The Good
Call Me a Cab
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- California, USA
Well, I believe it's about time for me to share my story.
For most of my life, I guess you can say that I haven't been a regular hat wearer. I don't know much about my hat wearing habits before a certain date, but there was an exception to this though; at the age of eight, or maybe nine I had taken up to wearing a tan felt cowboy hat (that probably used to be my Dad's I think, I'm not too sure on it's origins). I was actually into western wear, and dressed like a cowboy (my typical attire would consist of the hat, jeans, flannel shirts, denim shirts, a light blue western shirt, and even actual cowboy boots) for three or four years; started the practice during 1997 or 1998, and effectively ended it by 2001. You could say that I had given in to peer pressure; that is, to "dress like everyone else," wearing clothing that was more normal for kids my age. This essentially included dropping the western wear in favor of t-shirts, jeans and shorts, sometimes polos.
Well, for years I was the sort of person to be hatless about 99% of the time, on rare occasion wearing a baseball cap (usually to an actual baseball game, or if it was very hot outside and I wanted some sun protection). Around 2002 or 2003, don't remember the year actually, I had briefly dabbled into flatcap territory. Basically, I stepped into a clothing department store at a mall, saw a dark grey, tweed flatcap (it had a logo on the back though), and I wore that day, and after that, just sometimes, until it got to a point where I didn't wear it at all anymore.
To go forward into 2008, I had started developing my interest in hats again, through various factors. I had entered into college for the first time during fall, and around this time, I started becoming more interested in dressing nicer than I did before, to appear presentable. I've decided that since I was in college now, I should maintain a somewhat professional appearance. This did not include hats just yet, but I was fascinated with the idea, due to my usual exposure to them on campus. Occasionally I would (I still do see these types around actually) spot a student or two in the crowd wearing a stingy brim fedora, usually cotton, sometimes wool or fur felt, even a couple of my professors wear fur felt hats regularly (fedoras, and Australian outback hats, respectively).
By spring 2009, at the last day of the semester, I almost bought a straw or cotton stingy fedora, but decided to hold off on it, to buy a hat of better quality. Eventually, on my birthday, I had received a wider brimmed straw fedora (admittedly, it is a cheap so-called "Panama" that is actually shantung, it probably won't last for another year), and a wool Jaxon C-Crown type, the latter of which was actually a darker color than was advertised, although I kept it anyway. Not long after that, I started wearing these hats, and even brought the wool with me on a family vacation to the east coast and Canada. For Christmas, I had bought an Akubra Federation IV regular in the dark brown color, and that is the hat I'm seen appearing in most these days. I actually wear it quite frequently, and I'm looking forward to my next purchase this fall. Right now, the plan is to basically get one or two hats a year. At this point however, I'm only after quality fur felts or nicer straws. I want the most out of my money, and I would prefer quality than quantity.
For most of my life, I guess you can say that I haven't been a regular hat wearer. I don't know much about my hat wearing habits before a certain date, but there was an exception to this though; at the age of eight, or maybe nine I had taken up to wearing a tan felt cowboy hat (that probably used to be my Dad's I think, I'm not too sure on it's origins). I was actually into western wear, and dressed like a cowboy (my typical attire would consist of the hat, jeans, flannel shirts, denim shirts, a light blue western shirt, and even actual cowboy boots) for three or four years; started the practice during 1997 or 1998, and effectively ended it by 2001. You could say that I had given in to peer pressure; that is, to "dress like everyone else," wearing clothing that was more normal for kids my age. This essentially included dropping the western wear in favor of t-shirts, jeans and shorts, sometimes polos.
Well, for years I was the sort of person to be hatless about 99% of the time, on rare occasion wearing a baseball cap (usually to an actual baseball game, or if it was very hot outside and I wanted some sun protection). Around 2002 or 2003, don't remember the year actually, I had briefly dabbled into flatcap territory. Basically, I stepped into a clothing department store at a mall, saw a dark grey, tweed flatcap (it had a logo on the back though), and I wore that day, and after that, just sometimes, until it got to a point where I didn't wear it at all anymore.
To go forward into 2008, I had started developing my interest in hats again, through various factors. I had entered into college for the first time during fall, and around this time, I started becoming more interested in dressing nicer than I did before, to appear presentable. I've decided that since I was in college now, I should maintain a somewhat professional appearance. This did not include hats just yet, but I was fascinated with the idea, due to my usual exposure to them on campus. Occasionally I would (I still do see these types around actually) spot a student or two in the crowd wearing a stingy brim fedora, usually cotton, sometimes wool or fur felt, even a couple of my professors wear fur felt hats regularly (fedoras, and Australian outback hats, respectively).
By spring 2009, at the last day of the semester, I almost bought a straw or cotton stingy fedora, but decided to hold off on it, to buy a hat of better quality. Eventually, on my birthday, I had received a wider brimmed straw fedora (admittedly, it is a cheap so-called "Panama" that is actually shantung, it probably won't last for another year), and a wool Jaxon C-Crown type, the latter of which was actually a darker color than was advertised, although I kept it anyway. Not long after that, I started wearing these hats, and even brought the wool with me on a family vacation to the east coast and Canada. For Christmas, I had bought an Akubra Federation IV regular in the dark brown color, and that is the hat I'm seen appearing in most these days. I actually wear it quite frequently, and I'm looking forward to my next purchase this fall. Right now, the plan is to basically get one or two hats a year. At this point however, I'm only after quality fur felts or nicer straws. I want the most out of my money, and I would prefer quality than quantity.
