I'm an intermittent wearer of hats and was recently invited to see the range of hats available at Tom Smarte and subsequently tried a fedora and a British-made cap. Tom Smarte was making hats in 1786 and the business was recently revived by Allon Zloof, himself from a hatmaking background. He has brought his enthusiasm for hats and creativity to bear to update the hat for the twenty first century.
Allon now makes hats for country and city wear, for business gents and hipsters. There's something for everyone. I tried a dark grey fur felt 301 fedora with a stylish grey and black hat band and a cashmere-mix tweed 105 cap in an attractive dark blue.
Both have converted me to to more dedicated hat wearing. The cap keeps me warm and dry on dog walks, while the fedora is idea for both town and country wear, its waterproof lapin fur making it both stylish and practical.
To see Tom Smarte's range of hats and caps visit the website here, where Allon's unequalled knowledge and enthusiasm for hats sparkles out of the pages.
Certain types of hat go best with certain face shapes. While it's always best to try for yourself and make up your own mind what you like, Tom Smarte has a comprehensive style guide to hat buying and face shapes which will aid your selection.
Grey Fox
ReplyDeleteI always wear a cap for casual attire and a trilby for more formal outings. I have the latter in grey, black, brown and blue for matching with each appropriate overcoat. I am not familiar with Tom Smarte's hats but from the website they appear more expensive than Christy's, Bate's and Lock and Co. Have you ever compared them against any of these long established suppliers? I would be interested to know your opinion please.
Best regards,
Snapper
Grey Fox
ReplyDeleteEcho Snapper's comments re Smarte's.
I always wear a hat. I feel undressed if I walk out of the house without one. They finish off the outfit. I have around 30 of many styles from a flat cap to an vintage black silk topper. However, I have never paid anything over £100.00 for a hat and most are made in countries where slave labour has been banned such as Great Britain, America and Canada. For example, one of my favourite fur felt hats is the Bailey Briar made in the USA and purchased for around £60.00 from HATS AND CAPS.
I can have have a made to measure suit made with Yorkshire wool for around £800.00 which includes two fittings and a lot of time and trouble. Based on that, where do they dream up £300.00 for a single hat?
Robert
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteRobert, many thanks, but I'm not really in a position to answer your question.
Snapper - I haven't compared but would love to be able to do so if any hat producers read this.
GF
I've always fancied myself with a proper tweed cap, or a nice felt hat, but I'm reliably informed of how silly it makes me look, every time I try one. I'll keep trying though, one day I may find one that has a high enough Wife Acceptance Factor.
ReplyDeleteHi Grey Fox, here's my first comment, in this great blog. I love hats, and bought a few, yet I never seem to get corageous enough and wear them regularly. I've bought a nice panama hat last year and used it barely 3 times... I'm wondering if I feel over conscious wearing a hat in public, even though I love to choose them and buy them.
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough, in winter I often wear a flat cap without even thinking of how people might think of me. Silly, isn't it?
Diego Feretti.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting.
I think we are all like to fall in with the crowd and not be the odd man out. However, if you like wearing hats then wear hats. JUST DO IT, to quote the Nike slogan. You are not going to be ridiculed and nobody is going to laugh at you. I wear all sorts of hats all year round from a top hat to a casual Panama hat and the only comments I receive are positive as hats are really smart.
Hope that gives you some courage to enjoy your hats.
Best Wishes
Robert Wise