21 August 2012

Where Have all The Floppy Tennis Hats Gone?



I bought this hat in Bermuda at least 15 years ago. Never wore it. Too big despite its claim of S/M. I'm a 7 1/4, depending on the last visit to the barber shop.





I learned a trick in the park service for fixing hats that are too big. Fold a paper towel four or five times until it's about an inch wide and tuck under the sweat band. One in front and one in back. Over time the hat'll loosen up but just stick a couple new paper towels in and you're good to go.





The Floppy Tennis Hat is getting hard to find. There are bucket hats but they're not the same thing. For one, they don't have the green shade on the underside of the front brim. Secondly, they're just too hipster at present and I think the aesthetic is all wrong. Too little hat for the head, unless you wear a size 9 ... in which case you can use your hat to carry groceries home.




Then there's the floppy tennis hat with a domed top complete with that silly button on top. That's a big No-Go unless you're a 55 year old woman with frosted hair and pink nail polish who makes a killer G&T and plays in the Atlanta Peach League. The authentic Floppy Tennis Hat has be flat on top. That allows you to crush it and mold it and make the hat your own.





Some folks prefer the all white hat sans ribbon. Probably a good idea -- Unless it's a hat from Bermuda. It's an understated destination and it allows you to communicate your knowledge of, and desire for a Dark & Stormy. I'm not sure what you communicate with ribbon announcing,"Welcome to Vegas."




Those are my requirements. The Floppy Tennis Hat is as much at home on the court as it is on the streets of NYC... with a pair of Ray Bans. I know it's an advertisement for being over 40. What's wrong with that? Sometimes, I like to wear mine like Art Buchwald.



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11 comments:

  1. M.Lane21 August, 2012 14:26

    Super! I know that lady in Atlanta and I like her. A lot.

    ML

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  2. Michael Rowe21 August, 2012 15:40

    I SO WANT THIS HAT.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous21 August, 2012 15:45

    Judging from that last pictur,e I'm not sure it says "Welcome to Vegas" so much as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." So maybe get some tube socks.

    But the one thing that the contrasting hat band does is to get it away from the Gilligan look.

    Carl Reiner wears an earlier classic one in "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming!" He wears it with the brim flipped up in the back and the front down.

    -DB

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  4. Anonymous22 August, 2012 01:06

    Try: http://quakermarine.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=198

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  5. GSV JR22 August, 2012 08:59

    One thing I don't understand: what's the distinction between a golf hat and a tennis hat? Seems like they are the same thing. E.g., the floppy Masters hat every Buckhead lawyer dad wears around here until college football starts.

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  6. gentleman mac23 August, 2012 08:13

    LOL, GSV JR! I'm in Athens, so I get that in spades, too!

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  7. Unknown30 October, 2012 23:57

    Hello,

    Your post is really providing good tips.. I liked it and enjoyed reading it. Keep sharing such important posts.

    Manhattan Tennis

    ReplyDelete
  8. james at 10engines09 April, 2013 17:41

    on the hunt for one of these... orvis had them last year. not now. darn it...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous16 April, 2018 19:30

    I desperately need a white bucket hat with a green under brim. does anybody know where I can get one. I cant find them anywhere.

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  10. Unknown11 September, 2019 17:32

    I, too, want this hat. My current one is wearing out. Please let me know if you find one! Many thanks,
    Charles R. Altman

    ReplyDelete
  11. Roy28 June, 2021 18:54

    I'm also looking for a floppy, white Aussie tennis hat, green underside. Is it possible that in the whole, wide world, no one still manufactures this simple item?

    ReplyDelete