Hang 'em Right

With the changing of the seasons our wardrobes must also change. The light summer clothing should be carefully examined, cleaned, pressed and hung up to make room for heavier Autumn and Winter garments.

But before you put it in the closet, take a long look at what you're hanging your summer wardrobe on. Are you using wire or cheap plastic hangers? If you answered yes, you could be damaging and shortening the life of your investment.

Garments only last so long; each piece can only be worn a certain number of times. Factors such as the number of times a piece of clothing is dry cleaned, how long it is worn or how it is stored can affect it's longevity. A poorly stored suit or jacket will not last as long as a suit or jacket that is stored correctly.


How can we correctly care for, store and hang clothing?

*Throw away wire hangers and thin plastic hangers. These are not only too narrow (thereby creasing the resting garment), but wire hangers can also rust, destroying the clothing along with it.

*Buy thick plastic hangers or, better yet, find thick wooden hangers. Not only do the wooden hangers look more elegant than plastic ones, they also come in a variety of shapes that fit the contours of the garment better than straight plastic hangers. This helps the suit or jacket keep it's natural shape.
Quality wooden hangers can be found at your local department store or at The Hanger Project, a seller of high quality hangers.

*Avoid draping trousers over hanger bars as this can result in unsightly creases and wrinkles. Look for clip or clamp hangers that hold onto the trouser at the cuff and allow it to hang, ridding any chance of creases to develop.

*Hang some sort of insect repellent with your wool suits. Moth balls are fine but can be harmful to you and your clothing. Better than moth balls is cedar. It's natural and makes your clothing smell nice, making it harmful to nothing but the mothes. Cedar rings and balls can be found at your local department store.

*Avoid hanging clothing in any sort of bag, especially older plastic bags. These plastic bags emit destructive chemicals when they deteriorate that can destroy your clothing. If you absolutely must hang your clothing in a bag use a new plastic bag and leave it partially open to allow air to flow about.

*Store you cloting away from direct sunlight. While light helps keep moths away, direct sunlight can easily fade and destroy your wardrobe.

*While dry cleaning is useful to a certain extent, sending clothing to the dry cleaner too often can shorten their lifespan. The harsh chemicals can break down garments if they are exposed to them too often. Dry cleaning can also give your clothing unwanted sheen.

*After purchasing a vintage wool piece, stick it in the freezer for a day or two to kill off any moths that might be hiding. This does not hurt the clothing in any way and keeps the rest of your collection uncontaminated.


If you follow these simple guidelines your wardrobe will last longer and therefore save you money and undue stress.

The Fedora at a Glance

When you hear about men's vintage fashion what is the first thing that pops into your mind?

Chances are it's a picture of a fedora, maybe Indiana Jones' now famous head topper. Fedoras are iconic. They represent a bygone era of style and, for many, of mystery.

Unfortunately for too many today, especially the younger generation, anyone wearing a fedora is a "pimp" or Indy. The fedora has been bastardized. The original context of the fedora is more or less forgotten and like many things today fedoras have become part of popular culture. Wal-Mart sells cheap 'gangsterized' fedoras to the in crowd; movie and music stars wear a variety of fedoras in trendy ways. Yet this new trend of fedora wearing (even if they are cheap and ugly) may be ushering in a new era of fedora wearing. Many of the kids who are wearing the cheap Wal-Mart fedoras today will discover real, classic fedoras tomorrow. Wearing fedoras is on the rise...

The trendy stingy brimmed hats of today's popular culture will decide whether the classic fedoras of yesteryear will return for good or fade from our memory once again.

Let's not kid ourselves, wearing fedoras will never reach the level that it did back in the early part of the last century. That is quite unfortunate. Even so, it allows a small 'cliche' if you will to strive. Imagine if everyone began wearing classic fedoras again. The supply of vintage beauties would dry up, leaving us fedora enthusiasts at the mercy of modern production fedoras which, at the moment, are horribly lacking in the quality of felt, construction and often shape. This, however, may change in the near future.




Well, I've rambled on about fedoras long enough. Perhaps you would like to see some of my own fedoras? Of course you would.


Here is a family photo of my fedora collection as of three months ago. All of the hats shown are vintage, dating from the 1930s to the 1970s. I am a fan of the larger brim and higher crown with little to no taper.

Nothing overly spectacular. Front right is a Penny's Marathon. Front center is a Stetson panama. The brown fedora on the left in the second row is a well used Portis from the 1930s. The gray hat in the very middle is a Churchill I use as my everyday hat and the blue fedora to the right is a Royal Stetson.



Of course I've added hats since that photo was taken.


Here is a rare white Mallory I recently added to the collection.




It has ventilation in the crown!

Here's a silverbelly Stetson 'Open Road' that was originally from my great great-grandfather's clothing store.

J.C. Petersen Co.

"A boy can buy as cheap as a man."

Last but not least is this Champ given to me by a friend. It looks very much like a Stetson 'Whippet'.

As you can see there are many different styles of fedoras that suit any type of face. I've heard many men say "I'd love to wear a fedora but I think they just look silly on me". Pish posh! Either they did not find the right fedora or they weren't use to how it looked. Anyone with a face can look dapper in a fedora if they wear the right one in the right way. Take a look at the link below if you need help finding/wearing a fedora that suits you. If you're a young trendy guy you might consider a Stingy fedora (with a brim 2" or less); if you're into a more classic look go with a wider brimmed hat.

Miller Hats

This isn't the last time we'll take a look at fedoras but it is enough to get us started off.

Billy

The First Post is Always the Most Difficult

Welcome to my new blog. This isn't my first and probably won't be my last.

However, while my other blogs focus mainly on politics, firearms and life in general this blog is special.

This blog will specifically focus on classic men's clothing. Everything from suits to hats, shoes and more will be touched on in this blog. Vintage (1930s-1950s) style is my area of focus but I will also point out where the vintage affects (or in some cases is completely ignored by) modern style.

My knowledge of classic style or any style for that matter is quite limited so this will be a learning experience for both author and reader alike. As such, your experience and help is much appreciated. Let's learn together.

Billy