Good looking boaters that won't break the bank?

[carldelo]

Alternative

I've tried on boaters several times, and even in my size, they didn't fit the shape of my head. They also felt so solidly constructed it didn't seem they would ever conform. That and the fact that they make me look like an idiot is why I've never bought one, although I think they're nice looking hats.

This is an alternative I found, somewhat pricey, granted, but I think it's even nicer than a boater. Doesn't come big enough for me, but regular-noggin people might like it.

http://www.villagehatshop.com/borsalino_panama_porkpie.html

 

[dhermann1]

Just to play devil's advocate, may I suggest it made you FEEL like an idiot?
I'm saying that, of course, never having worn a boater in public, so I can't really say whether I'd feel/looklike an idiot myself. Maybe a little photoshop experiment might be in order.

 

[Orvil Newton]

I'm considering considering a boater

After all, I am a boater, or perhaps I should use the term "Yachtsman" on this forum

But then of course one must consider the overall look. I'd have to buy a pair of white ducks at least to pull it off. Better yet, a seersucker suit. I certainly couldn't wear one with my usual summer outfit of Bill's and aloha shirt (Which works great with a panama)

 

[carldelo]

True

Just to play devil's advocate, may I suggest it made you FEEL like an idiot?
I'm saying that, of course, never having worn a boater in public, so I can't really say whether I'd feel/looklike an idiot myself. Maybe a little photoshop experiment might be in order.

You make a good point - I tried the boater on about 12 years ago, so maybe I would feel differently nowadays. But it is true that the boater I tried (at a very fancy shop in Princeton NJ) was extremely stiff, like wood, and was not comfortable. Maybe it's time to try them again, although my wife might have something to say about that...

Hey Orvil - I use this fedora-style straw as a kayak hat - it's virtually indestructible poly-straw and can get sweaty, crushed, submerged in salt water, muddy, whatever. It also has a wind cord. I use it 'cause I can't stand the goretex atrocities that most kayakers use. It makes a good on-water hat, and looks OK off the water, but obviously not as good as a real straw hat.
http://www.noggintops.com/page.cfm?p=156

 

[Tomasso]

My take on boaters is similar that of top hats, bicorn, tricorns, etc; aesthetically appropriate for their time but unable to make the transition to current day without the scent of affectation.

 

[indycop]

Hey Orvil - I use this fedora-style straw as a kayak hat - it's virtually indestructible poly-straw and can get sweaty, crushed, submerged in salt water, muddy, whatever. It also has a wind cord. I use it 'cause I can't stand the goretex atrocities that most kayakers use. It makes a good on-water hat, and looks OK off the water, but obviously not as good as a real straw hat.
http://www.noggintops.com/page.cfm?p=156

Thats actually a nice looking hat! Do you have any pics of it in action?

 

[carldelo]

Thanks

Thats actually a nice looking hat! Do you have any pics of it in action?

Here's me, back to camera, wearing the hat in the skin-on-frame kayak I built during a course last summer; the designer of the boat took the picture. My friend Pat is sitting in a gorgeous Danish flatwater kayak (made from mahogany veneer) that my wife bought for me a couple years back.

PS - I followed the directions again, but I never seem to get the photo inline - only a link

 

[Big Man]

I, too, have given thought to buying a boater. However, I would like to "try one on" prior to purchasing so as to get a feel for how it looked on me.

I had a great uncle, Ned Sparks, from Silver Spring, MD who always wore a straw boater. He passed away in the late 1980's, but even during the 80's he was wearing that boater. It's the only hat I can remember him wearing, and probabally the only man outside of a political convention who I've ever seen wearing a boater. I say that to make a point. He did not look "out of place" to me. That style of hat on him looked perfectly natural.

I believe Harry Pierpont of the FL wears a boater in his avatar picture. It looks perfectly natural on him. I guess what it all boils down to is what you adopt as your "personal style". There may be a "breaking in period" until you have adopted a boater as part of your personal style, but I'd venture to guess that once that has taken place, you would not look "out of place" unless you were without your boater.

 

[skyvue]

But then of course one must consider the overall look. I'd have to buy a pair of white ducks at least to pull it off. Better yet, a seersucker suit. I certainly couldn't wear one with my usual summer outfit of Bill's and aloha shirt (Which works great with a panama)

My summer outfit is something close to yours (shirts cut like an aloha, but without the tropical patterns), and I agree that a boater wouldn't work so well.

But neither do I think a boater requires white shoes or pants or a seersucker suit. You see men wear them with dark suits all the time in old movies.

 

[indycop]

Here's me, back to camera, wearing the hat in the skin-on-frame kayak I built during a course last summer; the designer of the boat took the picture. My friend Pat is sitting in a gorgeous Danish flatwater kayak (made from mahogany veneer) that my wife bought for me a couple years back.

PS - I followed the directions again, but I never seem to get the photo inline - only a link

It looks great, I would wear one of those.

 

[bolthead]

It looks great, I would wear one of those.

I wouldn't consider that a Boater.

As far as Boater's go....that's why we have chocolate & vanilla. Some guys can pull it off, some can't. I don't think I could, so I wouldn't even consider trying it. They just look too stiff to me, like they would be very uncomfortable, that's my opinion.

I've see Dinerman wearing one, He and Douglas can wear just about anything and make it look good. Like I said, Some guys can pull it off, some can't. [huh]

 

[metropd]

My take on boaters is similar that of top hats, bicorn, tricorns, etc; aesthetically appropriate for their time but unable to make the transition to current day without the scent of affectation.

I completley disagree about the top hat!

 

[Nick D]

I've never worn a boater, but are they any stiffer than a top hat or a bowler, or do they have a bit of flex?

 

[metropd]

But I guess my passion and love for top hats might speak louder than reality.........

I do not think the boater and top hat are lost in time. With the right outfit I think they are perfectley acceptable. Just takes the right kind of man with the right kind of "lean" to pull one off.

 

[bolthead]

But I guess my passion and love for top hats might speak louder than reality.........

I do not think the boater and top hat are lost in time. With the right outfit I think they are perfectley acceptable. Just takes the right kind of man with the right kind of "lean" to pull one off.

Even still, how many Top Hats do we actually see out and about....really?

 

[Dinerman]

Boaters are like anything else, there are many styles within the blanket, as there are many styles of fedora. Different styles suit different people. I, for example, think I look awful in a modern manufacture one. The proportions and the weave don't do it for me. Wider brimmed ones are the same deal. I lean towards the '20s ones, with very yellowed straw, wide bands, and funky weaves.

 

[Fredthecat]

The costume effect

I bought several boaters, Stetsons, Dobbs etc years ago when they were nice and still quite cheap. Ebay wasn’t even a concept.

They are comfortable, nice shade hat. Give them a try!

I was asking Mrs Fredthecat about them just a few days ago.

She agrees…Fedoras look correct for everyday wear, but even while paddling the wood canoe or driving the Model A Ford…I can’t pull off a boater without it looking like a costume.

The tricorn hangs on the spare room wall between my 1958 Disneyland Coonskin cap and the Yellow Cab hat.
I got married in a top hat.
Fredthecat

 

[Fredthecat]

Dinerman, that stink eye avatar is mesmerizing.

 

[metropd]

Even still, how many Top Hats do we actually see out and about....really?

I've seen one person. The reflection of myself in a store window. True story.

 

[bolthead]

I've seen one person. The reflection of myself in a store window. True story.

I think I made my point.