Thread: Hats, New and/or Old!

In 1914 Rome, a young enlistee in the Italian Army, Almicare Moroni was sent to one of the local, government contracted seamstresses to get measured for his uniforms. Four years later, when he was finished with World War I (or perhaps more precisely, when WWI was finished with him), He returned to Roma specifically to visit Josephine, the seamstress whose pretty face (faccia bella) had frequently infiltrated his thoughts since the final fitting. A few years later, Almicare and Josephine Moroni disembarked a ship at Ellis Island, New York. to begin their lives as Italian-Americans.

I was twelve or thirteen when Almicare died in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His wife told me I could choose two of his many awesome fedoras. I selected the only black one. It was all I wanted. It was beaver fur felt, teardrop shaped with a two and a half inch wide brim a wide grosgrain ribbon with a real pearl pin through the bow and a ridiculously orange satin liner. Grandma smiled as she handed it to me saying, "You choose-a very a-special-a hat-a!"

"Why is this one so special? They are all nice. "

"He getta married in-a dis-a one. He wear dis-a one onna de boat. It'sa de only one-a from-a Italia." Shortly before our divorce my first wife cut this irreplaceable fedora into three strips of black fur felt. I have yet to be able to replace that hat.

There have been other threads about plans to purchase specific fedoras but in this thread I invite posting pictures of our hats in general, except ballcaps. I don't count a ballcap as a hat. So I'll start. I picked up a very nice porkpie last week:

I got it from http://www.delmonicohatter.com/ in New Haven. It's black fur felt with a two tone grosgrain ribbon and a feather. It has a two inch snap brim which I like up (as in the picture). There are different schools of thought about feathers. I think it depends on the lid. With this one, I think the feather works great!

So folks, whaddya think? Any hats out there?

I've got a brown leather Jacaru hat that I got in Sydney that I use when I go shooting and its hammering down with rain.

Its absolutely brilliant and the wide brim keeps all the rain away form my collar as well!

Originally Posted by Stubear

I've got a brown leather Jacaru hat that I got in Sydney that I use when I go shooting and its hammering down with rain.

Its absolutely brilliant and the wide brim keeps all the rain away form my collar as well!

Pictures please!

I have actually never owned any hat other than ball caps and knit caps for the winter. I feel a little empty inside now.....

Terrible ending to that story!

I'm a cap wearer at times. Not ballcaps - Ivys, grass, etc. My dad's the hat wearer and has a fondness for fedoras.

If you've been to the city, you may have been to Arnold Hatters on 8th Avenue. The shame is, he closed last year when the economy plummeted... A real loss for hatters - they had a great selection and a guy dedicated to feathering hats. The store also attracted plenty of celebrities, and there was always a string of dapper gents who dressed in bold colors, crisp matching hats and carrying unnecessary walking sticks, if you get the picture. Made buying Father's Day gifts fun and easy, I'm sorry it's gone.

Well I have six hats mostly the same and all either Stetsons or Resistols. This is my favorite one only because it is really broken in. Also a pic of my black dress hat.

Nice telling of a story yet again, Icedog!

(aside from the rotten ending to the hat part!)

My favorite hat is my flat-top Stetson that I bought right after I moved to Seattle in 1987.
It is practical with a brim to get the rain out of your face while your hands are full. I still have the same one after all these years.
The picture shows me with the Stetson off the coast of Svalbard in 1999.

Thanks for the story Icedog!

I am finding it hard to believe that among this community of thousands of detail oriented retro-freaks we can find only eight hats to speak of. Okay, I'll start another round.

This is my Dorian Safari from Cape Union Mart, Mostert Street, Cape Town, South Africa. I was told the band is impala fur.

Stay tuned, I'll see if I can find time to break out the camera and snap a few.