Highschooler looking for a FEDORA ;)

[Slim]

Dude! You live in San Francisco! The best way to discover your hat size and check out some amazing vintage stuff is to follow this 10 point plan for vintage success!

1. Take a friend and start at the corner of Stanyan of Haight and head East.
2. Pass McDonalds and the lure of Amoeba records (save a little cash) and the gnarly dude spare changing.
3. If you need a snack stop at Zona Rosa Burritos and get the Taco Zona Rosa. Lots of food for little cash (again you will need it, do drop a dollar in their tip jar though, nice folks)

4. Hand your wallet to your friend and tell them not to give it back to you until leave your next stop.... La Rosa. Amazingly beautiful vintage clothes and nice hats and way too expensive (see http://www.sfheart.com/vintage_secondhand.html). Ask the very nice staff to try on hats until you find a size and style you like. Check out what the staff is wearing. Ask them what they are wearing. People who love vintage love to talk about what they have on. Ask to try on a hat that is made out of fur felt. Try on something made out of wool. Hold the hats by the brims, not by the pinch and feel how the material feels. How heavy. Ask how old the hat is. See if a previous owners initials are on the sweat. Think about the previous owner for a second. How cool! Wearable art! Try on the caps. Thank the staff and leave. Tell your friend to keep hold of your wallet.

5. Tell another gnarly dude "no thanks" to what ever it was he just mumbled.
6. Cross the street, watch out for that guy in the pink leotard on the unicycle "Pink Man!" and enter Decades of Fashion. Remind your friend he/she has sworn to hold your wallet.
7. Repeat process of step 4. Try on lots! Touch the material.
8. Tell your friend to give you your wallet back...no seriously dude... give the wallet back!
9. Head down the block to the Goodwill. As Goodwills go, there is a lot of highly skilled competition among the upper haight hipsters for the treasures inside. Remember part of the trill of vintage is the hunt. Check out that jacket. Can you belived someone once wore, maybe loved that hideous jacket. Mel must have loved it. He stitched his name in it. Only $3 bucks! Consider wearing it ironically. Nothing cooler than making something new and cool again by wearing it out of context. Perhaps you'll be lucky and find the same thing you liked at La Rosa and it costs $7. Again coolness credit for finding it at the goodwill for just a couple bucks. Require your friend to buy a few things too and leave carrying your goodwill bag with pride. Notice on the street that the true hipsters are carrying the generic goodwill bags not the Aardvark or Wasteland bags from down the street (beautiful stuff there too though).

10.Head to a cafe and order coffee even if you don't like coffee. Find a seat outside. Slip into the bathroom and put on at least one "find" and wear it back to your seat. Don't just wear it, own it, you didn't just buy that hat, "This? No I've had it for years" Try not to think about the new item. Discuss school, other kids at school, girls, boys, talk about what you like, how messed up the world is right now and how you would change it. The fog is rolling in and it's getting cold. Finish up your drink. Bus it so that cute espresso jockey doesn't have to and wear the item back out.
When you get home, slip out of your find, stick it in your back pack so nobody makes a dumb comment about your find. Don't pull it out again until your alone again and then decide it you like it. If you like it. Wear it!

Sounds great. I'll find time to check those stores out, and try not to spend my money at the expensive places lol . Thanks for your guide, I'll put it to good use!

 

[mingoslim]

I'm nearly three times his age . . .

Welcome Slim. I'm nearly twice your age. You make me feel old.

I'd agree with OSF, about a cheaper wool felt, partly for the reason he gave, and partly because I remember what a rough place my school was, and kids there would have thought nothing of grabbing a hat and throwing it or something equally unpleasant. lol

do you know what size you are?

And I don't feel old, yet . . .

Now, Slim . . .
Great to see you looking for your first hat.
I know there are some who say wool is fine, but I hate wool felt . . . I know it is cheaper, but it just doesn't hold up in my opinion. It is also heavy and hot.
There are some good, inexpensive fur-felts out there . . . I would pay a little extra it I were you.

But most important . . . get something that you like.

Mingo Slim
(the other "Slim" in the lounge.)

 

[mingoslim]

I think we should start our own AAA guide . . .

City by city, we need to be able to give advice like this

Dude! You live in San Francisco! The best way to discover your hat size and check out some amazing vintage stuff is to follow this 10 point plan for vintage success!

1. Take a friend and start at the corner of Stanyan of Haight and head East.
2. Pass McDonalds and the lure of Amoeba records (save a little cash) and the gnarly dude spare changing.
3. If you need a snack stop at Zona Rosa Burritos and get the Taco Zona Rosa. Lots of food for little cash (again you will need it, do drop a dollar in their tip jar though, nice folks)

4. Hand your wallet to your friend and tell them not to give it back to you until leave your next stop.... La Rosa. Amazingly beautiful vintage clothes and nice hats and way too expensive (see http://www.sfheart.com/vintage_secondhand.html). Ask the very nice staff to try on hats until you find a size and style you like. Check out what the staff is wearing. Ask them what they are wearing. People who love vintage love to talk about what they have on. Ask to try on a hat that is made out of fur felt. Try on something made out of wool. Hold the hats by the brims, not by the pinch and feel how the material feels. How heavy. Ask how old the hat is. See if a previous owners initials are on the sweat. Think about the previous owner for a second. How cool! Wearable art! Try on the caps. Thank the staff and leave. Tell your friend to keep hold of your wallet.

5. Tell another gnarly dude "no thanks" to what ever it was he just mumbled.
6. Cross the street, watch out for that guy in the pink leotard on the unicycle "Pink Man!" and enter Decades of Fashion. Remind your friend he/she has sworn to hold your wallet.
7. Repeat process of step 4. Try on lots! Touch the material.
8. Tell your friend to give you your wallet back...no seriously dude... give the wallet back!
9. Head down the block to the Goodwill. As Goodwills go, there is a lot of highly skilled competition among the upper haight hipsters for the treasures inside. Remember part of the trill of vintage is the hunt. Check out that jacket. Can you belived someone once wore, maybe loved that hideous jacket. Mel must have loved it. He stitched his name in it. Only $3 bucks! Consider wearing it ironically. Nothing cooler than making something new and cool again by wearing it out of context. Perhaps you'll be lucky and find the same thing you liked at La Rosa and it costs $7. Again coolness credit for finding it at the goodwill for just a couple bucks. Require your friend to buy a few things too and leave carrying your goodwill bag with pride. Notice on the street that the true hipsters are carrying the generic goodwill bags not the Aardvark or Wasteland bags from down the street (beautiful stuff there too though).

10.Head to a cafe and order coffee even if you don't like coffee. Find a seat outside. Slip into the bathroom and put on at least one "find" and wear it back to your seat. Don't just wear it, own it, you didn't just buy that hat, "This? No I've had it for years" Try not to think about the new item. Discuss school, other kids at school, girls, boys, talk about what you like, how messed up the world is right now and how you would change it. The fog is rolling in and it's getting cold. Finish up your drink. Bus it so that cute espresso jockey doesn't have to and wear the item back out.
When you get home, slip out of your find, stick it in your back pack so nobody makes a dumb comment about your find. Don't pull it out again until your alone again and then decide it you like it. If you like it. Wear it!

 

[Twitch]

Hey Slim are you trying to get beat up or what?:eusa_doh:

 

[Fatdutchman]

Others have beat me to it..try an eight panel cap.

As far as other attire to wear with it, just wear neat jeans/slacks with the belt actually AT the waist. A decent looking button up "sport shirt" of the $8.99-at-Wal-Mart variety is fine. If you just must wear a t-shirt, make it a plain white or black one. Skinny dudes like you look good with stingy brim hats and the '50's style "camp" shirts.
(remember, that opinions are like bellybuttons )

I would have worn a hat during high school (my first one I bought in my Jr. or Sr. year about 1988), but there was no way I could have done anything with it when I got there. Wasn't going to put it in a locker....and a backpack? What's that?