How valuable can a hat be?

[Lefty]

Will your rock work for both Bengal and Siberian?

Both. It's the royal deluxe model.

 

[AlterEgo]

Until I realized you, Mr. Alan, were in the UK, you had me scratching my head, for Antiques Roadshow is one of my favorite programs I never miss. The UK version is an entirely different show from the one in the US, so that explains why I never saw the Michael Jackson fedora episode.

I cannot comment on the fedora featured on the UK Antiques Roadshow or the one in Carlisle B's post, but I have carefully studied the ones Jacko wore in videos and personal appearances, and this is what I've gathered:

They are NOT wool. I can just tell by the way they look in close-ups and hold their shape as he dances and handles them. Some kind of fur felt, but definitely not wool felt.

As hard as I've tried, I never been able to identify the hat(s) by brand, much less model. They are custom/bespoke, perhaps unique. I mean, for a guy who has a pet giraffe, you really would not expect him to buy an off-the-shelf hat. Most likely MJ specified the maker's name be omitted and only his own name appear inside. I hear he did likewise with his clothing.

One last thing. The fedora's are black--just in case you had not noticed!

Though the glove and Thriller jacket are the items most closely associated with Jacko, I'd have to put the fedora in third place. Given that connection, isn't some outfit making a mint selling the Official Michael Jackson Fedora? If so, who?

Which reminds me: This past halloween, I was walking through my neighborhood just after dark to enjoy all the kids costumes and the general vibe of the night. A cool evening, I was wearing my charcoal Akubra Sydney, a wool sport jacket, and some gabardine trousers--just my regular clothes--and no, I was not "moonwalking," either.

Nevertheless, a neighbor who obviously did not recognize me from a distance, called out to her husband, "Look, here comes Michael Jackson!" She was holding a beer, methinks nowhere close to her first of the evening. With a totally straight face, I did my best soft-spoken, slightly effeminate MJ impression, "Yes, I thought it would be cool to go as MJ in white face. Now, where are your young boys?"