I Certainly Missed the Action On “That Thread !!

[Lachlan09]

I must admit, I’ve had a relatively hat-free life in my 56 years. If I add up all the hats I’ve worn over the years, then I think it would be:-
a) School-cap – For the early part of my primary school “career” (from about age 5 to age 8), I wore a typical British schoolboys’ cap. See photo below of the “Just William” stories by Richmal Crompton. My Campie Primary School cap was all-maroon with the school badge on the front.

b) Knitted grey open-faced balaclava – Typical British kids’ woollen balaclava of the 1930’s to early 1960’s period. I had a series of them from about age 2 to 8. I liked my grey one best. I sometimes wore it to school in the snow and freezing winds of winter, along with my blazer, duffle-coat, a pair of black rubber wellies and almost knee-length (and abrasive) grey school shorts – plus my brown leather school-bag worn on my back. Much more importantly, I also used to wear it to role-play at “Ivanhoe” (Roger Moore was “Ivanhoe” on TV at that time). Can’t find a photo though !

c) About age 9 or 10, I had a first of all a flat bunnet of my dad’s to wear sometimes when I was in goal in our local football games. It was a bit big though. I then changed it for a US Army surplus olive-green baseball cap – strangely in a small size which fitted me.


d) From about age 11, in 1964, my head became a hat-free zone. Copying my Mod brother, I had my short hair razor-cut and listened to lots of soul music, British-style R&B and danced a lot. Then the hard rock period took me over in the late Sixties and everything grew !

e) In 1975, along-with my longish hair and side-burns, brown corduroy bomber jacket with the huge white fleecy collar, wide-collared shirt, flared Levis and zip-up boots or multi-coloured trendy Kickers shoes, I took to wearing an oatmeal tweed flat cap in the American style ( triangular paneled crown with a button in the centre), a bit like Gallagher & Lyle wore.

f) Re-inventing myself several times in the 1970’s to the current scene, I returned to my first love in the late 1970’s – soul, R&B and ska. For a while, I wore a neat little Jamaican pork-pie similar to the photo below (the photo was borrowed from a blog by an ex-British skinhead – proper Trojan skinheads that is, not those right-wing skins with shaved heads and swastikas). I used it in 1980 for my rudeboy/Mod persona ! I had my hair cut about a 3 all over at that time. Unlike the photo, mine didn’t have the front brim turned-up and I didn’t keep a “skinhead trend” cigarette voucher in the hat-band ! I loved my hat and took it on holiday to the South of France. It was popular with the girls but it lost its shape when I put it in my suitcase. After that, I became more like Duran Duran/Spandau Ballet/ABC/Haircut 100 in fashion and hair !! Big hair was back ! I’m not the guy in the photo !





g) Since then, no more hats for me to wear except my beloved collection of New Orleans Saints caps. I even got my colour photo in the UK’s Daily Mail wearing one, along with a “sandok” (a loose sleeveless tee-shirt/underwear shirt type of thing), long cargo-shorts and Birkenstock sandals. (it was an article I wrote about Brit stiffness on streetwear, responding to a typical Mail article on dropping standards on British males and negative American influences – what what ?). I got used to dressing like this for chilling-out while working/living in the Philippines. Lots dressed like me off-duty, Filipino and expat and was good in hot weather. My article was responded to by The Mail who commented that I typified a modern breed of “baby-man” or “man-child” or something. Fair comment, I was 50, back in the UK looking to get out abroad again and I didn’t give a 4X for formality at every turn !!



If my nearly 16 year-old son gets a hat, I hope it’s one like this. This pork-pie’s got style !