My Jaunty Hat
Posted on July 3, 2011 Posted by John Scalzi 54 Comments
Apparently a number of you were passionately interested in what kind of hat I purchased yesterday, so here you go: My new hat. It’s all white and summery, which I think well suits the location and season, and also the fact of the matter is I’m kind of sick of buying baseball caps, of which I have several at this point (and which I continue to forget to bring with me when I travel, thus necessitating the further purchase of chapeaus). This is the first non-cap hat purchased I’ve made since college when for brief and somewhat ill-advised time I wandered about in a fedora. The less said about that period of time in my life the better. However, I think this hat looks reasonable, all things considered. And it’s jaunty. What more do you want.
You look V. Mr Rourke
C’est tres jaunty! Tres bien! (something about hats makes me resort to my horrible high school French.) But it is a nice hat.
Purchased at the finest haberdashery on Krypton, by the looks of it.
Jaunty indeed. And infinitely customizable by means of hatbands.
Very nice and summery. Also, very bright – I could see its usefulness at night as a reflector when walking down a dark street.
On a side note, chapeau is one of those quirky French words that take an x for the plural – chapeaux. Don’t ask (no, really, don’t …).
Nice hat indeed. Welcome to San Diego, you picked a perfect time to come. Last year our summer was cold (well, for us Southern Calif weather wusses) and dreary.
enjoy!
Awesome hat!
Did you make any progress on acquiring guns or battle cruisers?
The fact that this picture was taken right underneath my balcony is making everything that much more surreal. Huh.
If you’re going to be jaunting, be careful around the San Ysidro Jaunte Stage. They kill you filthy.
That hat looks lonely without a matching seersucker suit. It was an excellent choice, though.
What #5 said–chapeaux. If you’re gonna speak French, do it right!
Votre chapeau est tres magnifique! Et vous aussi!
:-)
You are john perry, admit you! You both share a love of jaunty hats…
Did the hat come with a midget who randomly shouts “De plane! De plane!”?
Jaunty. You’re gonna need it when you come back to Ohio, btw. ‘Tis balmy as hell here.
Responding to that hint of defensiveness …. Here you go:
http://jimmccoybigblog.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html
Hey, Mr. Redbone, play “Diddy Wah Diddy,” please! Thanks
That hat should come with a complimentary Mint Julep or Mojito.
I know it’s not felt, but the Jaunty Hat still looks fairly fedora-ish to me. And it looks perfectly fine, BTW. (But then, I wandered around in a Boy George uncreased fedora thing in college. That and a newsboy cap. What? It was the 80s, fashion was insane, and I was in college. I could probably sell them on Etsy for big money. Too bad my sister finally threw both hats away last year. Without telling me. She told me she was taking them to Goodwill. Which apparently translates to “the nearest dumpster.”
Is there such a thing as a white straw fedora? And what do you call that Boy George hat? Maybe someone with more millinery knowledge will set me straight.
Will we see the jaunty hat Wednesday at MG? Glad you are enjoying sunny San Diego.
As Sihaya says, that hat needs a seersucker suit. Or maybe a white linen suit. Then you can come back to New Orleans and stroll around the Garden District appropriately attaried. (Nice hat, by the way.)
A most jaunty topper indeed. It’s making me think Lew Archer for some reason. Probably because I’m reading a LEw Archer novel.
Very becoming, in my opinion.
Jaunty in the Alfred Bester sense? Planning a long trip? Sudden departure? If not, take care to set the switch to zero. (Small slider switch inside hat.) Do not let Spinal Tap tempt you to set it to eleven — if you do, be sure to have a towel as you will be joining a hitchhiker at a terminal restaurant. (To exit Clarion, set to seven. For zombies, set to eight.)
Very nice hat.
However, don’t diss the fedora. They need to come back into style.
Waiting for Indiana Jones, Mr. Belloq?
http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Emile_Belloq
Not bad, son. Not bad at all.
Seriously jaunty…certainly not a San Diego hat, but definitely a hat for Summer! Enjoy the weather. : )
Tres jaunty. *golf claps and nods of approval*
Maybe a white guayabera – a little cooler than the linen or even the seersucker.
Did it come with a free walker?
Panama hats are always classy and always in fashion!
They’re also the hats I’m most likely to lose while traveling :-(
I never seem to be able to lose baseball caps though :-/
Please wear this hat whenever you are trying to sell me street drugs. Your chances of success will be 83 percent higher.
A hat like that is crying out for a nice large feather to stick in the brim. Try mugging a peacock for a tail feather.
As a fellow recovering fedora-wearer, I must warn you that such a hat as your latest purchase might be the first step in a relapse. Be strong!
(Me in college: out of control beard, black felt Fedora, grey trenchcoat when weather permitted, usually over a Hawaiian shirt. I’d say I was a “fashion victim”, but that implies that I was close enough to fashion to be slain by it.)
Man walks down the street in a hat like that, people know he’s not afraid of anything.
(it had to be said)
I have a sudden craving for fried chicken.
Tres jaunty!
Reminds me of Peter Mayer’s The Hat Song. My wife made a hat-shaped book for her book arts group featuring the lyrics; this photo woulda fit right in.
Looking very good, there. You wear it well!
I just broke out my summer hat myself. The Sun and its effects on my increasingly exposed scalp demand it. I go for a little wider brimmed natural colored straw hat a la panama Jack. Hats are, indeed, one of the most useful and enjoyable bits of men’s fashion, and indeed the only one I really care about.
Aziraphile? Is that you?
What more do I want?
Well, I was curious – is it a solid top, or a mesh top?
I don’t see spangles. Gien the core message to budding writers, surely spangles are a must?
I think you should consider a fez, fezes are cool…
This is Jim’s fault isn’t it?
When I left the USAF, I told myself I would never have to wear a hat again. The flight cap was the silliest thing I have worn, not doing any good.
But later on I learned that I need protection from the sun. If I protect the top of my head, why neglect to protect my neck as well? Caps don’t make any sense to me. Ranchers called farmers who wore caps “red necks”. If I have to wear something and get my head sweaty, I might as well have a full brim to get full protection.
I dig the hat. Two years ago I made the decision to begin looking for hats other than the standard ball cap which I seem to consume like an IT guy consumes Cheetos. The first purchase was this guy from a hat shop in Gas Town which lead to two others. Unfortunately, working in an office environment I don’t get many opportunities to sport these lids that are not accompanied by high school type smart ass comments. All I can say is wear your hat with pride. Vive le chapeau!
Might you be willing to sell ad space on that hat?
Bill
That is indeed a fedora. Excellent choice.
Jaunty indeed, but don’t think you’re going to keep it more than 5 minutes after it gets within Athena’s reach.
Caps, and jeans, are for children. Adults wear hats.
Jaunty hat is jaunty.
Also, holy crap turn down the exposure setting a notch when you take pictures of that thing.
And a wide angle lens
Yes. It’s perfect.
I can’t decide whether your new hat would be better suited to a ’90s music video from the Indo-Pakistan region, or an ’80s music video from DuranDuran. Essentially they’re the same, although the quantity of silk used in costuming and live doves released may vary. In other words: kickass hat.
Lovely hat, but a size too big at least.