Not too serious but still wondering...

 

There have been a number of distinctive male hats in the past couple of centuries: top hat, bowler, stetson, fedora, maybe more that I cannot think of now. Yet, conceptual pictures are usually made with bowler hats, at least on 1x. Why? What makes them more desirable than other male hats and what message do they supposedly carry?

 

Anna

Well, I forgot quite few, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hat ;-) , most importantly a flat cap...

Magritte's influence?

Just a thought...

 

I do not disagree :-) . What do you think the message is? As conceptual as Magritte?

 

Anna,

It seems that some individuals who do CE do use this particular style. However, I don't think it is in the majority? I am thinking of Tommy, Adrian, Mario, and even I used a cowboy hat.

 

Maybe I am not understanding what a bowler is?

I thought it was like this..

http://1x.com/photo/19516/all:user:11099

 

Sort of round at the top and coming up a little at the sides....Most look like Fedoras' to me. Men don't have as much choice as we do either. Neither can they easily put flowers, and fruit on them.

 

I think the bowler also makes a strong statement...

 

Phyllis

 

 

Yep, that's the bowler! Unlike the bowler, the fedora is always creased and pinched. So what kind of statement do you think the bowler hat makes?

 

says who? :P

Anna,

 

The Bowler is not something I have ever seen worn in my lifetime, so the only references I have are Rene Magritte, or Charlie Chaplin. They are larger, and stand out and up, and sometimes curve at the edges...and these associations seem whimsical to me. Of course they were worn by most here in the US, but it is not part of my personal experience. So I would say they make a "whimsical statement". and because they are fairly big they stand out.

 

Hats on men were common in he US when I grew up in the 40's and 50's, but they were primarily Fedoras, or some version that looked like one. Think of Humphrey Bogart and gangster films as an example. They say Noir to me.. Also a statement, but different.

 

Today here, in the US it is the baseball cap. They make a statement also, but I don't even want to go there.

 

Paco,

Flowers and Fruit on women's hat's here were really big. Flowers still are. I am speaking of artificial of course.

 

You seem surprised?

 

Phyllis

 

AS one of the culprits guilty of seeding 1x.com with copious amounts of bowler hats, I can certainly own up to the fact that I am a huge Magritte fan, certainly, but there is one other reason for my preference to the bowler hat and the fedora - they are easy visual suggestions of another time period. I really prefer the style of the 1920-1950s much more than the modern fashions. If you have ever seen Downton Abbey, this is the period and the fashions I admire.

 

Since approximating men's fashion of that period is a lot easier than women's, I tend to use male models a lot more often. The men's suit has not changed all that much, and while I would prefer to find a shirt with a banker's rounded collar, I know that putting a man in a dark suit and a good old fashioned hat (bowler or fedora) will approximate the look I like! In contrast, finding Edwardian or Victorian fashions for women means having to find vintage clothing or worse, have it made.

 

The danger in using the bowler though, as this thread certainly implies, is the inevitable comparison to Magritte. As long as I am painting with his brushes and not copying him outright, I can live with and am indeed honored to any comparison! Some iconic cinematography has been made with a man's brimmed hat - think of all the classic noir films, Dick Tracy, and lately, "the Road to Perdition."

 

In short, I love hats, and wish I had the head/face for them. I just don't. If I did, I would probably be wearing one all the time!

Michael,

Very well said. !!!

 

Thanks,

Phyllis

I just love men with flowers in their hat Paco :-)

As mentioned above, the bowler is distinctive and from another era. Most of the other hats are still worn today, but the bowler suggest a different time. It does stand out. I used to have one - maybe I still do somewhere in my attic.