I’m a modern day part Lucky Luke, part Don Draper, with a huge nostalgia for the past. I don’t get a kick out of passing trends, so I often find myself being in the center of the attention since my personal style does make me stand out from the crowd sometimes, especially my hats. There’s one interesting catchphrase which says “a good hat will make anyone look better” and if someone else hadn’t said this already, I would be the one to come up with it cause I believe that a good hat is like a tailored suit – it understands you.
You might think I am exaggerating, but there’s a reason why all men used to wear hats in the 30’s – aesthetics and practicality. Fedoras and akubra hats used to be everywhere. It would take a man not wearing a hat as to stand out from the crowd, quite opposite from nowadays. Well, except for baseball caps, they seem to be all the rage now, but I couldn’t care less about them. I’m all about wide brims that keep rain and sun off my face and the furry felt that offers excellent insulation.
Luckily, I am well into my 30’s now and the type of hats that seems to be able to claim a safe space in this decade are precisely the akubra hats. These hats are not only a quintessential symbol of the Australian working life, they are worn and ought to be worn even more by everybody – from stockmen and selling agents, to prime ministers and artists. Some men like to crack a joke whenever they see someone wear one, but that’s because there are many things these generations don’t understand and won’t ever understand unless they take the time to look a few decades back.
Men who lived in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s cared about polished looks as opposed to today’s obsession with “casual, casual, casual”. Not that I got anything against it, it’s just that it should be a sin to miss out on the way a hat completes an outfit. Jeans, cowboy boots and a plaid shirt is the first combo that comes to mind to most people when on the topic of akubra western hats and although this is indeed an infallible way to pull off this style, I prefer to wear mine with a suit and tie (like they actually did in the 30’s).
Finally, what I also love about these hats is that there really is no need to baby them. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t treat it right. Taking proper care of akubra hats can no doubt make them last longer.
