# OK, So What Hat for Convertible?



## Mongo (May 9, 2008)

Obviously from the hat thread, but a legitimate question brought on by that discussion.

I currently wear a baseball cap when driving the convertible. Would rather wear something more stylish, but as I mentioned earlier: 1) I've lost hats before this way, and 2) driving caps seem over the top to me (at least for me in my car).

I've considered buying one of those Australian or wilderness fedoras with a chin strap. Are there other alternatives out there?


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## David V (Sep 19, 2005)

A flat cap (sometimes called an ivy cap or , oddly enough, a driving cap!)

You would find a driving cap over the top but would wear a hat with a chin strap!


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

I have a convertible and I wear a baseball cap when driving it, normally one adorned with the logo of either the local NFL or NHL team. I also have an old cotton bucket hat (remember Gilligan) but my lady friend doesn't care for it so I rarely wear it. I keep all of these in the trunk of the car.

I have about a half dozen or so ivy caps (flat caps) but I tend to only wear them in the winter when the convertible rarely gets driven, much less with the top down. :icon_smile:

Cruiser


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## Anthony Jordan (Apr 29, 2005)

A linen flat cap perhaps?

I used to wear a tweed flat cap when driving my open two seater here in the UK.


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## Cary Grant (Sep 11, 2008)

I do think a driving cap, especially in Linen, would be the way to go.


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## pkincy (Feb 9, 2006)

I wear a Fedora with no problem and I actually sit quite tall in the car so my head tends to be a bit higher than most.

I have both BMW and Corvette roadsters. The BMW has less wind buffeting, but the hats fit nicely and are in no danger of blowing off.

Perry


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## amplifiedheat (Jun 9, 2008)

I was in a men's store not long ago where I spied a seersucker flat cap. Just saying.


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## JibranK (May 28, 2007)

I like what the guy on the left is wearing.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

JibranK said:


> I like what the guy on the left is wearing.


It's not that I don't like the hat, but really it's just a tad too dandyish for me and the Ford-Chevy-Harley-Davidson crowd that I'm usually around these days. Although my current drop top is a Ford Mustang, here are a couple of my open air cars from days gone by, many days gone by. Baseball caps just seem to work better for me. :icon_smile:

https://img192.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan0001t.jpg

https://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan0002ncz.jpg

Cruiser


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## JibranK (May 28, 2007)

Beautiful cars, Cruiser. I like the first one especially.

I know what you mean but I like to post Bond photos whenever I get the excuse


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## rmanoj (Mar 6, 2009)

David V said:


> A flat cap (sometimes called an ivy cap or , oddly enough, a driving cap!)
> 
> You would find a driving cap over the top but would wear a hat with a chin strap!


Exactly. The OP's prejudice doesn't make sense. In Britain, flat caps are usually associated with four types of people: middle-aged working class men, old men, farmers and aristocrats (when they are relaxing in the countryside). Hats with chin straps, on the other hand, have less respectable connotations and stand out a lot more.


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

I'm partial to the Kangol driving caps myself - they fit (me) well, they're available in some sporty patterns and stripes - hence nullifying the "old man" element - as well as light, summer-weight fabrics.

DH


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## deanayer (Mar 30, 2008)

What kind of convertible are we talking about? How windy is it in the driver seat and is the kind of convertible where you could get a windscreen behind the front seats? I ask to gauge the blow-off risks involved. If its really windy you are going to want to go low profile and/or cheap. If its barely windy and this is a sun protection issue that increases your options.

I will say this: With a convertible there is some chance you can retrieve a blown-off hat depending on where it happens (not the highway obviously). As a boater I can say that when the hat blows off in open ocean, baby its GONE!


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## Cardcaptor Charlie (Jul 7, 2008)

This:



:icon_smile_big:


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## clothesboy (Sep 19, 2004)

pkincy said:


> I wear a Fedora with no problem and I actually sit quite tall in the car so my head tends to be a bit higher than most.
> 
> I have both BMW and Corvette roadsters. The BMW has less wind buffeting, but the hats fit nicely and are in no danger of blowing off.
> 
> Perry


My experience is exactly the opposite. I'm tall and sometimes worry that even a flat cap will blow off. 

I vote for a driving cap.


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## creat3cp (Apr 2, 2006)

I would prefer this

=>


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## Mongo (May 9, 2008)

rmanoj said:


> Exactly. The OP's prejudice doesn't make sense. In Britain, flat caps are usually associated with four types of people: middle-aged working class men, old men, farmers and aristocrats (when they are relaxing in the countryside). Hats with chin straps, on the other hand, have less respectable connotations and stand out a lot more.


 It's that "aristocrats (when they are relaxing in the countryside)" look that has me worried. It sounds silly, and the car's not particularly expensive, but it is a Ferrari, and therefore comes with a certain amount of perceptual baggage.

The Kangol sounds like it might well be a decent approach - I'm going to give that a try.


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## Marcus Brody (Oct 11, 2008)

When I drove a Jeep I used to wear a newsboy cap. The brim was short and it was comparatively deep (compared to a driving cap), so it didn't fly off even given the Jeep's windy environment.

Whether you like the styling is a different matter, but (imo at least) it looks less aristocratic than a driving cap.


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## flylot74 (Jul 26, 2007)

*convertable*

I have worn a flat cap and a panama and have yet to loose a hat. When I remove the top (rarely, but usually in early spring or late fall) I raise the eye shades up slightly and the wind is deflected over my head quite nicely with no buffeting up to speeds of 75 mph.

I must include the caveat that it is not only vehicle model specific but also diver height specific.

...."mileage may vary".......


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## Anthony Jordan (Apr 29, 2005)

Unfortunately mine only had twin semi-circular aeroscreens so losing hats was a very real possibility!


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## rmanoj (Mar 6, 2009)

Mongo said:


> It's that "aristocrats (when they are relaxing in the countryside)" look that has me worried. It sounds silly, and the car's not particularly expensive, but it is a Ferrari, and therefore comes with a certain amount of perceptual baggage.
> 
> The Kangol sounds like it might well be a decent approach - I'm going to give that a try.


The aristocrat thing doesn't really apply unless you're also wearing a tweed suit...


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## Anthony Jordan (Apr 29, 2005)

There are some quite nice linen caps here, I see:

https://www.hornetshats.com/f_hatview.php?link=Summer Hats


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