The Serious Hat
Last month Rich experienced something resembling a minor identity crisis. I blame Scott Church.
This predicament arose as a result of Scott’s London workshop, not because the workshop was bad (in fact it was most excellent) but because when he walked through the door of the Roost, he met himself, many times over. Every other photographer was in his forties, bearded, slightly overweight, wearing a black t-shirt and clutching a Canon 5D. It was like being stuck in that horror movie where there was a room of mirrors and his reflections came alive and talked to him (in the movie the reflections hacked the hero to death, but I am assured there were no axes at said workshop.) However, small wonder the poor chap returned somewhat traumatized.
Now Rich has always hated the very idea of conforming to any normal social stereotype, so an immediate makeover was mandatory. Individual STYLE had to be acquired, and pretty darn sharpish too. A new trendy man-wardrobe was acquired (no I don’t choose his clothes and I hereby disavow all responsibility for his attire), heavy on the leather jacket and tailored shirts I might add. He contemplated shaving his beard. I threatened divorce (I like my men furry, thank you) so he kind of shelved that idea, but then he decided to buy A SERIOUS HAT.
Now Rich has never worn a hat in his life (other than a bright red beanie for two months when he went through a snowboarding phase a couple of years ago, but that ended with a very wet and nasty fall, and the snowboard-plus-beanie were shelved in favour of an obsession with flying very fast, and therein lies a whole different story.) Anyhoo, back to the topic in hand. Well I am ever the supportive and devoted wife, so I put aside my reservations, and embraced The New Nude Photographer II The Sequel, remodeled, upgraded and improved for the new millennium. With The Serious Hat.
Few things define a man as clearly as a hat does. It is the most instantly noticeable thing he wears, and it emphasizes not just who someone is, but who he wants to be. It was therefore imperative that he chose the RIGHT hat. Now Rich is 6 ft 3”. He is not a small man, and any hat added several inches to his height. I suggested a fez (à la BT style) but hell would apparently freeze over before he emulated another photographer. So after several hilarious attempts, and largely because the latest Indiana Jones movie was on at the cinema, he chose a fedora. I refused to have anything to do with it (Harrison Ford is not normally my thang, too much whipping) so his Mum bought him one instead. Unfortunately she was a bit hazy on the concept of what constitutes a quality fedora, so he kinda ended up with a fedora-sorta-bush-hat instead.
I didn’t quite know what to make of this hat thing, to be honest. Personally I’ve always found men in hats to be somewhat threatening. Freud maintained that when a man put on a hat, he was performing a phallic gesture. James Laver observed that times of extreme male dominance in history coincided with high hats for men. So was this sudden appearance of a hat just another example of Rich exerting his male dominance? After all, a hat goes on top of your brain, and it therefore emphasizes the presence of psychological power. Was this all about testosterone rather than style, and are the two mutually exclusive anyway?
Well, Rich certainly looked startlingly different in his fedora. It was a Borsalino lookalike, naturally (Harrison wore the genuine article, bien sûr, but that was outside mother's budget) and he had that distant, rugged, slightly sleazy look that comes from too much booze, women and adventuring for lost artifacts in far-flung corners of the world. Teamed with khaki trousers and a leather jacket he was a dead-ringer for Indiana Jones, so much so that all three kids took to humming the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme tune VERY LOUDLY whenever he entered the room, and we are now plotting a purchase of a bullwhip for his birthday.
Don’t you feel sorry for the poor chap? Who’d live with us eh? All he wanted to do was to look a little more individualistic, more stylish. And truth be told, he has achieved that certain level of jaunty elegance which goes with wearing a fedora. It’s taken me a while to get used to it, but I finally like it, at least I think I do. Trouble is, I’m not sure whether The Serious Hat changeth the Man, or whether the Man always was The Serious Hat underneath. Either way, it's actually kinda fun to be married to a movie hero.
And at least the models do seem to like it. Time for a new photographic series maybe…Nekkid Chix In My Serious Hat. Hmm…
Images are of fashion model Iveta, stylishy (and patiently) modeling The Serious Hat.
This predicament arose as a result of Scott’s London workshop, not because the workshop was bad (in fact it was most excellent) but because when he walked through the door of the Roost, he met himself, many times over. Every other photographer was in his forties, bearded, slightly overweight, wearing a black t-shirt and clutching a Canon 5D. It was like being stuck in that horror movie where there was a room of mirrors and his reflections came alive and talked to him (in the movie the reflections hacked the hero to death, but I am assured there were no axes at said workshop.) However, small wonder the poor chap returned somewhat traumatized.
Now Rich has always hated the very idea of conforming to any normal social stereotype, so an immediate makeover was mandatory. Individual STYLE had to be acquired, and pretty darn sharpish too. A new trendy man-wardrobe was acquired (no I don’t choose his clothes and I hereby disavow all responsibility for his attire), heavy on the leather jacket and tailored shirts I might add. He contemplated shaving his beard. I threatened divorce (I like my men furry, thank you) so he kind of shelved that idea, but then he decided to buy A SERIOUS HAT.
Now Rich has never worn a hat in his life (other than a bright red beanie for two months when he went through a snowboarding phase a couple of years ago, but that ended with a very wet and nasty fall, and the snowboard-plus-beanie were shelved in favour of an obsession with flying very fast, and therein lies a whole different story.) Anyhoo, back to the topic in hand. Well I am ever the supportive and devoted wife, so I put aside my reservations, and embraced The New Nude Photographer II The Sequel, remodeled, upgraded and improved for the new millennium. With The Serious Hat.
Few things define a man as clearly as a hat does. It is the most instantly noticeable thing he wears, and it emphasizes not just who someone is, but who he wants to be. It was therefore imperative that he chose the RIGHT hat. Now Rich is 6 ft 3”. He is not a small man, and any hat added several inches to his height. I suggested a fez (à la BT style) but hell would apparently freeze over before he emulated another photographer. So after several hilarious attempts, and largely because the latest Indiana Jones movie was on at the cinema, he chose a fedora. I refused to have anything to do with it (Harrison Ford is not normally my thang, too much whipping) so his Mum bought him one instead. Unfortunately she was a bit hazy on the concept of what constitutes a quality fedora, so he kinda ended up with a fedora-sorta-bush-hat instead.
I didn’t quite know what to make of this hat thing, to be honest. Personally I’ve always found men in hats to be somewhat threatening. Freud maintained that when a man put on a hat, he was performing a phallic gesture. James Laver observed that times of extreme male dominance in history coincided with high hats for men. So was this sudden appearance of a hat just another example of Rich exerting his male dominance? After all, a hat goes on top of your brain, and it therefore emphasizes the presence of psychological power. Was this all about testosterone rather than style, and are the two mutually exclusive anyway?
Well, Rich certainly looked startlingly different in his fedora. It was a Borsalino lookalike, naturally (Harrison wore the genuine article, bien sûr, but that was outside mother's budget) and he had that distant, rugged, slightly sleazy look that comes from too much booze, women and adventuring for lost artifacts in far-flung corners of the world. Teamed with khaki trousers and a leather jacket he was a dead-ringer for Indiana Jones, so much so that all three kids took to humming the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme tune VERY LOUDLY whenever he entered the room, and we are now plotting a purchase of a bullwhip for his birthday.
Don’t you feel sorry for the poor chap? Who’d live with us eh? All he wanted to do was to look a little more individualistic, more stylish. And truth be told, he has achieved that certain level of jaunty elegance which goes with wearing a fedora. It’s taken me a while to get used to it, but I finally like it, at least I think I do. Trouble is, I’m not sure whether The Serious Hat changeth the Man, or whether the Man always was The Serious Hat underneath. Either way, it's actually kinda fun to be married to a movie hero.
And at least the models do seem to like it. Time for a new photographic series maybe…Nekkid Chix In My Serious Hat. Hmm…
Images are of fashion model Iveta, stylishy (and patiently) modeling The Serious Hat.
posted by Lin at 9:29 AM
6 Comments:
"Freud maintained that when a man put on a hat, he was performing a phallic gesture."
Lin - Freud maintained that when a man breathed it was a phallic gesture.
Hope all is well with you and your injuries are healed. Will eagerly wait for photos of you with the bullwhip (which Freud would liken to a phallic snake fantasy).
Relatively early in the morning from my northwoods retreat with Dave Swanson, I can tell you that I brought a hat. Not the hat, just a baseball cap, but it keeps the ticks off to some degree.
But I'm with Rich, having purchased my own fedora (semi-Aussie-bush-style) earlier this year, after being inspired by a National Geographic photographer at my Mexico workshop last fall.
So look at it this way, Rich is in semi-distinguished company. And there is hope: I am no more the reprobate, no more the unsavory character, than I was pre-hat.
(Both Dave and I laughed our heads off at your post, Lin.)
Well, Stephen didn't look too silly in his hat today. No more than I did with mine.
Mine is keep my bald head from getting sun burn. As for it being a phallic gesture, being a scruffy old fart I would welcome such thoughts but I don't think it was on anyone's mind this morning.
I REALLY like this photo!! Well done Rich!!
By the way, this is the first time I have ever felt the need to comment using my Blackberry....I'm sitting by our pool. Mojito in hand....cheers to you both.
Bt Charles
I love that photo at the bottom.. I don't know how I feel about men in hats, but your models seem to be working it!
Speaking of Indiana Jones's fedora.......back in the eighties when I lived in the UK I visited the milliners in London that created that exact hat for the movie. They wanted 40 pounds for one. I have regretted not buying one to this very day.
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