Monday 5 July 2010

The Cambridge hat

This hat would be known at James Lock & Co, in St James's Street, as a Cambridge hat, named after their sometime customer, the Duke of Cambridge, who favoured such a hat. Lock's used to hold this hat in stock but no longer and it would be necessary to bespeak it in black, brown or grey (specifying rough or smooth finish and town or hunting weight). Accordingly, you might as well cut out the middle-man and go to Patey Hats direct http://www.pateyhats.com/. They would just call it a square-crowned bowler hat. Sir Winston Churchill often favoured this style during the Second World War and you might recall that tycoon-cum-terrorist Auric Goldfinger's sidekick Oddjob had one with a steel rim that, spun through the air, could decapitate statuary at St Mark's Golf Club. There is, to my mind, something dashing about this style of hat and I have already made enquiries about having one made up, in hunting weight, to bring back to Brazil and wear when riding the Arabian horses after which I am hankering. There are some splendid meadows at a place called Jardim (i.e. 'garden'), above the Saquarema Lagoon here, which would be ideal for these splendid horses and far away from anyone likely to pelt me with tomatoes for daring to sport such a titfer.

2 comments:

  1. I've lusted after a Lord's hat for awhile, but have no idea where I could have one done up in this country. Hats can be hard enough to pull off, one might as well have one perfectly made to compliment one's face.

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  2. This is a FABULOUS hat and I'm madly jealous of anyone who has it! I would agree with the previous poster but for the fact I'm cheap so I will have to wait for one to drop into my lap (oh but I hope it does so soon!) Wow.

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