hat or no hat while dancing?

[Diavo]

The pros and cons of wearing a hat (any swank hat) while dancing:

- it falls off during complicated moves
- it's hot!
- it messes up your hair

+ it covers up your messed up hair :wink:
+ it looks good
+ you get lots of compliments
+ if you're the only person with a fedora/porkpie then people will remember you as "The guy with the hat."
+ you can pull off cool moves to pick up that hat while dancing if it fell off...
+ you can use it while dancing as a gesture (ex: I'll send the girl out for an outside turn and at the peak/max of it I lift my porkpie straight up and bring it back down; the girl's always smile!)
+ chicks in fedoras rule! :D

Any other comments on it?

[swinginstyle]

it can definitely be styling', but I hate the resulting hat hair.

[danceguy]

Oh man these are two people after my own heart. :D

If you truly wish to wear a hat while dancing my friends, then I entreat you to feast your eyes upon the following Salsero:

http://www.dance-forums.com/album/showphoto.php?photo=148&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=5

Always remember folks, if you're gonna wear a hat, you gotta have the hip threads to match! :P :D :) :P

ScorpionGuy

[salsachinita]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I love hats & look good in them, but my preferred casino style has moves that are not so hat friendly :roll: !

I find that guys seem to be able to keep hats on, as opposed to girls who generally cop more of the over-the-head-under-the-arms moves (at least in salsa) :? ..........

On the other hand, hats/bandanas are excellent bad-hair-day cover-ups :wink: !

[swinginstyle]

I could so pull off the purple

[etchuck]

Hats I have seen in swing dances are rather cool. Still, to me you need to choose a hat that goes with your clothes when you're dancing. In a sense, to me a hat is part of a "costume". The only hat I have is my cap from graduation, and that won't stay on my head. :)

Now I would like to wear a tam. There's one guy who dances salsa here who wears an all-white outfit and a white tam.

In salsa, I would agree bandannas work very well.

[HepcatBob]

A gentleman always removes his hat when he is indoors.

[Swing Kitten]

I'm not sold on hats for dancing... they don't bother me or anything but it says to me that the wearer is more interested in his outfit than dancing and definately doesn't care about the happiness of his hat!! ... and all that sweating and how often do you think he launders it?

Often it comes across to me as someone just wanting attention and, well, that doesn't impress me much :roll: let the dancing speak for itsself

Now I've owned and wore my snapped brim cap more than five years before I learned to lindy... I may wear it to a dance but I don't dance in it-- I care about the longevity of my hat and I care about my dancing (which will be ill effected when I get hotter than nessesary)

... but on second thought... do you guys think you dance better while wearing a hat? I could see someone thinking that they look really sharp and so feel better about themselves and their dancing.... what do you think?

[Diavo]

I have to humbly admit that I do feel better when I'm dressed well (hat or no).
Hey, when you look good, you feel good! and that's one of my mottos.

But wearing a hat or not doesn't affect my dancing, nor my confidence. Now, the difference between jeans & slacks might...

As for actually dancing *better*: only in the sense that as I mentioned, I use my hat while dancing for the occasional gesture or move. :wink:

[twodance]

Like my wife says "It's not a hat, it's an attitude."

[cocodrilo]

Ha, ha on the attitude comment! That's so true, sometimes!!!

I think guys look great dancing in hats! I could never imagine myself wearing a hat while dancing as it's hard enough for most men to get their arms over my head to begin with(I'm 5'8"). A hat would most definitely complicate things. :lol:

[Swing Kitten]

Like my wife says "It's not a hat, it's an attitude."

:lol:

I guess that's something to note on--- it's 'hat attitude' which I have seen overwhelm the guy's 'real' personality at times

[Diavo]

"It's not a hat, it's an attitude."

LOL! :lol:

[benh]

As I discovered this weekend, another disadvantage is when you have been wearing a hat all night it gets soaked with sweat (the old newsboy type hats - not sure what they are offically called).

I was having a dance and the follower I was dancing with took the opportunity to grab my hat at the end of the song for the finish and put it on ... a move that she regretted as soon as she had done it!!!

Ben

[pygmalion]

Ew! :shock: :lol:

Welcome to the forums, benh. :D

[westiemonkey]

In my opinion hats are fine dancing if they don't interfer with dancing with your partner.....if it does... take it off.... if it doesn't keep it on. I love wearing hats but sometimes 3 or 4 spins and off goes the hat... if that happens i take the hat off.....just not fair to my partner if I'm always focusing on the hat and not him.

Have a great day.

[Sagitta]

I got to get a hat!! Just haven't been able to find that perfect one. The image that I have in my mind has never materialized into actuality. :(

[etchuck]

I have too many ballcaps... and I don't like wearing them at anything other than ballgames now.

You can leave your hat on (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tomjones/youcanleaveyourhaton.html) when you dance. ;)

[Diavo]

I have had experiences where the chick (uh, "follow" :wink: ) takes off and wears my hat for the duration of a dance, and although being Italian I sweat a lot, my hats don't get wet (well, not soaking).

If I show up to a dance with a girl <space> friend of mine or two, one invariably wants to wear my porkpie all night long (I prefer porkpies over fedoras, they're jazzier). I guess that's the "save the last dance for me" cue. :wink:

--Diavo 8)

[pygmalion]

Uh ... chick? :lol: :lol: Too funny. Sharing hats is kinda sexy, in an unsanitary sort of way. :wink: :lol:

[Diavo]

Oh! This weekend I was dancing (big surprise) with my new cap. It's black with white pinstripes, like a Kangol-type of hat. Well, someone here mentioned having sweaty/dirty hats and ruining them because of dancing with 'em. This hat's "brim" is plastic, not cardboard like most caps' brims (and baseball caps' brims even) and so the tag on the inside says "Machine wash warm." So now I have a hat I can always have clean. :)

Re: "chick" --it's a supreme force of will not to fill my writings with jive slang...

--Diavo 8)

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

Girls, no sombrero hats please.

[pygmalion]

Re: "chick" --it's a supreme force of will not to fill my writings with jive slang...



Oh. I didn't know chick was swing slang. I thought it was "kitten."

[cocodrilo]

Girls, no sombrero hats please.
It's funny, on flights back from Mexico, some tourist always has one of those d@mn sombreros! They're busy fumbling with their carry-on and wondering where they're going to put the bloody hat! :lol:

[Diavo]

*bump*

It's getting hot for dancing in DC, so I'm on the lookout for straw hats to wear this summer. Particularly a black straw porkpie. 8)

[pygmalion]

Hey! This is the thread I was looking for, for luh. He just got a new hat for his birthday. 8)

[Vin]

Ladies, wear the hats every once in a while. I must admit though, I am a sucker for a pretty lady in a stylish hat.

[gte692h]

Any other comments on it?

i personally am not into hats - their tightness affects my dancing ;)

In performances, i think hats are a great accessory. for example,
http://journals.rpungin.fotki.com/blog/entry/bgtrkdffsg/
this link above has a nice little link to a salsa video, where the dancers both have hats. i was mesmerized.. mostly due to their very relaxed style, but also their hats and clothes! ps - i would love to dance with the follow in this video !

Socially, i get a headache everytime I see someone with a hat.. usually because they are copying someone's style, and they are wearing something that doesn't suit them.

[Diavo]

Hey! This is the thread I was looking for, for luh. He just got a new hat for his birthday. 8)

Yeah, I bumped for him. :raisebro:

[chachachacat]

now.

You can leave your hat on (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tomjones/youcanleaveyourhaton.html) when you dance. ;)
I thought Randy Newman wrote this song?

[leftfeetnyc]

I have too many ballcaps... and I don't like wearing them at anything other than ballgames now.

You can leave your hat on (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tomjones/youcanleaveyourhaton.html) when you dance. ;)

That is one hot song. I personally prefer the Joe Cocker verision....that one is hawt!

I'm not crazy about hats while dancing, but on occasion they're fun. I've had one great hustle where my partner was wearing a hat, on a pass I swiped the hat onto my head and he swiped it back putting me through a spin. The dance was a hoot.

Edit: I tried to include an image of the dance, didn't have any luck...any tips on doing that? It needed resizing, maybe that was my problem

[rpungin]

In performances, i think hats are a great accessory. for example,
http://journals.rpungin.fotki.com/blog/entry/bgtrkdffsg/
this link above has a nice little link to a salsa video, where the dancers both have hats. i was mesmerized.. mostly due to their very relaxed style, but also their hats and clothes! ps - i would love to dance with the follow in this video !

Socially, i get a headache everytime I see someone with a hat.. usually because they are copying someone's style, and they are wearing something that doesn't suit them.

I am surprised you did not get a headache watching that video, since it was just social dancing at the Easter Parade :) Thanks for your compliments though!

Raphael

[gte692h]

I am surprised you did not get a headache watching that video, since it was just social dancing at the Easter Parade :) Thanks for your compliments though!

Raphael

yay ! you're on dance forums ! i thought i should have left feedback on your webpage as well.

i liked that video a lot, in fact a lot more than all the other salsa videos you have, from the congresses.

[Diavo]

I'm not crazy about hats while dancing, but on occasion they're fun. I've had one great hustle where my partner was wearing a hat, on a pass I swiped the hat onto my head and he swiped it back putting me through a spin. The dance was a hoot.

When swing dancing (and I always wear a hat) and people are watching us, my girlfriend will take my hat off and put it on her head. So in a moment I'll turn her out, then pass under her arm on the return, and on the final (3rd) turn I grab my hat back and top it. Sometimes she shakes her fist at me -- or throws a punch which I grab and turn into making her spin.. Everyone watching always smiles. (We're such show-offs, but we do it for the onlookers.)

[Cruelshoes]

Late to the thread.

I go back and forth about hats. I love 'em but they can get in the way, too. Plus, if you take them off during the night you got to remember to take it with you at the end of the night!

I have a zillion hats and I go through phases about wearing them, for dance or just to wear. Mostly, I like to wear them but am careful to take them off prior to hat head. It seems there comes a time in the night when the hat either comes off or stays on the whole night! :lol:

In Minneapolis, we have been working on getting people to wear hats more often. We started the Jazz Hat Social Club. It's sputtering right now but last year it was going pretty good. I think it'll get a spark again this summer with some of our jazz singers interested in doing it.

www.jazzhatsocialclub.com

There are lots of pictures with "Hattitude" if you are interested in taking a peek.

[Diavo]

:applause: I applaud the club, Cruelshoes! :applause:
Love the "no baseball caps" icon in the bottom R corner. [I hate the fact that a store called Lids has only bb caps especially b/c us Swing Kids use "lid" as jive slang] :twisted:

I'm dying to get a black straw porkpie and a meshy/knitted black cap (snap-down brim-esque) cause it's gotten too hot to keep my normal hats on while dancing! :eyebrow:

--D14V0

[Serendipity]

for a while i tried to wear a hat while dancing on days where i just wasn't feeling groovey. I have found that regardles of what hat i'm wearing they are dangerous. Some one always gets bonked...regardless of who is wearing it. And the hats with the soft cap that are all feathers...i really hate those...women dancing near by almost always nearly blind me or my partner when we get hit in the face. It makes me bonkers. And god forbid any of you for any reason start dancing out side sporatically with a baseball cap on. Those are the most dangerous of all...my friend and i decided to polka to genetics class...i nearly accidently knocked him out :oops:

[swing4life]

I don't mind hats as long as they don't get in the way of dancing. The berets are fine but anything that can go out and hit someone isn't appropriate in a social scene unless its for a performance. We have enough obstacles to get around.

[Diavo]

berets are fine

..in France... :wink:

[luh]

Hey! This is the thread I was looking for, for luh. He just got a new hat for his birthday. 8)

can you imagine. i found it YET. way to late. but still fun to read.
luh

[luh]

now.

You can leave your hat on (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tomjones/youcanleaveyourhaton.html) when you dance. ;)
I thought Randy Newman wrote this song?

i thought so too

[luh]

to post actually my answer.
I got a hat, - love it - a big brim fedora - zoot hat.
it's a toy, and cool for styling. you can actually have quite fun with it, if your partner does have fun too. though i hate the messed up hair. my hair is pretty fast long again, and than it just looks very weird, because normally i got curls, so if i use it, they somehow straiten up a little and look like hay - not good anymore.
but i won't stop. There are two things i'm going crazy about - shoes - (not like 20 000 sneaker, but danceshoes forever) and hats. all sorts of it. my brother got a newsboy cap he wears to dances - i never where that one, and i could have more of them. like a nice pork pie, a fedora, another zoot hat, other color...
anyone has the money for me? :lol:
luh

[Diavo]

I found a black mesh-y cap like I was looking for (Burlington Coat Factory, $15) and it was noticeably cooler while dancing than with a regular cap.
But now it's so freakin' hot & humid (in MD/DC) that it's suicide to wear a hat while dancing -- that heat needs to escape from your head/body! :?

[luh]

I found a black mesh-y cap like I was looking for (Burlington Coat Factory, $15) and it was noticeably cooler while dancing than with a regular cap.
But now it's so freakin' hot & humid (in MD/DC) that it's suicide to wear a hat while dancing -- that heat needs to escape from your head/body! :?

sometimes you have to keep up with nature ;)
I haven't worn my hat the last time out dancing. And i'm really happy i didn't. It just was too hot. (they said it has coolers inside, but we still had something around 90 fahrenheit)
luh

[setsuna713]

But now it's so freakin' hot & humid (in MD/DC) that it's suicide to wear a hat while dancing -- that heat needs to escape from your head/body! :?

Especially at places that don't have air like Glen Echo... it's almost suicide to wear clothes there in the summer.

[Diavo]

Especially at places that don't have air like Glen Echo... it's almost suicide to wear clothes there in the summer.

Glen Echo -- that's where I dance every Satterdae night! oy! :shock:
But it's a great place. 8)

8) Royal Crown Revue plays this Sat., and I'll bring a hat (for styling on entry) but also a cooler filled with ice & water bottles!
It's been ~80 degrees at night lately there with outside humidity at 100% and inside, well, it's like rain without the clouds... :P

[luh]

Especially at places that don't have air like Glen Echo... it's almost suicide to wear clothes there in the summer.

Glen Echo -- that's where I dance every Satterdae night! oy! :shock:
But it's a great place. 8)

8) Royal Crown Revue plays this Sat., and I'll bring a hat (for styling on entry) but also a cooler filled with ice & water bottles!
It's been ~80 degrees at night lately there with outside humidity at 100% and inside, well, it's like rain without the clouds... :P

what is glen echo?
Royal Crown Revue? Sweat. They should tour through europe. tell them! ;) We have no neo-swing over here. They should really tour. i think people would enjoy it.
luh

[Diavo]

Glen Echo: www.glenechopark.org

It's an old 1900-era amusement park. The Glen Echo Ballroom is a 1933 Spanish Ballroom that was fixed up a decade ago. It's a 7,500 sqft ballroom "designed to accomodate 1,800 dancers". It's beautiful and has a huge ceiling but no heat or AC! No heat isn't a problem in the winter you know, but having no AC in the summer kills.


Yeah, RCR is playing this Satterdae!! :D :D The last time they were around was playing at G.E. this time last year (the first time I ever saw them since I became a swing kid ~1997!). Probably my favorite, they do a variety of swing but always have a killer edge -- Eddie Nichols is a character. They're "Caught in the Act" live album is the best album I own (and I've got tons)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy comes around Baltimore/DC ~twice a year (starting 2 years ago) but mostly play at 21+ clubs which is okay for me but not for my wide age variety of friends. :?
DC has a lot of great local swing bands who are really good but they do old, classic stuff. No real "neoswing" music like RCR, BBVD, CPD play. [Esp nothing super-charged, electrified or fronted by 'characters'.]

/hijack :wink:

[luh]

Glen Echo: www.glenechopark.org

It's an old 1900-era amusement park. The Glen Echo Ballroom is a 1933 Spanish Ballroom that was fixed up a decade ago. It's a 7,500 sqft ballroom "designed to accomodate 1,800 dancers". It's beautiful and has a huge ceiling but no heat or AC! No heat isn't a problem in the winter you know, but having no AC in the summer kills.


Yeah, RCR is playing this Satterdae!! :D :D The last time they were around was playing at G.E. this time last year (the first time I ever saw them since I became a swing kid ~1997!). Probably my favorite, they do a variety of swing but always have a killer edge -- Eddie Nichols is a character. They're "Caught in the Act" live album is the best album I own (and I've got tons)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy comes around Baltimore/DC ~twice a year (starting 2 years ago) but mostly play at 21+ clubs which is okay for me but not for my wide age variety of friends. :?
DC has a lot of great local swing bands who are really good but they do old, classic stuff. No real "neoswing" music like RCR, BBVD, CPD play. [Esp nothing super-charged, electrified or fronted by 'characters'.]

/hijack :wink:

RCR is good, but i like Squirrel Nut Zippers, (if we compare the good ones), even better.
I'd also lvoe to see BBVD once. The 21+ is really shitty. I had to find ways around it, and clubs which wouldn't do this nonsense during my time in the usa.
this friday I'll be out dancing, and I'm gonna take some of my relatives with me (from america), and they asked about it. Tell you what - there is no age limit over here, even if they sell alcohol. (non of the swing dancers drink anyway - too much of it, and your lindy well get so smooth that you might be dancing it while lying on the floor ;))
luh

[HepcatBob]

... but i like Squirrel Nut Zippers, (if we compare the good ones), even better.
luh


Unfortunately, the Zippers are no longer together. They've all gone off to do their own things.

Back when the Zippers first started, they asked me if I wanted to come play trombone with them. Their drummer, Chris, used to play in a punk band with one of my best friends.

[Diavo]

Back when the Zippers first started, they asked me if I wanted to come play trombone with them. Their drummer, Chris, used to play in a punk band with one of my best friends.
Awesome!!

When BBVD comes to Baltimore they sometimes stop by the magic shop (Ken Zo's) to hang out in the evening. That is, my best friend's family magic shop, the place we hang out every Satterdae before going dancing, and nearly every Sunday (yeah, I'm a magician too). Unfortunately every time BBVD has hung out has been the time I couldn't stay for one reason or another--grrr!
[Oh sorry, looks like I've dropped a name. I'll havta pick it up. :wink: ]

CPDs faded out shortly after their "Soul Caddy" album came out Fall 2001 (2000?) but in April they did a few shows in California. I'd kill to see them. And the Atomic Fireballs!

[setsuna713]

Especially at places that don't have air like Glen Echo... it's almost suicide to wear clothes there in the summer.

Glen Echo -- that's where I dance every Satterdae night! oy! :shock:
But it's a great place. 8)

8) Royal Crown Revue plays this Sat., and I'll bring a hat (for styling on entry) but also a cooler filled with ice & water bottles!
It's been ~80 degrees at night lately there with outside humidity at 100% and inside, well, it's like rain without the clouds... :P

Maybe I'll make it out this weekend... but I should be studying for the GREs...... :cry: It is supposed to cool down for the weekend i think/hope

[luh]

... but i like Squirrel Nut Zippers, (if we compare the good ones), even better.
luh


Unfortunately, the Zippers are no longer together. They've all gone off to do their own things.

Back when the Zippers first started, they asked me if I wanted to come play trombone with them. Their drummer, Chris, used to play in a punk band with one of my best friends.

:shock: :shock: They are not longer together? That's bad news. I thought they were the best group of neo-swing. The others have quite a bunch of similarity in their songs.
That's cool that you were asked. I think someone on this board is related or was to one of the members of BBVD.
What do you guys think of Indigo Swing. Or did quit too?
luh

[Diavo]

I don't know details of Indigo Swing but I LOVElovelove their song "Blue Suit Boogie"! I hadn't heard it in a few years then I went to a BBVD 'concert' last Fall and met a girl who is now my serious gf (total swing chick!), the next morning their lyrics just popped into my head when I woke up:
"But I woke up this morning with a sweet smile on my face
I think my broken heart let me finally find a resting place
Cause the girl I met today is so reet petite
So sweet and lovin', and light on her feet!
She says 'Honey you sure look cute
In your fine blue garbadine suit!'"

Setsuna -- GREs, wow that's rough, good luck when you take them!
It's supposed to go down to ~70-65 at night but be ~90 in the day. It will definitely be four bars past hot-&-humid! :oops:
If you do make it, my gf & I (and any friends that *might* come) like to hang out at the first corner as you make your way around the hallway of the `ballroom -- the corner near the vending machine/eating area, right by the "near" water fountain. If you see a violin case and/or a small red cooler you know I'm there. 8) Just ask for Diavo (dee-ah-vo). :wink: (or just Dave) :P

[HepcatBob]

They are not longer together? That's bad news.

luh

Yeah, last I heard, Jimbo Mathis was with a band called Knockdown Society. Jimbo's website is at http://jamesmathus.com/ . It looks like he's doing some solo work, too.

Katherine Whalen, Jimbo's wife and singer for SNZ, has/had her own band called Katherine Whalen's Jazz Squad. I heard a cut by them on a local college radio station a while back. It was pretty good.


I thought they were the best group of neo-swing.

Did you know that SNZ never considered themselves to be a swing band?

[setsuna713]

Setsuna -- GREs, wow that's rough, good luck when you take them!
It's supposed to go down to ~70-65 at night but be ~90 in the day. It will definitely be four bars past hot-&-humid! :oops:
If you do make it, my gf & I (and any friends that *might* come) like to hang out at the first corner as you make your way around the hallway of the `ballroom -- the corner near the vending machine/eating area, right by the "near" water fountain. If you see a violin case and/or a small red cooler you know I'm there. 8) Just ask for Diavo (dee-ah-vo). :wink: (or just Dave) :P

Thanks for the invite. I didn't start dancing till I went to college, so I've only been out dancing in DC like once or twice. I do most of my dancing in NC.

[Diavo]

Did you know that SNZ never considered themselves to be a swing band?
Yeah, didn't they just want to be considered "Hot Jazz"? They were that, but they were also swing, so people new to swing (or ignorant of, like MTV) just classified them like they were prepackaged like any other pop music.
[Yes, I'm not a 'go-with-the-media' type of person; like Reel Big Fish says "Turn it off / Turn it off / Turn the ray-dee-o off! / Try thinking for yourself of once in your life!"]
At first the banjo turned me off to SNZ, but then I heard more of their songs and really dig into their Hot album. Good stuff. =)

[luh]

I don't know details of Indigo Swing but I LOVElovelove their song "Blue Suit Boogie"! I hadn't heard it in a few years then I went to a BBVD 'concert' last Fall and met a girl who is now my serious gf (total swing chick!), the next morning their lyrics just popped into my head when I woke up:
"But I woke up this morning with a sweet smile on my face
I think my broken heart let me finally find a resting place
Cause the girl I met today is so reet petite
So sweet and lovin', and light on her feet!
She says 'Honey you sure look cute
In your fine blue garbadine suit!'"


yeah, they are really cool. I especially like
(Today is the day) I'm glad I'm not dead
barron plays the horses
hot pot boogie
red door blues
Choo Choo Ch'boogie
pop's at the hop - favourite
they say i must be crazy
Guillaume's Pepper Step
Reet, Petite and gone

luh

[luh]

They are not longer together? That's bad news.

luh

Yeah, last I heard, Jimbo Mathis was with a band called Knockdown Society. Jimbo's website is at http://jamesmathus.com/ . It looks like he's doing some solo work, too.

Katherine Whalen, Jimbo's wife and singer for SNZ, has/had her own band called Katherine Whalen's Jazz Squad. I heard a cut by them on a local college radio station a while back. It was pretty good.


I'm gonna search for some music of those two. does that radio station have internet streaming?
As someone who does quite a lot of stuff related to website designing... i think the website of Jimbo would need to be rewritten. Not to offend anyone. But this site is not well written for navigating.



I thought they were the best group of neo-swing.

Did you know that SNZ never considered themselves to be a swing band?

Nope.
maybe this is the reason why they were the best group. :D (that they didn't keep on just one track as other neo-swing bands do, but more widely open to other jazzy stuff)

@Diavo: Reel Big Fish is cool, but they are very commercial. Though once when I interviewed them, when they were touring here (because of my ska radio show), they were really cool
luh

[Diavo]

Since this thread has been completely hijacked I feel no shame continuing the story...

Royal Crown Revue was AWESOME. Like the first time I saw them. ALL fast songs with great showmanship and performing! I couldn't possibly go on enough about how ideal it was for a swing kid like me. :bouncy: 8)

Miraculously Glen Echo wasn't unbearable either -- the humidity outside was low [relatively] and I brought a cooler with ice to chill my water bottles <--smart :idea:


To unhijack it: I wore my black porkpie for the first 2 songs before I was too hot to keep it on. Instead of a feather I have a 2" pewter Ace of Spades pin. 8)

--Diavo

[cocodrilo]

Budy of mine wore a sleeveless white shirt, white pants and a white Panama hat to a salsa gig last weekend. Looked pretty hot!(He's latino and the white outfit looked good with his dark skin!)

[luh]

diavo, I'm curious. Since you are also a swing-dancer: Do you think too, that a fedora fits more to an "usual" outfit, while the zoot hat, should be worn with a zoot suit?
luh

[Diavo]

Generally my friends & I go with the idea that the width of the brim should relate to the length of the shirt/jacket sleeves/length.

A zoot hat looks best with a zoot suit because it has a wide brim and a zoot suit jacket A.) is long-sleeved and B.) is long in its length.

A fedora looks good with any suit of course. But if you're only wearing a dress shirt (long or short sleeves) it looks better than a zoot hat.
A fedora also looks better with a lounge/bowling shirt because they are short-sleeved and of medium length.

A porkpie [fave] goes best with a T-shirt (a T-shirt & slacks combo) because its brim is generally shorter than fedoras' and T-shirts' sleeves are shorter than dress/lounge/bowling shirts'.


Any hat can be scaled up better than down. That is, a porkpie looks good with a suit or a zoot suit, but a zoot hat wouldn't look right when you wear T-shirt & slacks.

Just a little opinionated hat fashion advice. :wink:

--Diavo 8)

[luh]

it's interesting that you relate brim and length of clothes. But it's understandable.
luh