like eight-year-old boys. As somebody who wears expensive, hand-stitched, tailored period clothing much of my work week (see my avatar), I think the OP's doing a good thing. Puttin' on the Ritz, kid!

You, sir, are more thoughtful and intelligent than 100 of the naysayers can ever be.  Their buffoonery shows a general lack of intelligence and caring on their part.  I commend you for your interest and knowledge of things that matter.



Another post from my blog.

Theodore Dalrymple: Civility wears a hat December 10, 2005 WHY do men behave so badly nowadays? I know that the question has been asked for more than 2500 years, but it just so happens that, this time, it is entirely apposite. The explanation came to me a few months ago in a blinding flash of illumination: the hat. To the hat, or rather to the lack of one, is to be traced the source of all our ill-deportment.Bare heads or heads accoutred in the wrong kind of headgear cause our want of self-respect and therefore our want of respect for others. What we need, therefore, is more hats: proper ones, from cloth caps to trilbies, homburgs, bowlers and toppers. This revelation came to me in a peculiar way. For years I have bought Victorian era jewellery from a Birmingham, England, jeweller, David Johnson, and he happened to invite me one day to the opening of the new premises of the hat shop he had inherited from his mother, a milliner for more than 60 years. Johnson, developing the family tradition, had decided to branch out into men's hats. Reflecting on hats, it suddenly occurred to me how much more difficult it was to behave badly in a proper hat and how much easier to be polite in one. I recalled the days of my childhood during which most men wore a hat and I remembered that my father, who was not always the most considerate of men, never failed, in a gesture of genuine politeness, to raise his hat to someone whom he knew. Indeed, the etiquette of hats was drummed into me as a child as being a stage in the taming of the natural savage. Johnson, too, remembered the age of hats, a gentler age than our own, when men would remove them to acknowledge a passing hearse. A hat, like a cane, gives dignity to a man's bearing, but at the same time affords him the opportunity to practise a little ceremonial. This ceremonial is by definition the recognition of the right of others to due consideration. The wrong kind of headgear, however, conveys another message entirely. A baseball cap is almost incompatible with an impression of dignity or intelligence and those whose peaks are pulled over the eyes intimidate, as they are no doubt intended to intimidate. The same is true of the hoods that young men pull over their heads and the woollen beanies that cling to their shaven scalps. No ceremonial or recognition of others is possible with this kind of headgear. Of course, everything depends on cultural context. At one time Hitler wore proper hats (though he seems to have abandoned them as soon as he attained absolute power), as did Chicago gangsters and the politburo of the Soviet Union when it assembled on top of Lenin's mausoleum. Proper hats are thus no guarantee of moral rectitude. Yet the ethical and social significance of hats has been widely acknowledged. Kemal Ataturk forbade the fez and Gamal Abdel Nasser the tarboosh. The point is not whether they were right to do so but that they believed, by instinct no doubt, that what people put on their heads affected the way they behaved and thought about the world. Ataturk and Nasser were revolutionaries and they despised their own societies as they had come down to them; they thought that nothing would change until people adopted different headgear, as Peter the Great thought that Russia would remain Muscovy until the upper classes donned European dress. Communist leaders such as Mao Zedong, Kim Jong-il and Nicolae Ceausescu all affected the workman's cloth cap, though of a subtly different design from real workmen's caps, for, like Princess Diana, they wanted to be simultaneously of the people and completely, metaphysically distinct from them. Sese Seko Mobutu wore headwear made of leopard skin to imply power and prowess as well as an ability to pounce suddenly and unexpectedly, as leopards do. Leopards are often invisible to their prey until it is too late for them to escape and in Zaire it was widely believed that Mobutu had the power to make himself invisible. Irrespective of the meaning of proper hats in times gone by, we always live in our own social and cultural context, and the fact is that certain kinds of hats do convey civility and others convey incivility. If you doubt it, conduct a little thought experiment. You are walking down a dark street at night and a man approaches you wearing a proper hat. Do you fear him as much as you would a man who is wearing a hood or a baseball cap that covers his brow and eyes? We have become browbeaten by the absurd, dangerous and uncivilised doctrine that if some instances of discrimination are morally reprehensible, all instances of discrimination are morally reprehensible. A pub in Shropshire recently banned customers from wearing farmer's caps as well as the baseball caps, beanies and hoods that had so often spelled violent trouble, though no one expects trouble from someone wearing a farmer's cap. The fear of being called discriminatory paralyses sensible judgment. It would be a most interesting study to establish whether an aggressive, hood-wearing young man became less aggressive once shorn of his hood. I suspect that he would. It may be, of course, that nice men wear hats and nasty men wear hoods. Men wear what is appropriate to their character and according to the message they wish to convey (solicitors wear pinstripes, barristers chalk stripes). The staff of Johnson's shop told me that purchasers of men's hats are invariably polite and charming, which is why they want a hat in the first place. Jamaican men who wear such hats are of the church-going rather than the cannabis and street robbery class. That civil men should wear hats is much less interesting than if the wearing of hats should make men civil, for this would suggest that the encouragement of hat-wearing might lead to improved levels of public civility. It ought not to be beyond the resources of social psychology to provide experimental evidence as to whether my theory is correct, but it is sometimes necessary in times of crisis to act in advance of the evidence. Practically all government reforms are carried out with a complete absence of evidence as to whether they will work and on much less plausible hypotheses than mine: for example, that bloated bureaucracies have the public interest at heart and want to solve the problems that have called them into being and are their raison d'etre. It should not be beyond the wit of the Government to promote the wearing of hats by fiscal and other means. After all, it is constantly pulling legislative levers and pressing fiscal buttons. It could be the beginning of a long overdue cultural counter-revolution. www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,17516038-7583,00.html ------------------------------------------------------------- The premise of the article, while I agree with it, is set in the olden days when 'civilized' men wore 'civilized' hats. There were exceptions to the rule, as the article pointed out, but as a whole it was true. For the most part civility was the rule of the day back when hats were normal. Today we're into 'shock value' and the young mainstream hat wearer follows in lockstep. Today's hip hop culture has to some extent brought back the hat in it's own image. I fear that today the homburg and fedora is more a part of hip hop culture for a lot of folks than it is a part of a culture of tradition and respect. I hope Mr. Dalrymple is right but fear the opposite.

Cheers!

Today:

Rather cool and windy but warming up now.

-1940s Champ
-1940s tie
-late 1940s tie clasp
-1940s sunglasses
-1970s poly/cotton jacket with Talon zipper
-George poly/linen/rayon trousers
-Allen Edmond shoes

Some old suit ads I've been hoarding.  

Enjoy.



Fashion Park:

October 1, 1921




December 24, 1921




July 21, 1923




March 24, 1928

Kuppenheimer:

September 23, 1944




March 30, 1946




June 7, 1947

Hart Schaffner & Marx:

March 15, 1941




1942 (exact date unknown)




1946 (exact date unknown)

I like seeing this thread pop up every now and then.

Keep up the good work.

Quoted: I like seeing this thread pop up every now and then. Keep up the good work.

Thanks Ocho!



More.

Botany 500 "The Fabric is the Soul of the Suit":

May 6, 1944




September 23, 1944




April 28, 1945




October 27, 1945




April 13, 1946




1946 (exact date unknown)

I got these hats over the past two days up in northeastern Iowa.  Each hat cost me $20 or less.

First is this Knox Milan.  A little rough with some creases but I date it from the late-1920s through the 1930s.  Still, in good shape for how old it is.





It's had quite a journey, coming from California and ending up in Iowa.


Next, this fashionable Resistol "Flatop" from the mid-1950s.  I was recently looking through a 1956 Esquire and saw that the "Flatop" was a new style that year.  Bow in back, kitten finish.  Very soft.







Last but not least is this 1940s-era off-white wool fedora with a thin ribbon.  I won't wear it but I bought it because they are hard to find.





I also saw but passed up a blue Penny's Marathon with two tone ribbon and box, a super rough Stetson Stratoliner in tan and a Stetson Whippet in caramel with about a 2 inch brim.  Not enough money or not my size.  

Haven't posted new ties in a while.

1930s:


The fish tie has the original tag.




The coolest '30s tie ever.


1940s/1950s:




The scene on the black tie is painted on using thick, textured paint.

What I Wore Today

*1930s Knox Milan
*1970s DB blazer
*Modern Clairborne trousers
*Allen Edmond shoes
*Target tie

New overcoat.

While on a recent roadtrip I stopped at a little junk shop and bought this fantastic overcoat for cheap. Has a '36 or '39 union tag. It weighs probably 10 pounds and the fuzzy fur is a bluish-gray. I can't wait for winter!










I doubt it's alpaca. Could be lamb's fleece, I've seen modern jackets made out of lamb's fleece that look just like this.  It's very soft.
I searched for Chetelham fabric and found nothing.

Quoted: Young man, I have to admit I love this thread. Those are Classics styles and worthy of mimicing. KEEP POSTING! slasher

Thank you, sir, I'm glad you enjoy it.  

Cheers

Recently I picked up an October 1956 issue of Esquire.  

Two advertisements from two different companies, Dobbs and Adams, showed a new style of hat.  Dobbs called it the "Top-Level" and Adam called it the "Flat-Crown".











Seems the "Flatop" hat was a new style in 1956 and was rather short-lived.

I picked up this Resistol "Flatop" the same day I got the Esquire.  What a coincidence!

good thread.

what do you do for a living, that you can dress like this?

Quoted: Quoted: i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj149/halpark/lynd3.jpg Actually, I think this is a great thread. The kid's got a lot of class wearing threads that the typical slobs I see today in backwards baseball caps, t-shirts and baggy jeans hanging down below their asses wouldn't know how to appreciate (let alone wear) even if they tried. Most people nowadays dress like eight-year-old boys. As somebody who wears expensive, hand-stitched, tailored period clothing much of my work week (see my avatar), I think the OP's doing a good thing. Puttin' on the Ritz, kid!

plus muggfuggin 1

hey, where are the damn tommy gunz and 1911's in shoulder holsters??

Quoted: good thread. what do you do for a living, that you can dress like this?

Usually to church, sometimes out around town.  I work at a grocery store for the time being and don't usually wear vintage there, though at times I will sport a vintage tie.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


From the October 1956 issue of Esquire.

The new, youthful 4x2 double breasted.  This isn't your father's old, crusty DB!