The Kool Kat in the hat

TOP of the morning to ya, sir!

Hats off to you!

Although I am glad to see a lot of men wearing hats these days (NOT baseball caps...those are what little school boys wear), I am still concerned with how they treat their hats.

最近看到很多男士都戴起帽子(不是小學生戴的棒球帽!),但還是有些不太對勁的地方.

A hat is more than just a piece of clothing. It has a story, a soul. It needs to be treated special.

帽子不是只是服飾的一部分.帽子是很有戲的,它值得你的重視.

I am pretty sure (or at least I hope so) that nobody would wear a backwards baseball cap with a nice suit, or even blazer (unless they are unfortunate enough to suffer from some mental disability). Thus, in the same vein, why would you wear a nice hat and defile it by wearing trainers, tracksuit pants, basketball shirts, etc?

我想(或希望)應該沒人會再一身西裝,或是穿西裝外套的時候反戴棒球帽吧? (除非他們腦袋有問題).再來,應該也沒有人會特底戴了一頂好看的帽子,卻穿著布鞋,問動褲,棒球裝...等等吧?

This has to be a low point in our fashion evolution, and I hope it can stop. A gentleman needs to be aware of how his headgear accompanies (or doesn't!) his outfit.

以上那些真的不能繼續存在於時尚界了,而身為一位紳士,真的要好好搭配服裝和帽子.

Here are some of my hats, and a short rationale behind matching them to the outfits.

接下來介紹一些我會戴的帽子,還有一些服裝的搭配.

1. The Fedora/Trilby 紳士帽

Classics in anyone's book. If you have the shoulders for it, a nice wide-brim fedora or medium-brimmed trilby, made of a good wool or another not-cheap material, rounds off a decent outfit very well.

紳士帽是很經典的帽子.如果你的肩膀夠寬,那麼你很適合戴寬帽沿的紳士帽.如果你的體型比較瘦小,肩膀沒那麼寬,那就選短帽沿的紳士帽.這樣看起來比例比較正常.
盡量挑羊毛氈或是其它比較好的材質製的帽子,看起來才不會太廉價,沒有質感.

Outfit:

Hat - Wool trilby from ASOS

Tie - Union Jack bow tie from Mrs. Bowtie

Jacket - Burgundy wool blazer from ASOS

For the slimmer look.

Outfit:
Hat - Wool fedora from ASOS
Shirt - Purple diamond pattern from Ted Baker
Jacket - Dark blue blazer from Noose and Monkey

Expanding the shoulders a bit.

2. The Baker boy hat/Driver's cap 報童帽

This is the one I see most commonly used these days, and I am glad to see them when they are used correctly. It pains me to see people wear them as an excuse to just have a hat, when they look like they are going running or coming from the beach...sigh.

報童帽是最常見的帽子.如果戴的好,我很樂見.但看到有些人隨隨便便戴上ㄧ頂報童帽,只為了想戴而戴,卻毫無整體感,我真的看不下去.....

Outfit:

Hat - Plaid baker boy from ASOS

Shirt - Green short-sleeve from Uniqlo

Outer - Dark blue waistcoat from Noose and Monkey

Tie - Captain America bow tie from Mrs. Bowtie

CAP-tain America?

Good enough for an afternoon tea session, no?

3. The Bowler/Derby hat圓頂禮帽

One of my favorites. When I wear this I get the sense of being simultaneously an English gentleman, and a gunslinger in the Wild West too. This requires a bit more fancy-ing up, but the end result is worth it and all the attention it attracts means people are going to talk about you. Who doesn't want that, right?

我的最愛之一:圓頂禮貌. 戴上圓頂禮帽不禁幻想自己是位英倫紳士,或是西部牛仔.圓頂禮帽需要搭配比較正式的服裝.搭配出來的效果和所有得注目禮會讓你覺得一切都是值得的.任誰都不想拒絕這樣的感覺是吧?

An Englishman in Taipei

Outfit:

Hat - Bowler from ASOS
Outer - Brown tweed waistcoat from Ralph Lauren

Draw on the count of 3, pardner!

4. The Top hat 高帽

Finally, my all-time favorite, the top hat! Who doesn't want to look like Abe Lincoln when they strut around town? The looks you get from people and even people taking random pictures of you makes this one a winner. Haters gonna hate, sure, but instead of hating, I'd like to see them pull off wearing this one! THIS one takes some guts and big brass... And you know people realize that when they see you in it.

最後要介紹我最最最喜歡的帽子: 高帽! 為什麼那麼喜灣呢? 因為當路人用訝異的眼神看著我,甚至是偷拍我的帽子的時候,我覺得超爽!靠北的人總是找的到點靠北,但我選擇忽略.我穿得開心最重要!

I'M the alpha in this troop - deal with it!

Outfit:

Hat - Tall top hat from ASOS

Ring - Silver fox from Simon Carter

Speak softly and carry a big stick..and hat.

So, kudos to the men today who don hats, bravo gents! But please make sure you respect your hat with a decent accompanying outfit. Otherwise it's just like wearing a tuxedo and going barefoot. NOT cool folks!

Keep the faith and dress like the champ you are.

Pendleton out.

再次強調,若要戴帽子,請不要太隨便!不然感覺很像身穿燕尾服卻打赤腳.一點都不酷好嘛!