How many hats is enough?

[Mario]

I had enough.
And then I ran out of money.
And then I started selling on ebay instead of buying.
Now I don't have enough.

Darn...!

 

[ScottF]

In all seriousness, I think the minimum amount that one could work comfortably with is:

6 felt hats in four colors; black, grey, brown, and a versatile shade of green or blue. Each one in a wider brim size, and also stingies in grey and brown.

2 panamas; one dressier, and one casual.

1 dress hat (homburg or the like).

1 beater/sunhat; a cloth Tilley or a vented felt.

Not sayin' I'm the end-all authority when it comes to hat collecting, but to me the numbers make sense.

Cheers,

I like your list. Mine is similar (10 that I wear), but other than two Montecristis, only wide-brim felt fedoras. I have another 7 that are collectible and don't get much hair-time lol (westerns and long-hairs), and another stack of 10 that I'm too lazy to put on ebay.

 

[fluteplayer07]

If that stack of 10 you're too lazy to put on eBay happens to include any long-haired felts, I'm always open to talking... Just because I made a list I should adhere to, doesn't mean I do.

 

[The Good]

My present plan is to ultimately own nine hats.

1 Black dress weight fedora (now owned)
1 Grey dress weight fedora (now owned)
1 Brown dress weight fedora
1 Grey lightweight fedora
1 Blue lightweight fedora
1 Grey Homburg
1 Black Homburg
1 Silk Top Hat
1 Panama Fedora (now owned)

Whether I will ultimately fall short of that or exceed it is difficult to say. To tell the truth, I already have at least two in excess of the above (namely a different dress weight grey fedora and a replica of a very old, plush finish black fedora that Dinerman posted a few years ago)

Revisiting this thread, I would have to say that my future plans appear to be something like this below, although they are subject to change:

1 Dark brown fedora (Owned)
1 Light grey fedora
1 Thin ribbon open road type of fedora
1 Tan fedora with a darker contrasting ribbon
1 Black homburg


Ideally, I would like to meet these exact standards in at least three or four years. I'm not sure if I plan on spending too much money too frequently on hats, though I like them. Besides, there are suits, sport coats, leather jackets, and other clothing options I'd like to focus on as well. Theoretically though, I can easily get the rest of the hats on my plans list through Akubra. Each of these categories has an Akubra that could very well represent what I'm after, I believe.

 

[Cane Rod Maker]

Lids

Not even a year ago I picked up a Cavanagh and an Adam. Then I got the Fedora bug. Thats when I picked up my first Beaver felt which is in my Avatar. It was a big ol hat, small for me in size, but I wanted to get a re-block to my size and re-work to make it MY hat. Terrific job by Tony B.

Since then I've aquired 8 customs & 2 Pristine Vintage Stetsons....I'm not done...

How many hats should you buy.....as many as you can. And if they suite you well, you keep them and wear them.

Caution: Deep pockets are required of this addiction...lol

I've had a black statesman hat that I bought new, ten years ago. I never wore this hat until recently when I realised I didn't have enough hair on top to keep the sun off my head. As soon as I started wearing this hat, a Dobbs hat appeared on my door step, courtesy of ebaY.

So I wanted to know, how many hat are enough? Do you gentlemen have just one or two, or do you have one for each day of the week?
How many should I buy?

 

[Neophyte]

...It's still not as expensive as paintball.

 

[jwalls]

Nor is it as expensive as collecting firearms, antique watches, or custom knives.:eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

 

[The Good]

Hmm, it does make one wonder why more people couldn't get interested in this hobby... Perhaps the lack of exposure to fur felt hats could be the issue behind the relative lack of fellow hobbyists. Then again, if even just 20% of the population of the U.S. for example wore felt hats regularly, it would be considered less of a hobby, and more of a lifestyle, or even a social norm itself.

I forgot to mention in my list Panama or straw hats. That's one thing I tend to overlook a bit, but I do appreciate a good Panama. Unfortunately, I only own a cheap lower-end, likely non-authentic paper straw product anyway, but here's a list:

1 decent quality authentic Panama fedora
1 Sunbody type straw hat that could handle a little rain

 

[frussell]

I've been culling the herd

I went overboard at first, buying lots of Akubras and such, because as a 7 3/4 long oval, it seemed impossible to find good vintage hats. I even had two westerns converted to fedoras as a last resort. A little while later, with some persistence and some help from fellow loungers like GTDean, I've gotten a great Stratoliner, two excellent Resistol Kitten Finish fedoras, and a Borsalino Torino. Add that to my Tumwater custom and a good Stetson Nostalgia, and I'm covered. I originally wanted only grey hats, but somehow I have 3 browns in there now. I feel like I have enough, but it's really hard to turn down something good in my size, because they don't come up often. It's not a cheap hobby, but I've had more expensive ones, like collecting spurs and bits, and vintage stringed instruments. Now those get expensive. At least a hat can keep the desert sun off my nose and neck. Frank

 

[singlechange]

Nathan, Your location in Bangkok, Thailand has one of the world's hottest climate and plus the typhoons and the rainy season to boot. It seems to me that you will need more than a couple of hats to rotate and wear as the weather permits if you are now wearing a hat everyday to work and for going outside your home.

 

[scottyrocks]

I think that one's own ideal number can change over time.

I had a hat buying spree spanning several years. Not just fedoras. Also western hats, baseball hats, and other types, as well (newsboy, leather flying helmet, and lots of lets call them 'novelty,' etc).

I had thought I was collecting, but what its all boiled down to at this point, for me, is that Ive always been searching for one exact style of hat, which I have found. I think I look best one one style hat in one particular color. I have three of them now, in two colors, which, quite honestly, is one too many. Most of my other hats will now be up for sale. Some may be of interest here, but many will not (like, fer instance, my large quantity of baseball-style hats).

 

[fenris]

Thanks to a very generous member from COW (Club Obi Wan), Texan Scott, I now have 3 fur felt hats (all Indy style, though); a Christy's, Federation IV Deluxe and a Peters Bros Custom Soft Rabbit.

I wear the Fed IV every time I'm out and the PB for short errands (bringing my kid to school) as the PB still needs time to conform to my head.

The Christy's, as of this moment, is now stretched over my home-made block and will probably need a lot of brim ironing tomorrow as I've made it all wonky after stretching it over the block. I just hope I manage to re-sew everything back on...

 

[150719541]

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

Hi Robert ¡¡¡¡ I am with you, I should want one more like you, Cheers ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

 

[Mulceber]

How many is enough? More. -M

 

[theinterchange]

With humans, enough is never enough.

 

[zetwal]

With humans, enough is never enough.

That's not true. I don't want many more than I already have. I can't put an exact number on it ... but it is finite and under control.

 

[theinterchange]

That's not true. I don't want many more than I already have. I can't put an exact number on it ... but it is finite and under control.

That was actually a paraphrased quote from Over the Hedge. I agree with you zetwal. I own too many hats now, myself... or rather too many hats I don't wear with enough frequency.

Randy

 

[zetwal]

Cool. I've never seen OTH. Is it worth checking out?

 

[theinterchange]

Cool. I've never seen OTH. Is it worth checking out?

Really enjoyed it. Matter of fact, I watched it twice before sending it back to Netflix. While the story is pretty typical, the characters make up for it.

I die laughing every time I think of Hammy talking about liking cookies
[A recurring gag]

Randy

 

[scottyrocks]

I would have to say that a half a dozen is enough. But every once in a while I see a hat that one of you guys found on the bay, for instance, in my size, and I say to myself, dang, I wish I had gotten that one - I coulda used one more! But really, Im good with the few I have.