The Evening critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1881-1885, 1884-04-09
STYLE IN HATS.
An Interesting Discussion of the
subject of Head Gear.

An Interesting Discussion OF the
subject of Head Gear.
"rhe leading style OF spring hats" THE
CRITICS halter remarked; "woll, there you
see any number OF them," pointing TO tho
case opposite In which large number OF
ightgray Derbys were exposed TO-, TO me g eye 2i
the purchaser. In response 10 THE OhlVlCS 3
questions the halter continued;
"You see they have n crown about flve inches
high; the brim 70 nat with no roll the edge ls
turned over. Altogether IL makes Il very neat
hat. They are made from the Knox pattern.
In my judgment he gets out tho neatest styles
Of any halter. Youmans appears to be the
latest rage in New York, eclipsing even tho
fashion for Dunlap and Knox"
"Whot difference is there In the hats marked
Knox or Dunlap from those sold with. your
stamp" the reporter inquisitlvoly asked.
"NOne, whatever" the halter replied. vino
same man who makes hats for Youmans
and Knox makes them for me. II i wanted
tho Youmans stamp in them could nave IL
by paying dollar extra. prefer TO put my
own stamp In, cell my customers Just as good
n hat and sell It for much less money"
The reporter musod on this revelation OF
the tricks In trade ana then asked.
"How about the spring style for SIR hatsr'
"Well, they don't change very much. For
spring the crown VIII be less bell;shaped, and
the brim Will be without any roll, much nat
ter, In fact, than 1t was worn during the win
tcr.'
"Do you import many elk hats from France
"No, not many. We make tho best silk hats
I'm this country. Why, one OF our manufacture.
Crs went over to Paris and took in every prize
for hats that was given; right there where tho
materials for hats come from. No, they don't
understand the hat business as IL Is under
stood hore-neither In France nor In England. >.
"Certainly IL Is surprising now cheap good
silk hat is In England, as compared with this
swell, It ought to be, as silk plush has to
pay dutyo Of fifty per cent. That's one thing
the hat manufacturers OF this country have
kicked against time and again. They have
come TO Congress and implored them to re.
saIss
focturo hats cheaply enough to export them
and compete IN foreign markets with other
countries. But It Isn't done. so you have to
pay more for your silk hat, and the manufac.
turer cannot build up foreign trade"
AS the talS on hats was now verging toward
political economy the reporter tried to bring II
back TO It's former limits by pointing to some
Derbys, and asked their color.
whey are very handsome hat. We call
the color neutral. It's a combination of gray
and brown"
"Do you ever have people come In who have
an affection for some particular style of hat and
who will have no other2" the reporter pur-
sued.
"oh, yes; they do not appear to caro- even
II the thing has been long out OF style. They
want the same style and the same color they
have been accustomed to. Then there are
those who come In who have seen a particular
style OF hat on some one TO whom IL Is becom.
ing. They fancy they Will look well In the
same thing, so they are bound to get It no
matter whether II becomes them or not. You
know how some OF these Bowery boys affect
trowsers tight at the knee and immense over
the foot-liko sailors trowsers. Well, some of
these swells who think they have looked we'll
In n certain style OF hat Will always ask for
that style. Why, l know young fellow with
plenty OF money who wore year after year q
soft hat so crushed In that It was not more
than two inches high. He imagined he was
particularly swell In that, and he has never
given It up so far as know"
"Styles change very mnch, presume," was
ventured by the reporter.
"Ob, yes thoy go from one extreme TO the
other. Now, few years ago they were very
nat, not more than three inches high, tho
brim rolled close TO tho crown. Then they
grew 10 have higher crowns, 80 that now none
are less than flve inches In height. The brim
has also flattened out and is made much
broader. dare say they Will gradually grow
lower again and arrive at the other extreme.
Now, there's an illustration OF the rotation of
fashions," he exclaimed, pointing to n Derby
with very nearly nat top. "Don't you re-
member several years ago the fashion In
Derbys was fiat top? Well, last winter
Dunlap's most fashionable hats had tops very
nearly nat. True they were somewhat higher
than those other hats of a few years ago, but
their tops were much slmilar'
"Do you expect any novelties in the way OF
hats this spring, anything like the cigar
ette hats OF q few summers ago."
He shook his head.
"No; they don't pay as general thing. You
can't tell how they are going TO take. We
might lay In large stock OF some special
kind and something might be sent out from
the manufacturers that would sell largely,
ana we Woulu be lett with all our old stock on
our hands"
"How did those soft and brown hats seli?"
"Oh, the Fedora hat. No, they didn't take
we'll. They camo out last September. They
sold some IN Philadelphia, but not at all In
New York. They were sout back from all
parts OF the country to the manufacturers"
"Why, didn't see any on the streets here
until Januaryl' tho reporter exclaimed
swell, very few are seen. They made n big
effort 10 push the hats, but they were n fail
ure. Nothing conspicuous sells we'll, especi
ally among people OF good taste."
'ThOse soft hats, colored like CASTLE soap, fol
instance, that appeared some seasons ago."
was suggested,
He nodded.
The reporter asked: 'You speak about the
winter and spring styles being different. You
cay that on silk hats the brim rolled more
last winter than this spring, Is there ttny
good reason for that2 is 1t made so In ordei
that there Will be less resistance to the
winds 2"
"No," he replied, "lt's done for tho sake Of
appearance. just as you would put piece OF
velvet or fur on your overcoat In winter q
| give II the appearance OF warmth. In spring
the brim is made flatter and broader 10 give
! tho hat the appearance Of lightness, moro ap-
| bys as well as TO silk hats. You viii hnd, as ]
said, tho brim OF Derbys fatter and
broader this spring than they were during the
past winter"
With this load OF Information tho reporter
strOlled away convinced that q fourth.seasoI
hat had been forced on him for the last time
by an INSCRIPTIONS halter, who s0lemnll
ayerred that II was the very latest "Melville'
from London, q brand, II seems, that nevel
American.