Wearing a dress hat in a Rambler

[James Peck]

CR4 - Blog Entry: Hudson's Step-Down Styling was Revolutionary. So Why Didn't Certain Other Carmakers Use It? (globalspec.com)

 

I can remember my grandfather riding in his 59 Rambler American wearing a Harry Truman style felt hat.

[plymouthcranbrook]

We all remember the Chairman of Chrysler saying in the either the late 1940's or early 1950's that in his cars a man needs to be able to wear his hat(Fedora).  I drove a Checker as a delivery vehicle for my employer in the mid 70's and it had a lot of headroom.

Edited November 25, 2022 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

I had a 52 Chrysler New Yorker and six basketball players could ride in it wearing top hats. In those days even the cheap cars had more room than today's luxury models especially Chrysler products.

It was K T Keller who made the remark that Chrysler's cars might not knock your eye out but they wouldn't knock your hat off either. He was over 6 feet tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds and wouldn't approve a car he couldn't get in and drive comfortably. Even the smallest, lowest priced Plymouth.

 

Henry Ford on the other hand was about 5'8" and 140 pounds and hated fat people. Anyone much bigger than that can feel cramped in a Ford of the twenties or thirties.

 

So if you are above average in size and find Fords too small look at some Chrysler products.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

As far as the step down Hudsons go, I think everyone copied the idea sooner or later. I recall a 57 Ford with the floor lower than the door sills and some sixties Chevrolets likewise. I can't speak for every car but believe it was a common design feature.

[oldcarfudd]

Old joke, ostensibly from the roaring twenties:

 

Young, wealthy dude, to grandmother:  "Grandma, I just bought a new sport car!"

 

Grandmother:  "Young man, a sport car is any vehicle through which I cannot WALK while wearing  my hat."

[Hemi Joel]

35 years ago, there was still some Ramblers on the road. 35 years ago there was still some old guys wearing their fedoras.

My experience was that if you were coming up behind a Rambler, and you could see a fedora in the driver's seat, pass it the first chance you get or you could be stuck behind it at 10 mph under the speed limit for the next 20 miles. 👍

[TAKerry]

13 minutes ago, Hemi Joel said:

35 years ago, there was still some Ramblers on the road. 35 years ago there was still some old guys wearing their fedoras.

My experience was that if you were coming up behind a Rambler, and you could see a fedora in the driver's seat, pass it the first chance you get or you could be stuck behind it at 10 mph under the speed limit for the next 20 miles. 👍

I had a young guy working for me. He would always say if you came up behind a slow car, the driver was an old man wearing a hat.

Now I am that old man, LOL. My grandfather was a farmer and most of the time his wardrobe was coveralls. But when he went out he always had his dressy Stetson.

[SC38dls]

Kerry, gramps was a dude!  
dave s 

[Buick35]

I thought about buying a fedora type hat to go with my 35 buick.I saw a nice wool hat at Crackerbarrels the other day.Why did men all seem to wear hats in the 30s and forties?

Edited November 25, 2022 by Buick35
Spelling (see edit history)

[Marty Roth]

On 11/25/2022 at 3:33 PM, Buick35 said:

 Why did men all seem to wear hats in the 30s and forties?

 

Same reason ladies (and even teen-aged girls) dressed properly when going shopping (or just going) to a downtown area, at least through the early 1950s.

Back then they wouldn't dream of being seen on Canal Street here in New Orleans unless properly attired in most cases including stockings, gloves, and a hat.

I imagine many metro areas were similar. You just didn't go "Downtown", or go to town dressed down.

 

What we see there today, especially from tourists, but also with some locals, is just plain tasteless. Why do some folks think their lack of taste is ok when visiting away from their home?

Maybe because they have no regard for others?

Kind of like Mardi Gras where folks from far away dress, and act in a manner they wouldn't dream of at home.

The bawdy stuff you see on TV of Mardi Gras is the tourists -

The locals are hosting Mardi Gras Formal Balls and funding the parades, or they are skiing in Utah, or taking the family to Disney World.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[TerryB]

I like this style of hat on a Durant driver 

 

[rocketraider]

My Uncle Gene always said a gentleman wasn't properly dressed without a hat and a nice wristwatch. I wear the wristwatch...

 

I have a couple of Western style hats along with a pile of newsy caps and the requisite southern boy baseball caps.

 

I'm 6'2" and the Western hats can be worn in the two trucks and the Grand Marquis. I can't wear them in ANY of the Oldsmobiles. I can barely wear a hat at all in the Toronado or the Starfires. The roofrails on those have whacked my noggin getting in and out more than a few times!🤕

 

Maybe someone in GM had it in for tall guys!

 

Fedora or not, Gene wasn't a speedy driver, but he was a smooth and anticipative driver and taught me to drive with traffic. Surrounding traffic slow, drive slower. If it's moving faster, drive faster.

[Buick35]

14 minutes ago, rocketraider said:

My Uncle Gene always said a gentleman wasn't properly dressed without a hat and a nice wristwatch. I wear the wristwatch...

 

I have a couple of Western style hats along with a pile of newsy caps and the requisite southern boy baseball caps.

 

I'm 6'2" and the Western hats can be worn in the two trucks and the Grand Marquis. I can't wear them in ANY of the Oldsmobiles. I can barely wear a hat at all in the Toronado or the Starfires. The roofrails on those have whacked my noggin getting in and out more than a few times!🤕

 

Maybe someone in GM had it in for tall guys!

 

Fedora or not, Gene wasn't a speedy driver, but he was a smooth and anticipative driver and taught me to drive with traffic. Surrounding traffic slow, drive slower. If it's moving faster, drive faster.

My son's 66 Mustang caused me to whack my head a couple of times getting out.

[Rivguy]

The well dressed man always wore a hat. Even if they were dressed informally, which didn't mean shorts and flip flops! Hats performed many useful functions, they kept your head cooler, and they shaded your eyes from the sun. Remember, sunglasses were not in general use until well after WWII. In the Summer I wear my Panama hat. During the Winter I break out my felt fedora. Old guys and hats rule.

[hidden_hunter]

Some of us cadillac drivers could wear a top hat driving our cars 

[Rusty_OToole]

Everyone wore a hat or cap when they went outdoors. Otherwise you risked catching a cold. It was President Kennedy who set the precedent of going without a hat. For some reason this caught on right away and in a few years only old men wore hats. The hat manufacturers and stores took an awful beating. Many went out of business.

[Rusty_OToole]

3 hours ago, TerryB said:

I like this style of hat on a Durant driver 

 

This is a good example of how men dressed for driving in cold weather before WW2 - same as if they were going to walk. Warm overcoat, soft cap which will fit in a car with a low roof line, scarf or muffler. Just add a pair of gloves and he is ready to go. Remember, most cars did not have heaters and the heaters that were available were not very good.

Have answered questions about how people got along without heaters, wish I could have shown them this photo.

[Bhigdog]

12 hours ago, Hemi Joel said:

35 years ago, there was still some Ramblers on the road. 35 years ago there was still some old guys wearing their fedoras.

My experience was that if you were coming up behind a Rambler, and you could see a fedora in the driver's seat, pass it the first chance you get or you could be stuck behind it at 10 mph under the speed limit for the next 20 miles. 👍

That holds true today only it,s a cap and big ears. Bonus points if the left directional is on.....bob

[Bhigdog]

4 hours ago, Buick35 said:

My son's 66 Mustang caused me to whack my head a couple of times getting out.

My grand cherokee door opening often pulls my cap off when entering. On the bright side it tells me if the left directional has been on too long.....bob

[Bryan G]

I was in my 20s when my grandfather had skin cancer removed from his temples; I decided it was a good time for me to invest in some wide brim hats, and I've worn them ever since. I really like a felt fedora in the winter; great on a cold, rainy day. Almost like a wearable umbrella. And, at 6'2, I don't have a bit of trouble getting in/out of my "fuddy-duddy" 49 Chrysler.

[John348]

The GM sedans from the 50's through the 60's were always 2 1/2" higher. In the salesman's guide in 1960 the book refers the salesman if they notice the perspective buyer wearing a hat to direct them to a sedan and make it a point of the feature of the higher roof line of a sedan.. 

Edited November 26, 2022 by John348 (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

Not only wearing a fedora but also suit jacket and tie. Look at pics from an old yankee game. Every man in the stands is dressed. I am just under 60 but try to dress as nice as possible when I go out to dinner. It has just been within the last couple of years that I stopped wearing a coat, and a lot of times I would wear a tie. I picked the habit up from my father. He would always dress nicely when going out on the weekends. He was a carpenter by trade so his day job had him wearing coveralls. He got me into the local Kiwanis and everyone at the meetings would wear a suit and tie. Personally I look at it as a mark of a civilized society. I always take my hat, or cap off when entering a building. One thing that irritates me beyond is eating dinner at a rest. whether it be Arbys or something fancy and men sitting in the dining room wearing a ball cap. If its on crooked or backwards that much the worse!! People have forgotten manners. 

[M1842]

The military seems to be the last bastion of hat wearing.  Woe to the PFC who wanders out of doors without his cover.

[Bhigdog]

Around here in ruralish PA caps are de rigeuer. I  have at least 10 of them and choose according to what and where. Most guys are quite particular about the fit and feel more so than logo, I am. I also have what I call my Cousin Eddie hat (Christmas Vacation movie) and of course the blaze orange wool cap for being out side during deer season. No Dove Grey fedora. If it counts for anything I also have and sometimes actually wear a full length Racoon coat. Way warm but way heavy..........Bob

Edited November 26, 2022 by Bhigdog (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

To go with this

you need THIS!

 

Sunroof top for hat clearance!

[Bhigdog]

Now see his cap is way bad. Crown cut WAY too high, it's pulled down to ears and the peak isn't rolled "just so". Most certainly a city poof.....Bob

[TTR]

I prefer cars I can drive wearing a dress AND a hat, both by fabulous designers.

[Flivverking]

What is a dress hat?  

We have wrecked period ,beaver skin top hats,silk collapsible top hats,Derby's ,Bromberg's, straw(boater/skimmer) hats by the dozens in 50 years . baseball caps,small  porkpies,and cowboy hats survived. 

Hats come off entering and exiting is the rule in closed cars...

..

[hidden_hunter]

You’re nuts if you don’t wear a hat here, one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world

 

I have my “old man cap” which was hand made by our kiwi friends 

 

Used to be legionnaires hats when we were kids but people don’t seem to wear them anymore but offer great protection and stay on

[Flivverking]

When did (hidden hunter) start worrying about skin cancer and hats? 

Some folks bake them selves for 60 plus years and.skin cancer is not what kills them at 101. Or smoking a cigar every day since 1940..

We all have different make ups honey.and to call others crazy for not wearing a hat,really?

 Did.you feel this way at age 38?

  We(I) love you ,for sharing your warning,and probably from YOUR own experience later in life.

But I am vitamin D  deficient and encouraged to get lots of mid day (,peak,)sun(expose my skin,,)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hidden_hunter]

1 hour ago, Flivverking said:

 

When did (hidden hunter) start worrying about skin cancer and hats? 

 

 

Skin cancer rates here are two to three times higher than the US/Canada/UK so it’s not something I personally want to take a gamble with 

 

 

[zdillinger]

I wear a Stetson fedora every day, either my Stratoliner or a Whippet. At my town's Christmas tree lighting tonight, i was the only person wearing a proper hat.

[playswithbrass]

I drive for my work. I developed melanoma in my left arm. Not very funny when the surgeon leaves you with a five inch scar where he dug it out. I wear long sleeved shirts now. Not worth rolling the dice on it

[rocketraider]

 

[oldcarfudd]

Don't mess with melanoma.  I developed my first one at age 28 - 58 years ago.  The surgeon took out a chest muscle and most of the lymph glands in my right arm, plus a three-inch skin graft on my right wrist.  He said the protocol was to take my arm off, but he hated to do that since I was only 28; I had a 70% chance of living 5 years.  I'm an actuary, and I know what the normal chance of living 5 years from age 28 is.  Since then, the care of melanoma caught early is much easier, but I've known four people who died of it - a ski club friend, a professional colleague, a good boss, and a steam car guy.  And I've had four more melanomas.

 

I've been mighty lucky.  I'm grateful to a lot of doctors, especially that surgeon decades ago.  I drive open cars a lot, but sunblock is my friend.  I keep a dermatologist on a retainer.  Don't mess with melanoma!

 

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

[Terry Harper]

On 11/25/2022 at 5:28 PM, TerryB said:

I like this style of hat on a Durant driver 

 

 

I bought a cap similar to that for period dress at museum events. Strangely enough I find myself wearing it out and about more often. Its quite comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[James Peck]

1 hour ago, oldcarfudd said:

Don't mess with melanoma.  I developed my first one at age 28 - 58 years ago.  The surgeon took out a chest muscle and most of the lymph glands in my right arm, plus a three-inch skin graft on my right wrist.  He said the protocol was to take my arm off, but he hated to do that since I was only 28; I had a 70% chance of living 5 years.  I'm an actuary, and I know what the normal chance of living 5 years from age 28 is.  Since then, the care of melanoma caught early is much easier, but I've known four people who died of it - a ski club friend, a professional colleague, a good boss, and a steam car guy.  And I've had four more melanomas.

 

I've been mighty lucky.  I'm grateful to a lot of doctors, especially that surgeon decades ago.  I drive open cars a lot, but sunblock is my friend.  I keep a dermatologist on a retainer.  Don't mess with melanoma!

 

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

 

[JamesR]

My head's too big for most hats. I basically look like Stan Laurel when I put one on. Too bad, because I like a lot of men's hats. The only one I've found that will fit is Crocodile Dundee style hat that I bought in Australia.