Club Obi Wan

I was out with my wife this past weekend celebrating. After having a nice dinner, We decided to take a little walk and enjoy Portland. We past a couple of young girls who said to me "nice Top hat", which I said back to them "it's not a Top hat it's a fedora" ( they gave me a funny look and on there way they wen't). My wife said could you just say "thank you and leave it alone." How could anyone make that mistake? and Was I wrong???

While I might think someone a bit foolish to confuse a top hat with any other kind of hat, I could see less informed folks doing so.

I do not think there is anything wrong with correcting someone if you do it in a positive way. You could have told your wife you were doing the two young girls a favor. You did educate them as to the difference between a top hat and a fedora. Sounds like those two could confuse night and day.

I don't know, some people are just lost. I can slightly understand the cowboy hat comments and at least the people who make Indy comments are sharp enough to see it an Indy hat. But a top hat, thats a new one.

jpenman,
If you wear a hat long enough, you'll hear just about everything from the ignorant, ill-informed. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

So, they thought it was a top hat. Well, I suppose that means you have the perfect stove-pipe Raiders crown. Take it as a compliment.

I have been wearing a fedora (of some type ) for about 20 years and thought I heard everything, but not top hat. I get cowboy hat more than I get Indy hat. I was not bent out of shape or anything but I couldn't walk away with not saying anything. I guess my wife way pointing out a flaw of mine.

Well, I guess that's worse than calling it a 'cowboy' hat.

I think because fedoras can be 'dress' hats, they are associated with top hats with many people for some reason.
Well, I get a lot of - "nice lid cow-poke!" and "giddy-up!" but never "Nice top hat"......hmmm....were these girls teeny-boppers?

evil teeny-boppers......

Bah, dont sweat it im sure your wife just thought "Is he looking at those girls? :evil: " well im not sure if it was that but im sure girls dont change that much from been your girlfriend to your wife

Anyways nice cap

"Like duuhhhh", yes unfortunately these two children are of the "x box generation" and likely were not smartarsing, just speaking in blissfull pre-adolescant ignorance. Though on a more relevant note i read on this forum and also the fedora lounge of occasions of dopey comments to hat wearers, down here in australia i wear a fedora on a daily basis and have only received positive remarks or response, if any, but more so from women, even if it's just positive eye contact(the best kind), i must assume i'm living in a more hat oriented society than the good folk in the USA .

CHAUVEL wrote:down here in australia i wear a fedora on a daily basis and have only received positive remarks or response, if any, but more so from women, even if it's just positive eye contact(the best kind), i must assume i'm living in a more hat oriented society than the good folk in the USA .

Indeed you are. The only negative comment I've ever had is "Nice hat" (sarcastically of course) and the one time someone thought I was trying to be Eliot Ness.

Interested to know what part of Australia you're in Chauvel?

Merrick wrote: [Indeed you are. The only negative comment I've ever had is "Nice hat" (sarcastically of course) and the one time someone thought I was trying to be Eliot Ness.

I thought I was the only one who got the Eliot Ness comment!

Who the Hohenzollern is Eliot Ness?

VP wrote:Who the Hohenzollern is Eliot Ness?

Eliot Ness was a historical figure who went after Al Capone in the 1930s with a group of men who would not be bought off by the syndicate. They were know as "The Untouchables." A TV show of the 1950s had the great Robert Stack playing the part of Mr. Ness, then Kevin Costner took over the role for the movie.
Now don't you ask, "who the Hohenzollern is Robert Stack or Kevin Costner!"

Who's Robert Stack?

There's always google, VP.

bink

That way I don't get any new posts.

Back on topic... That's a weird comment.

:idea: There may be alot of people who are uneducated on the different types of hats. Most people have not worn hats for some time. Generations change. I probably would have said to the girls,"Thank You!, "It's a Fedora! and left it at that."

Also Ellot Ness was a Actor in the old TV shows, "The Untouchables ." The Mobs,and the Detectives.

Smile and the world smiles with you! Have a great day!

IndianaWill

IndianaWill wrote: Also Ellot Ness was a Actor in the old TV shows, "The Untouchables ." The Mobs,and the Detectives.

Smile and the world smiles with you! Have a great day!

IndianaWill

Will, Elliot Ness was a historical person and a "character" of the TV show and movie "The Untouchables." Robert Stack was the actor who played him.

Elliot Ness, the real deal.

Well over here in the police we refer to our beat duty helmets (the big blue ones that look like a... *ahem* ..."t!t") as our "Top Hats", so it's more than likely these girls were ignorant of the style of hat, or just refering to your hat generically.

I would have gone for the response of tipping my hat with a smile & leaving it at that

My favorite lines from The Untouchables.

"Mr. Ness I do not approve of your methods."

"Yeah? Well your not from Chicago."

Surely anyone can tell the difference between and

Canyon wrote:

Surely anyone can tell the difference between and

Hey, you're eating my precious bandwidth! It's not really mine, because I don't pay for it. And that pic was a piece of cake, I made it in ten minutes.

Canyon wrote:

Surely anyone can tell the difference between and

Sure I can. That's me in my Sunday get up on the left, and my everyday outfit on the right! Regards! Michaelson

To some folks a hat is a hat is a hat. I once had someone tell me "nice Snowy River" hat. Even though I explained it was a fedora, they were convinced it was a snowy river hat - especially when they found out it was made in Australia. Now, whether the comment is genuine no matter what they call my hat, my standard reply is simply "thanks". Sarcastic remarks get no replys because they deserve none.

Michaelson, is that my left or yours?

Uh...yes, it is. 8-[ Regards. Michaelson

Hemingway Jones wrote:I thought I was the only one who got the Eliot Ness comment!

There's actually a woman who drives around all over the North East looking for men in a fedora so she can make the Eliot Ness comment.

By the way... there is NO WAY that any fedora wearer who lived through the late 80's or early 90's could not know who Eliot Ness or The Untouchables were. None, zero, zilch, nada.

jpenman wrote:I was out with my wife this past weekend celebrating. After having a nice dinner, We decided to take a little walk and enjoy Portland. We past a couple of young girls who said to me "nice Top hat", which I said back to them "it's not a Top hat it's a fedora" ( they gave me a funny look and on there way they wen't). My wife said could you just say "thank you and leave it alone." How could anyone make that mistake? and Was I wrong???

Dude, I get "nice cowboy hat" all the time. Seriously though, it was night time. I'm sure a wide brimmed, tall crowned fedora could appear as a top hat to some people in the dark. Unless you were waltzing around in a highly lit area, chalk it up to the darkness for the confusion. Usually, when I get "nice cowboy hat", I just nod, smile and say: "thanks". I find it's more like talking to a brick wall if you try and explain the difference. Of course, you could always be like me, and if someone asks you who you're supposed to be, you can say: "your dad."

I don't think you were "wrong" to correct them. Hey, if that's what you want to do, go crazy. As for how people can make that mistake, you have to understand your sentence. You said you walked past a couple of "young girls". Both of those words ought to be your tip off right there. Do you think that these two had any idea what a 30's to 40's style fedora was? Or if by some miracle, they did, would they know what one LOOKS like?

I won't be so harsh as to say they were ignorant, but I will say that they were probably just "culturally uninformed". A fedora is not as commonplace these days as a ballcap, and as such, you really can't knock the youngsters TOO hard for not knowing what it was you were wearing.

I could see your confusion if you were wearing a ball cap, and someone said: "nice yarmulke", or "nice bonnet". This pair had most likely never seen a fedora before, and again, it was dark. Just offering another opinon

High Regards (To you for wearing your Adventurebilt, and to your wife for not being embarrassed to be seen with you in public whilst wearing it),