Black Tie, Grey Hat...

[kiltie]

...thoughts on this?

I have about four or five opportunities a year to go black tie, therefore I'm reluctant to invest in a good hat for so few opportunities. Am I dressing down if I wear a grey ( think gun metal tone, wide black band Stetson Twenty ) fedora with a traditional tuxedo ( black and white jackets, season specific )? Or should I break down and drop it for a good black fedora or other hat?

 

[Tomasso]

Or should I break down and drop it for a good black fedora?

That's what I did and over the years it's gotten plenty of use, both for Semi-Formal and everyday occasions.

 

[Bird's One View]

If you're going to buy a black hat for this purpose it should be a homburg rather than a fedora.

 

[Lefty]

I respect Tomasso's opinion as to style, but I find a fedora a bit too informal for a tuxedo. I feel that the look would be too affected by a homburg (read: costumey, like in modern retro-weddings), so I'd go without. That's just my comfort level. YMMV.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Yep Homburg or nothing. I too am cautious about fashion gaffes. Tuxedos do not leave for self expression; hence the formality of it all. I reminds me of being the "uniform of the day".

Just my thoughts.

 

[Feraud]

I'm reluctant to invest in a good hat for so few opportunities.

Considering this comment I say stick to the fedora. Why reluctantly invest in a hat your will wear so infrequently and only going to and from an event?

 

[Slim Portly]

Yep Homburg or nothing. I too am cautious about fashion gaffes. Tuxedos do not leave for self expression; hence the formality of it all. I reminds me of being the "uniform of the day".

Just my thoughts.

Ditto.

 

[kiltie]

Somebody with a better memory than me:

When Bogart wears the tux in Casablanca, does he ever leave the saloon with a hat on? What hat? Screen cap? Anybody....hello...

By the way - I'm hearing the "no hat" suggestions. They're my initial leaning as well, but the last op ( New Years Eve ) demanded headgear against the chill:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj290/safdkiltie/IMG_0700.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj290/safdkiltie/IMG_0705.jpg

...no I didn't wear the hat all night - Funny when you go out, people either make sport or demand, "Oh, put your hat on..." (amplified by drink)

 

[Slim Portly]

... I'm reluctant to invest in a good hat for so few opportunities.

What do you consider too much for a hat that is more appropriate than a fedora? Keep an eye on eBay. I just picked up an immaculate vintage black Stetson Premier fur felt homburg for a song, even less than cheap wool homburgs retail for new.

 

[kiltie]

I hear you Slim. I'd expect to pay a buck twenty-five, at least, new. I've seen 'em for cheaper on ebay, but it'd be my first ( and likely only ) homburg. I just don't have an eye for what I want in that department. But then, I haven't really committed to the IDEA of it yet. I suppose that's the all important step in such a decision, and what I'm working on in this thread.

 

[Slim Portly]

Do you have an opportunity to visit a few hat shops and try some on to see how they look on you? I was lucky enough to be able to try a half-dozen or so brands and models just to get an idea of what a homburg would look like on me. It took some growing into the idea, plus the opinion that higher-crowned homburgs don't look as good on me, but this way I was able to determine the hat dimensions that worked best for me. That way I was more prepared to surf the 'bay and ask questions that helped me make a good purchase.

 

[Dewhurst]

I think you should give ample weight to the reluctance that you have. Tuxedos are always difficult to figure out, as far as headwear is concerned. Often simply going without (GASP!) is the only real Tux solution.

A homburg would be nice, but if you are reluctant to get one, and, as others said, the look might be a tad costume-ish, then it may be good to go without. Despite the treachery of the answer!

 

[kiltie]

One good hat shop with a limited selection of that style in town, and one in Austin.Slim, I just noticed, with a touch of irony, that I'm likely going to be in Vegas this summer. You think you could post some hat "hook-ups" in the area?

 

[Cody Pendant]

More opinons!

Four or Five occasions a year is actually quite a lot of opportunities. In my opinion, a black fedora or homburg would be more traditional and appropriate, gray being more a morning dress hat color.

If you're going to buy a black hat for this purpose it should be a homburg rather than a fedora.

I agree with Bird’s One View, as I also use a black Homburg for tuxedo wear. No, I do not think it is at all “costume”. May I suggest the following link, to an esteemed member of this forums web site, which is the most complete compilation of information known at this time on black tie:
http://www.blacktieguide.com/Vintage/Etiquette.htm
Please note that this is in the “Vintage Etiquette & Tradition” section, I suppose, as “hats” have become less than “de rigueur” in modern times.
May I also suggest a personal pick of mine for a less expensive option for a brand of hat considering the number of wears per year? They have both wool and fur-felt options in both the homburg and fedora style. I have no experience with the seller, just the hats, which I find quite nice for the price.
http://www.thefedorastore.com/Stacy-Adams-Hats-s/221.htm
If you are more of a hat connoisseur, than you will have to outlay more serious cash. However, for wear from the car to the hatcheck and back, it will do for me.

 

[David V]

Goog God! What has this forum sunk to when people are actually suggesting that someone NOT wear a hat?

Seriously. I bought a black homburg for the sole purpose of wearing it with my BT rig. You say you *only* wear BT 4 or 5 times a year. That is plenty of use that you went and bought a whole BT rig why not go just a little further and get the proper hat for BT.

As for looking costume-y, well we live in a day and age where people think you've gone over the top because you wore a tie to work.

 

[Slim Portly]

... I'm likely going to be in Vegas this summer. You think you could post some hat "hook-ups" in the area?

There are only two half-decent retail shops here in town. One is The Hat Company, located inside the Las Vegas Outlet Center mall at the south end of Las Vegas Blvd. The other is Hattitude, in the Desert Passage shopping mall on the strip. Of the two, The Hat Company has better selection and prices, although each of them are geared towards the tourist trade so the nice hats are far outnumbered by the not-so-nice.

The only custom hatter in town is Dave Johnson of D-Bar-J Hats. He is currently working out of his warehouse, but if you give him a call and tell him when you'll be in town and what type of hat you're interested in, he'll tell you a good time to come by and see him and whatever he has on the shelves.

A quick search of the yellow pages shows me that there might be a couple of more shops in town that I haven't heard of.

 

[Cody Pendant]

No hats in TEXAS?????

One good hat shop with a limited selection of that style in town, and one in Austin.

Howdy!,
No offense, but WOW, as a fellow Texan, saying you can only find one good hat shop in state, is like sayin "Im in Detroit and cant find a car!"

 

[kiltie]

Cody -
I'm in San Antonio. I'm not saying there's no more hat shops in the state, but we've got Paris with a decent selection and whatever places you wanna go to for western jobs ( Cavenders? Boot Hill? ), then Austin is an hour and a half out. Next is Dallas/FW at about four and a half hours, Houston at four, and El Paso at ( gulp! ) nine hours. That means a hundred dollar hat goes up to at least $150 ( before you've even committed to buying it ) when you factor in gas!
Without a hint of sarcasm, if you know something I don't please fill me in...

 

[gtdean48]

The only custom hatter in town is Dave Johnson of D-Bar-J Hats. He is currently working out of his warehouse, but if you give him a call and tell him when you'll be in town and what type of hat you're interested in, he'll tell you a good time to come by and see him and whatever he has on the shelves.

Somebody earlier asked about D Bar J Hats & Google turned up www.dbarjhats.com which is not a good site. Even more interesting is the good site of www.dbarjhats.net has www.dbarjhats.COM on the bottom of the page. Somebody needs to tell Dave or he could be missing some bidness....

 

[Slim Portly]

Somebody earlier asked about D Bar J Hats & Google turned up www.dbarjhats.com which is not a good site. Even more interesting is the good site of www.dbarjhats.net has www.dbarjhats.COM on the bottom of the page. Somebody needs to tell Dave or he could be missing some bidness....

I should have addressed this previously. Dave had the dot com address stolen by cyber squaters, and so he switched to dot net. His website is just a scan of one of his hardcopy brochures and therefore it shows the old incorrect web address at the bottom of the page.