Hat advice for Orthodox Jews

[Bud-n-Texas]

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

That hat appears to be very similar to my Borsalino Rubino. Mine has a 3 and 7/16th brim and a 4 1/2" crown. It is my Sunday-Go-To-Meeting hat and have had numerous compliments on it. Is it as nice as my vintage Borso's, probably not, but it is one of the better modern day hats that I have found. I got caught in a heavy downpour a month or so and it performed beautifully. Once I got home, I laid it on a terry towel, let it dry, and you can not tell anything had happened. In short, it did its job and retained its looks. What more can you ask of a hat?

 

[dhermann1]

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

I just bought my new Stetson at Bencraft a few weeks ago. There was a young (maybe 19?) Yeshiva student there with his dad and a friend, trying on the big black hats. It was a charming and hilarious scene. He wanted to get it absolutely right! Friend was impatient, dad was patient and resigned. The staff were courteous and efficient. The young man in question finally chose something that looked terrific on him. And yes it was a BIG black hat. Any FLers who get to New York should definitely make it out to Williamsburg to see Bencraft Hatters. BTW Bencraft is an equal opportunity employer. The fellow who helped me was Latino, another employee was Irish American with a heavy classic Brooklyn accent. So you'll get a real New York experience if you go there. And it's just a few steps away from Peter Luger steak house, if you're hungry.
I must say, being as goyish as I can be, I've always thought that the yarmulke sticking out from under the hat looked kind of cool. Sort of rakish. But then again, I think I better stay out of that whole mishigas!

 

[Fletch]

The kippeh w/ great big hat look reminds me of the low-tilt campaign hat and strap on back of the head of the military drill instructor: rakish, yes, but more importantly, symbolic of a highly strict and serious nature and a total belief in authority. Not something just anyone could carry off, or would choose to.

 

[dhermann1]

Very astute and insightful. I totally agree.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Joel, You think a modern Borsalino is better quality then a Akubra? I guess I may have to look at putting this to the test some time.
Johnny

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Joel, You think a modern Borsalino is better quality then a Akubra?

Yes I do, if you want a dress hat.

I'm at a loss for who really makes the $400 "Borsalino" hats sold at Brooks Brothers. They are absolutely nothing like the excellent Borsalinos I saw at JJ.

Joel

 

[besdor]

Joel, the 400.00 hat that you saw at Brooks Brothere is the same hat we carry for 200.00 . All you are doing is paying 200.00 more for a Madison Ave address on your hat!



Steven
www.bencraft.com

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Steven, price aside, it simply wasn't the same hat. The felt was thick, floppy, and rough to the touch - it was also forest green in color, which I haven't seen in a hat store before. The stitching was uneven and poorly done, with loose threads actually hanging out of the ribbon and sweatband. The sweat itself was thin and cheap looking.

And this wasn't just one hat like that - they all were.

Do you sell a Borsalino like that? I sincerely hope not.

So, again, I'm left to wonder who actually makes that hat, and how it could be so radically inferior in quality from a Borsalino in a hat store.

 

[besdor]

WOW , I hope that I dont sell a hat like that! I cant imagine buying a hat in a department store at all today. I was in Bergdoff's a few years ago and saw hats piled up on top of each other like garbage . These stores dont have the personel with the right knowledge to sell and display them . Hats become an accsessory like gloves and handkerchefs .


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[analogist]

Brooks Brothers

I was at Brooks Brothers and saw their hats. IMHO, these were not Borsalino hats. In addition to not having the hand most modern Borsalinos have, they were sized as S, M, L, as apposed to numerical sizing.

analogist

 

[besdor]

I think a trip to Brooks Brothers will be made very soon. I'm very curious!!!





Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[rockyj]

GOOD ON YA HAPPY

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.

WELL SAID:eusa_clap

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

WELL SAID:eusa_clap

I'm afraid it's the uniform blackhatters who are changing the tradition. Just have a look at the pics of pre-war ultra-Orthodox Jews on page 1 of this thread.

This forum's topic isn't inner-Jewish arguments, but I'm afraid people who in the 60s started to wear a skullcap in addition to a hat, and who drastically reduced the choice of clothing and hats, claiming this is piety and taking one's religion seriously, are involuntarily implying their own parents and grand-parents were frivolous secularists. Or today's decent non-uniform Orthodox Jews that look like you and me.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

You obviously have a personal issue with these sects, and you've used this hat forum as a place to take a public jab at them.

 

[Dr Doran]

You obviously have a personal issue with these sects, and you've used this hat forum as a place to take a public jab at them.

Hope you guys don't duke it out ... I'm gettin NERVOUS

Saul, what's your opinion?

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Saul, what's your opinion?

As you ask...

I'm sorry if the impression arose that this was something like a pet peeve to me - it isn't. And anyway, as much as I like a certain way of dressing, I have no problem with people dressing differently, be it baggy trousers and baseball caps (yes, you read correctly) or black uniforms and oversized hats.

In fact, I didn't react when Boroparkpyro's post was criticised, only after somebody seconded it today. I simply wanted to say that the idea that today's ultra-Orthodox continue a tradition is a misconception. (And certainly nobody who thinks so is to be blamed in any way, because the "tradition" picture is what we get every day in the media.)

In spite of the fact that this topic is connected to hats, clothing, changes since the Golden Era and the like, I think this isn't the best place for a more detailed discussion.

Joel, frankly, I found your remark wasn't necessary, even if you'd have been right. But maybe we discuss that over a kosher beer some time.

 

[besdor]

One reason that many of the Orthodox people wear these types of hats is to conform to a certain group that they are a part of . Each community wears a certain style such as the Lubavitch of Crown Heights who wear wide brim black hats or the Satmar from Boro Park who wear the hard tall crown homburgs . They want to identify to their group that they are a prt of . I'm sure the same could be said for the Amish people or the Mennonites who wear different shape hats.
We get a lot of Hispanic guys in the store who all wear the same 1 1/2" stingy brim because that is what their"group" like to wear. Being different is fine but it's not for everyone.



Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Joel Tunnah]

But maybe we discuss that over a kosher beer some time...

Being a good Irish Catholic, I'll take a Guinness. :beer:

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Being a good Irish Catholic, I'll take a Guinness. :beer:

I'm in.

 

[deanglen]

Killians Irish Red for me, and I'm a Lutheran who also enjoys harmony among the brothers.

dean