Posh Hats – Wear Them Like The Beckhams

Victoria and David Beckham have apparently discovered the potential of felt hats, arriving at Heathrow for the Christmas holidays in a trimmed trilby (her) and a casual, Indy-type fedora (him).

The Softpedia article called “Hats – Even the Beckhams Are Doing It:
Posh and David don matching hats, may set new trend” wonders what the fashionable duo might do for hats, saying that “Posh and Becks donning them [may] be the push that [hats need] to go mainstream once more.”

On a related note: why is soccer called football in Europe?

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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The Warmest Hat in the World

What’s the warmest hat in the world? The lambs wool Ambassador? The beaver trooper? Or maybe it’s the trooper hat in mink shown here that is actually the warmest winter hat in the world.

Mink fur has water repellent properties as well as insulating the wearer against low temperatures. There are two types of hairs in mink fur: the first, guard hairs, are responsible for keeping the denser underfur hairs dry. The function of the underfur hairs (which grow in a ratio of up to 24 to each guard hair) is to retain heat.

The mink trooper is one of the most expensive hats you can buy, but it basically lasts forever and you simply won’t get cold. Besides, everyone will envy you and wish they were you. Nuff said right there–gimme one of dem dere furry hats!

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
The Very Grown Up
CEO Hartford York

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Fabulous Fur Hats

With much of the Midwest frozen in or digging out, the function of fur (be it faux or fur-real) is saving some heads and ears from permafrost.

The troopers are a top choice, with their earflaps tied below the chin, but if it’s a bit more of a regal look you’re trying for (as you tunnel your way to the car), the Russian-style Ambassador is all about elegance in warmth.

I wonder if I should start selling nose warmers. . .

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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Drying Wet Felt Hats

If you’ve been caught in a wet snow storm and your fur or wool felt hat got really soaked, remember the cardinal rules of hat care:

1. keep the hat on a flat surface, upside down.

2. dry naturally at room temperature, otherwise you risk shrinkage.

I just read something about how the process of felting wool may have been discovered–it was through the use of lambs wool stuffed into the leather shoes of nomads. When worn in cold weather, the necessary processes to felt wool naturally occurred: compression, heat and humidity. Makes sense to me, but I think I might just test the theory with a pair of homemade winter moccasins of my own.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
The Multi-Talented
CEO Hartford York

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The Wisdom From Hats

In his article Wisdom: The Folklore Of Hats, Michael Hickey sets out a very nice compilation of hat facts, from the origin of the word “hat” (Saxon meaning “hood”) to the old saw, If you want to get ahead and get noticed, then get a hat, to how a cap figures in the word “handicap”.

Like me, you may heard of most of these tidbits, but I don’t think I’d ever seen the connection between Milan and milliner. Hickey says:

The maker of men’s hats is called a haberdasher. Traveling haberdashers were originally from Milan, Italy and this gave rise to the making of women’s hats, and so the maker of women’s hats was called a “milliner.” The term was first recorded in 1529 and referred to the products for which Milan and the northern Italian regions were well-known, i.e., ribbons, gloves and straws.

And finally, take a minute to read Michael’s poem, Raising Papa. I believe it’s this poem that shows us the wisdom.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
Well educated and sensitive
CEO Hartford York

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THA – Headwear for the Homeless Campaign

The Headwear Association to distribute cold weather hats to men, women and children at local shelters and non-profit organizations nationwide

CHICAGO, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ – When temperatures dip below freezing, wearing a hat is one of the best ways to keep warm. Sadly, many of this nation’s homeless and underprivileged can not afford proper headwear to protect their head and ears during the long winter months.

Year after year, studies have shown that you lose as much as 80 percent of your body heat through your head. To help the less fortunate, The Headwear Association (THA), the oldest association in the hat trade and celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, will donate warm hats to shelters and non-profit organizations on Wednesday, December 10 in 20 cities across the country.

“Last year our members handed out more than 5,000 hats including knit, felt hats and other caps to disadvantaged people who needed them to stay warm during the winter,” said Bob Broner, president of The Headwear Association. “This campaign is so meaningful to our organization and we hope that our efforts make a small difference in the lives of those in need.”

For more information, please visit the THA website at http://www.theheadwearassociation.org or call Susan Weiss at 312-222-1337.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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A Hat and A Smile

Remember the post about how wearing hats is scientifically proven to make your friends wear hats too?

There’s more now, in a Time.com article called Laugh and the World Laughs Too: Happiness is Contagious. Researchers have found that merriment is “a collective affair, depending in large part on [a person’s] friends’ happiness — and the happiness of their friends’ friends, and even the friends of their friends’ friends.”

What I found even more interesting than the viral effect of a smile was that “the contagion effect was weaker among family members than friends, possibly because while people take a cue from friends, they take for granted their families and spouses.”

Wow.

What this means is that we are more influenced by “people up to three degrees away” (ie., strangers) than our own siblings or parents.

I’m going outside and will walk amongst strangers. I will wear my hat and smile, knowing that soon many of these very people will be doing the same. To the third degree.

Thanks for reading,
Smilin’ Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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The Hats in Paris

After visting one of the most extravagantly beautiful cities in the world, writer Barry Ronge of The Times wrote about how Parisians exemplify the sexiness of style in his article, Paris, C’est Chic.

He talks about the simple boot, for example, saying:

Boots in France are not things that protect your feet. They are declarations of wealth, status and power. Unless you are properly shod, you will never get your foot in the door of the haute société.

And then he moves on to hats:

The same goes for hats. French men wear dashing Borsalino hats or chic little Trilbies in wonderfully woven fabrics. The women go for elegantly crumpled little velvet concoctions, usually in black, that hug the head and are adorned with beautifully created flowers, subtle embroidered medallions or plaited ribbon trims that define the shape of the head without shrieking: “Look at the fabulous hat I am wearing.”

From that last bit, I think Mr. Ronge is okay if a man shrieks about his fabulous hat, but he’s not so much a fan of women doing so. That point may call for some discussion, but not before I chew on his next sentence:

They have mastered the art of dressing way, way up, but in a style so discreet and ingeniously engineered that it looks totally effortless.

This last statement makes me wonder if perhaps my heritage doesn’t contain a little more francophone than the folks let on. . .cuz you just know how effortlessly chic I am in my Borsalino hat.

Thanks for reading,
Steve Singer
CEO Hartford York

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categories: straw hats summer hats panama hats straw fedora hats straw fedoras winter hats fedoras cowboy hats leather hats Kangol hats Borsalino hats Scala hats Stetson hats Wigens hats fur hats fall hats autumn hats hats for winter wool caps hats women’s hats men’s hats fashion humor