As someone with neurodiversity I recognize clothes have many layers, no pun intended. There are cultural significances and practical uses, these are the two main qualities of clothing. Culture eventually wins over the practicality of certain garments, people wear flight jackets without being pilots, people wear Stetson’s without being ranchers, I fit that second category. Living in this country I have been exposed to the common judgement passed by others, Americans love to observe a person and fish out their qualities so that they can equate them to something familiar usually attached to pop culture. Since I live in the city, wearing a rancher hat most people won’t care but some people will point and say “Ayyy I’m walking here” or “Howdy pardner” or some stupid shit.

Two years ago when I didn’t care about appearance I had many people point and laugh, one person I confronted said “when is x album coming out”, essentially comparing me to some washed up classic rock star who I looked nothing like. I walked back to their apartment after researching what they said and said some things which made them close their window and end their windowsill “comedy show” which was essentially what I mentioned before, the lowest form of comedy of making fun of appearances and comparing those features to someone else / pop culture references.

But the hat is seven hundred dollars.

  • luddybuddy [comrade/them]
    ·
    29 days ago

    I am a pale bald man and thus require protection from the elements. I also have always loved hats, and I was definitely a fedora kid.

    Personally, I prefer smaller hats and caps for the city, especially if I’m riding a bike. I wear cycling caps, bucket hats, factory caps, berets, etc.

    I like proper hats, but have found that both the fedora or teardrop crown and the cattleman crown have too much stigma. Instead I generally wear a telescope crown, that is similar to a pork pie. I currently only have one such hat, a really big palm leaf straw, and it feels pretty audacious to wear in the city. I used to have a smaller one, with only a 2” brim, and that felt quite at home. I also used to have some felt hats in the same shape, but they needed too much care and are expensive to replace, so I have not.

    • bubbalu [they/them]
      ·
      29 days ago

      Have you seen this denim repro 30's hat? slightly better coverage and style to a bucket hat but not the associations with a Fedora or Rancher.

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