Getting Hot

The season's outrageous heat has begun. You can see it on the faces of the passers-by on the street, in the sweaty attire adhering to every human being not enclosed in a climate controlled zone, in the dizzying optical waves of heat rising from the blacktop in the noonday sun.

Great hats are a necessity in this unforgiving climate. With so many choices available, why settle for just one?

Above is a classic two tone Panama hat from Lanvin available at Barneys New York. The cream and grey are a perfect complement.

Above is a wonderful vintage Milano style woven hat by Julius Garfinckel and Company available from one of my favorite stores on Etsy - PearlModern. The perfect hat for leisurely rowing on Central Park Lake or sitting beachside at a resort as the waves roll in.

Above, Mr. Theophilus London in a fantastic summer ensemble including a brilliant camel colored hat.

  
Below is a great cotton hat from Lock & Co Hatters in an eye-catching grey, navy and red plaid. Available from Mr. Porter.

Above, the contrast fedora from Etro - Available here. A very tasteful combination of patterns shows true artistry.

Below, the Funk hat in grey caviar double face with elephant-grey shiny lambskin trim from Hermès. Simply elegant.

Below is a photograph of the inimitable Don Cheadle looking suave while beating the summer heat in a great straw hat.

Below, a great straw fedora by Albertus Swanepoel. Available from Barneys New York.

Below, the Singer Sargent hat from Worth and Worth, available here.

 

Below, a delightful ad from quality French hatmakers Mossant. Quite debonair. There was such a magic to old advertising posters that has been lost in the digital age.

A great woven flame pattern two tone Panama hat from Agnes B. This one really makes a statement without being vulgar or verging on the ridiculous.

 

The Woven Super Sport 750 from Worth and Worth. Available from Hatshop.com. 

Below, it was apparently too hot for Michael Fassbender. Here, he keeps cool with a great stingy brimmed hat.

Beneath is a photograph of a linen flat cap by Borsalino available at Harrods.  Classically understated European style that is perfect for reflecting those harsh sun rays.

Men Of Style - Tom Waits

In this series, I will look at men who possess a certain innate sense of style, a personal style all their own, so defined that it has become a kind of personal architecture. When one takes this style and refines and sculpts it, that style can become a character unto itself. There have been many men of distinct style throughout time who have displayed such artistry at developing their look. Three men that stand out as examples are Klaus Nomi, David Bowie and Karl Lagerfeld. In the world of music and performance, this sort of transformation is an expected facet of stagecraft. More often than not, this is a put-on, a façade. In the case of Tom Waits, here is an artist that can, in one instance, look like a Bowery bum, a ranch hand, or like the coolest guy in the world. He is the genuine article.

Some men wear a hat in a way that looks so right, as if they had been born with it on. Tom Waits wears a hat with derelict panache. When he performs, he captivates with his storytelling, vaudevillian gestures, and carnival barker enthusiasm. His songs can be brutal and bawdy, cool and bluesy and tragically heartfelt. The lyrics take you on a trucker's cross country haul, on a soldier's debauched shore leave and end up with a drunk's barroom tirade, all sung in a voice like broken glass, gravel and a million cigarettes.

If you happen to be in Europe over the summer, check out the Anton Corbijn photography exhibition "Inwards and Onwards" in Amsterdam. Many of these photos were taken by Anton Corbijn, who is one of the finest photographers of rock musicians in the world. The exhibition is located at the Foam Museum, Keizersgracht 609.