Warning: Hats Can Make People Disappear

Dan Berry, hat lover extraordinaire, has a hat collection so large, he says of it:

I had to rent space at a Manhattan Mini-Stor [to store the collection]. It took two trips in a U-Haul to get it there. I was sweating profusely and threw out my back. But it was worth it.

I love my hats. My hats are like a best friend or a member of the family. Wherever I go, whatever I do, I wear a hat. Sometimes I wear several at once–one on top of another, right on top of another–just because I can.

I’m with you, pal. Especially when you talk about jealous people trying to drive wedges into the special relationship between a hat-lover and his hat. Because there is a bond unlike any other: a hat represents the wearer in a way no other accessory can.

Of course, non-hat-wearers do have a point. After a while, you don’t even need the person — just the hat does the job. Picture Indiana Jones, for instance – you know the hat; you no longer need Harrison Ford.

And it’s gone even further. Harry Potter fans point to the Hogwart’s Sorting Hat, which is a movie star in its own right (in fact, I believe it commands a larger salary than does Mr. Ford these days…)

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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Indiana Jones fedoraHarry PotterSorting HatHarrison Ford

Hats Don’t Lie

What’s your favorite color today?

The association of mood or feeling with color is uniquely human. For most people, different colors represent different moods. However, common associations stemming from tradition, nature and personal experiences include:

RED with Passion
YELLOW with Cheerful
BLUE with Peaceful

When you put on a hat, you not only reflect your mood to the world – but you can change the mood you’re in.

Thanks for singing,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

source article
from The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology (EET),
a publication of San Diego State University
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fashion color moods Wigens

Bold Hats on Bald Men (and Women)

Those of us not follicly-challenged forget how good we have it: our locks and tresses lie in anticipation of color, gel and other forms of attention-getting adornment.

The hairless among us (whether by choice or genetics) rely pretty much on the textures, styles and patterns offered by hats and caps—unless of course they are in the minority who can wrinkle their pates, rhythmically undulating scalp tattoos.

Speaking of physical prowess, did you know that the prevalent perception that it’s impossible to lick your elbow is false? That rocked my world, I’ll tell ya.

Thanks for reading,
Steve (Shaken But Not Stirred) Singer
CEO Hartford York

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Pirate Hat Confidential

Today’s philosophical cogitation, offered up for all it’s worth:

Wearing hats is a lifestyle – not a fashion trend.

(Thank you.)

Enlightening Example: You know I like Pirates of the Caribbean – but that doesn’t mean I’ll start wearing head rags instead of hats any time soon. However, a discreet skull and crossbones pinned to my oh-so-rakish porkpie or fedora is a distinct possibility.

Go crazy.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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pirate fashionJohnny Depp movies Dead Man’s Chest

High Heat Calls for Hot Hats

From Bucharest to Oklahoma and beyond, dangerous heat conditions continue as temperatures soar.

One EMT in Europe says that “most of the heat victims were elderly people who refused to take our advice and wear sunglasses, hats and natural-fiber clothing. Some parents were likewise irresponsible as they took their children for walks in the middle of the day, when the mercury was on the verge of blowing up.”

Take no chances, I say. Put your hat on. Saunter. Stay cool.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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fashion heat temperatures health cool

Hats in Line to Lower Health Insurance Premiums

Seems that large employers are exploring “benefit design strategies” when it comes to health care. We should see more “financial incentives, such as lower premiums or co-payments, for employees who choose healthy behaviors like smoking cessation, exercise and weight control.”

There are two items I’d like to highlight here:

1. My eyebrows raised slightly when I read that the public is in favor of rewarding people who choose healthy behaviors – that’s quite a switch:

Wall Street Journal/Harris Poll results released yesterday indicate
consumer support for such programs is growing. More than half of those surveyed (53 percent) said they think it’s fair to ask people with unhealthy lifestyles to pay higher insurance premiums than people with healthy lifestyles, while 32 percent said it would be unfair. When asked the same question in 2003, 37 percent said it would be fair, while 45 percent said it would be unfair.

2. Does wearing hats qualify as a “healthy behavior”? It should, of course – unprotected exposure to the sun is believed by some experts to cause 65% of all skin cancer cases.

And what about looks? Hat-wearers look good.

I know I do. 🙂

Have a great weekend!
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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fashion health health insurance

Miami Vice in a Hat

Guy Trebay of the New York Times opines that “the extent to which the show [Miami Vice] played a part in the sartorial recasting of the American man is difficult to overestimate.”

Before pooh-poohing this mind-imploding theory, consider:

“Before Miami Vice, which was conceived as a cop show for the MTV generation, adult males were not often in the habit of wearing T-shirts under sports coats or shoes minus socks.

Most guys without ties in the 1980’s would have been considered slobs or candidates for the unemployment line.

Pastel-colored trousers were reserved for caddies, pastel-colored vehicles for pimps.

Suits in the late Reagan era were still substantially lined and padded and as rigidly shaped as Barcaloungers, although with sleeves. Loose, crumpled garments were considered work wear for convicts or gigolos.

Hardly anybody without a begging cup wore a straw hat.

Although it’s hard now to remember the radical statement these gestures once constituted, before “Miami Vice” few men except bank tellers rolled up their jacket sleeves, and about the only folks who flipped up their blazer collars were the singer George Michael or patrons in some Fort Lauderdale gentlemen-only bar.

“It’s the first point in fashion history where you can really show a TV having that influence on fashion,” said [Jim Moore, the creative director of GQ magazine], adding that a two-day growth of beard before “Miami Vice” was a sure sign of a impending bumhood. “Miami Vice made stubble cool,” he said. It has stayed cool far too long, and this is something Mr. Mann [the show’s executive producer] should be required to answer for.”

Go forth. Roll Up Your Sleeves and Indulge in a Miami Vice.

Stubble if you want to.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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categories:hats women’s hats men’s hats fashion
Miami Vice New York Times MTV generation

Straw Hats and Green Tea

We all know the importance of hats with respect to sun protection: cool, natural fibers like hemp provide shade from damaging rays (and also make us look fine).

But did you know that drinking green tea is another “premiere skin protectant”?

I just happened to come across that nugget of life-saving info in my daily reading of WomenFitnessNet (hey – I don’t have to defend that, OK?).

Seems that green tea “protects against direct damage to the cell and moderates inflammation, according to research from the Department of Dermatology, Columbia University, New York. Studies suggest that the catechins in green tea are some 20 times stronger in their antioxidant powers than even vitamin E. Men [my emphasis], women and children need to position this super shield on their side against the ravaging effects of the sun.”

Thanks for reading,
Steve Green-Tea Advocate Singer
CEO Hartford York

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The Bowler Hat as British Icon (on wheels)

At an interesting site called Icons: a Portrait of England, the bowler hat has been selected as something very recognizably British. Reader comments run the gamut and in some cases are surprisingly passionate:

Bowler Hats are also famous for the Northern Ireland Orange Men – an organisation considered by many to be Secretarian and anti-Catholic. It excludes Catholics, some other Christians and any other religion, as well as those who are non-religious.

The city of London has long represented the English sense of fair play and steady, plodding determination. The bowler hatted businessman is recognized the world over as the icon of the city.

i wear my bowler hat skateboarding, it is a beauty, 50 years old.. my son has one also, maybe we are a bit daft, but it looks cool, let start a resurgance in this cool headgear.

I say, skateboarding in bowlers, eh?

Cheerio!
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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fashion British fashion bowler hats icons
skateboarding

Baseball Caps and the Sexes

Men used to wear baseball caps simply because they were team fans; hip hop has changed all that.

Sports fashion is more about the look these days and the look says retailer Charles Oliver “is more about the hats [today]. It used to be all about jerseys and T-shirts, but now people are buying hats to match clothes and to look good . . . it’s about wearing an outfit to the club and looking good on Saturday night.”

Women, on the other hand, wear sports attire less for a sense of fashion than function. Even if she’s never heard of Jerome Bettis, if the endorsed hat or top fits the bill – she’ll buy it.

There’s something profound in somewhere in here, but all I’m getting is a headache.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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fashion sports baseball hip hop