Hat advice for Orthodox Jews

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Lounge member Boroparkpyro explains how to avoid the uniform. (There might be some technical terms, but most is understandable to the general public, I think.)

 

[PADDY]

There's a healthy Jewish hat-wearing community near me.

And I think it's great that these gents are promoting the Fedora. But it is very uniformed and I wonder if there is room for these gents to customise their look as far as the hats are concerned, because it's such a great opportunity to look 'so cool.'

When I say customise, I mean in colour, in ribbons, in how you wear it generally...etc.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

It seems like they are trying too hard to change a tradition. No offense to Boroparkpyro. I'll ask someone if there this is a proper tradition or something that is versatile. Not the best decision to break an old religious tradition. Hasidic Jews are strict. The Borsalino comment wasn't necessary either. You're wearing a hat, not a country.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

But it is very uniformed and I wonder if there is room for these gents to customise their look

That's exactly the point, I think. Of course, there are other powers in addition to looking "cool", like the wish for conformity leading to uniformity. I think this isn't even a contradiction, and meets in feeling looking like everybody else with an oversized hat (both in style and actual size!) is cool. Or it's mixed with unawareness and negligence. The same is true for the way of wearing jackets open, even DB ones, or the choice of ties as remarked by a commenter to the linked blog post.

Also, many might actually think this is the traditional attire, while older photos of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox clearly show it isn't. (And can't be, for the simple reason that today's standard black fedora style didn't exist before some time around the 1940s.)

Just look at these pictures of an ultra-Orthodox (!) yeshivah, in fact one of the most prominent back then and still today.

Here are some more:

 

[Joel Tunnah]

This strikes me as a fairly condescending thread.

 

[besdor]

As someone who deals with the community everyday , trust me when I say that the "hat" has become the most important part of a yeshiva boys life today. A typical person can spend hours in one of our stores picking out a hat because it needs to be perfect .
Why are the brims so large and the hats only black ? So as to look different than every other group that wears hats today.
These boys only want Borsalino because it is a status symbol in their circles just as a Mercedes may be in other communities.
It is a very complicated situation. Ask any of the loungers who have spent time at one of our stores watching these boys buy a hat and you will understand what goes on.


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[TaxMan1]

Anyone living there know where the "uniform" black hat is generally bought at? A link would be appreciated.

 

[PADDY]

Sharp looking dudes in the photos

Those guys in the photos look incredible. If I could have just 'half' of what those gents have, then I'd be a very happy man!! What a well dressed bunch of swells :eusa_clap

Now THAT is what I call STYLE!!:eusa_clap

 

[Fletch]

This strikes me as a fairly condescending thread.

It's not necessarily condescending to point out conformity and groupthink. Especially not amongst groups you have some affiliation with.

 

[besdor]

Taxman , we have over ten thousand black hats in stock , in Borsalino alone!!
Some of them can be seen on our link but if you have any specific requirements , please let us know.



Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

So, which sells best among "blackhatters" (this isn't a derisive term, BTW)? Borsalino's Rosati and Bellini?

 

[besdor]

Today , a typical customer will buy a Borsalino in a 3 1/2" brim with a 5 " crown . We can sell 20 to 30 hats a day like this :http://www.bencrafthats.com/product.php?pid=172&subcname=Borsalino

It's amazing to see when we get other customers in the store trying on regular hats like a Stetson Temple . It's like seeing two different worls together!


Steven
www.bencraft.com

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I guess it's just hard to "read" a statement and know what the writer meant by it. Sometimes it's just misunderstood. I visit a hat shop that is right in the center of a Orthodox community. A rabbi will spend hours in there just to find the right hat.

 

[Davidson]

Taxman , we have over ten thousand black hats in stock , in Borsalino alone!!

...and...

Today , a typical customer will buy a Borsalino in a 3 1/2" brim with a 5 " crown . We can sell 20 to 30 hats a day like this :http://www.bencrafthats.com/product....name=Borsalino

Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

Interesting. Sounds like one (global) customer base that may be enough to keep Borsalino, and a number of retailers, in business just from that trade alone. Which makes me wonder, what are the biggest "vertical markets" and/or consumer groups (like the example above) for fur felt hats?

 

[PADDY]

Spending hours just to maker sure the hat 'is just right.'

I visit a hat shop that is right in the center of a Orthodox community. A rabbi will spend hours in there just to find the right hat.

Quite right too. Getting it 'just right' is what it's all about! After all, 'the hat' is the first impression you will get from that person, and then...how the rest of the outfit blends in.

As the Duke of Wellington once quipped: "Time spent on reconnaisance, is seldom wasted!!"

 

[TaxMan1]

Today , a typical customer will buy a Borsalino in a 3 1/2" brim with a 5 " crown . We can sell 20 to 30 hats a day like this :http://www.bencrafthats.com/product.php?pid=172&subcname=Borsalino

It's amazing to see when we get other customers in the store trying on regular hats like a Stetson Temple . It's like seeing two different worls together!


Steven
www.bencraft.com

That is one lovely hat, Steven.
Bookmarked for future reference.

 

[Weston]

Hope this is appropriate – but any large group of guys that wants to show respect to God and be snazzy dressers are A-OK with me!

 

[TaxMan1]

Agreed!

 

[johnnycanuck]

Minor curiosity. What is the quality of a modern Borsalino? Better then Stetson or Biltmore? Is it just a brand loyalty or are they that nice of a hat?
Johnny

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Johnny,

I was at JJ's in manhattan yesterday, specifically to look at the Borsalinos. I gave them a thorough inspection, and tried on several models, and I have to say that I think they make a fine hat.

The felt was soft and pliable. They seem to use much less stiffener, and a lighter weight body than Stetson or Biltmore's dress hats. The stitching was all nicely done, and not conspicuous, like some brands. The Como in particular has a nice stitched detail on the brim edge. The sweatband was very nice for a production hat (pretty thick, soft leather) - better than Akubra uses, but not as good as what Art uses, for example. Biltmore and Stetson inexplicably both use something like platic coated cardboard, or so it seems to me.

People here have attacked modern Borsalino's durability, but from holding the hats, I think it may be a case of people expecting an extremely lightweight dress hat to hold up to use and weather exactly like a cowboy hat - which it cannot.

All-in-all, I feel they are a big step up from Biltmore or Stetson, and a smaller step up from Akubra also.

Joel

ps. JJ was really expensive. I think Steven has the same hats for much less.