Velvet Riding Hat

I own this Helmet after spending about year having riding lesson in the vain hope of becoming a Jouster.

Before I got anywhere near even a basic rider  I fell off a horse straight on to rigid fence at a canter, ambulanced to the hospital no fractures to my ribs where found but it was 6 months before I could lie on that side of body and I never went back to riding apart from the odd pony trek while on holiday.
I think good riders start young, and own their own horse and stables or train full time such as for the Queens life guards.

This is certified riding helmet velvet covered in the equestrian style, although modern helmets are much more practical, this one is now 25 year old.

This style of this riding helmet is called a Hunt Cap.

Medieval Baseball Cap

Another Robin hood hat, this one has a turned up edge only around half the hat, this seem to have made the point of the hat less stable.

The medieval equivalent of baseball cap, it can also be worn with the peak of the brim pointing backwards as below. 

Their is also evidence for this is illustrations from period, I suppose it stopped rain dripping down your neck.

So when your down with the hood wear you bycocket backwards, yo power to the merry men.

Do you feel my excitement in this photo, perhaps I was smiling on the inside.

Wigs are not my thing

Wigs are not for me.

Of the few wigs I have for Larp, all are cheap fancy dress quality, so they don't fit or cover my head well, but they suit what I need.

The trouble with wigs for me is I have a ginger/grey beard, which means I need to find a colour that matches or they just look wrong. 

In these photos I've digitally altered my beard colour to match the wig, in the field a can of joke shop spray hair colour would do the same thing. 

I tried on a quality wig once and if it was the better colour I might have just been tempted to spend the hundred pounds plus.

With no knowledge you can see and feel the difference in a wig much more easily than you can in hats.

My advice on wigs is buy a Hat.

My Yodelling Hat

Tyrolean Hat is a hat worn in the Alps of Austria, Italy, Switzerland etc. Also known as a Alpine Hat or Bavarian Hat

For that reason I'm Yodelling in the photo below.

The Tyrolean is almost always green, made of felt, small brim and decorated with a ring of cord and a spray feathers or flowers.

This hat was a gift from Dan a friend in my Larp group.

For some reason this hat inspired a clock maker persona.

PS I don't own any leather breeches (lederhosen) to go with this hat and create the full traditional costume look.

Sallet

The medieval sallet was the helmet of choice for 15th Century medieval soldiers, some had visors, some where worn with beavers which protected the neck and chin.

Worn by me in period of about 5 or 6 years when I was part of the Buckinhams Retinue a soldier in the Duke of Stafford's household.

 My sallet was not a good example but it served a purpose, you can find much better quality elsewhere. 

I should also note I no longer own this helmet it was sold on to another keen reinactor.

Buying a Hat

This post is not about what style of hat to pick when you don't want another baseball cap, what looks best is ultimately a personal choices so this is about what you should look out for, where to find your hat and what to pay.

Why are you buying a hat

I use hats for general use in the modern world, Medieval reinactment/Living History and most often Live action roleplay/LARP

Hats are fashionable, most are very comfortable, some keep you warm, shaded or dry, hats say something combined with the rest of your clothing they set scene and persona in the viewers mind before you even speak.

I used to do mummers plays and all that I changed between characters was the hat, some hats are evil, posh, good, dumb, poor, old, young, inquisitive, authoritative many other things.

Hats can also be job or hobby, related such white plastic safety hats construction, riding hats, flying caps, cowboy hats etc.
And they can represent a country hats with corks around them say your Australian, the tam o'shanter Scottish, the sombrero Mexican etc.

Where to Buy From

This easiest place to find your hat is the internet, but to get a good fit, feel for the quality and most importantly check if its the right hat for you then the only way is to try it on and thus the internet fails.

However you can finds hats in other places such as at fairs, car boot sales, charity shops and antique/vintage shops, most of my hats have come form reenactment and larp markets like 

TORM

 National Living History Fair

 Internations Living History Fair

What's your Games

Larp Awareness Party

Tewkesbury Medieval Festival

To name a few, I'm sure there are many more around the county or world.

Size

Soft hats are usually stretchy or one size fits all even so some are way to small for my head, for hard or rigid hats its essential you know your size, if you already own hats you can get the size from that if its on the label, if not use the guide below.

Personally I find most hats size labels are in cm (centimetres) but the modern way means you now get small, medium, large and extra large, large seems to be around 58cm but you really never can tell for sure so as mentioned above try it on.

Use a soft tape measure. Place it around the head, position it mid forehead and above ears. Measure in inches or centimetres. Find your size on the hat size chart.

Inches	20 1/2"	20 7/8"	21 1/4"	21 5/8"	22"	22 1/2"	22 7/8"	23 1/4"	23 5/8"
European or cm	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
USA	6 1/2	6 5/8	6 3/4	6 7/8	7	7 1/8	7 1/4	7 3/8	7 1/2
UK	6 3/8	6 1/2	6 5/8	6 3/4	6 7/8	7	7 1/8	7 1/4	7 3/8

Don't be generous, be accurate or the hat will fall over your ears. 

Cost

You should be able to pick up a good soft hat or cap, new for under £10 and basic quality rigid/hard hat for £ 30 but I have found a bowler hat in car boots for £ 10 and a leather cap in a charity shop £ 3.

Fancy dress hats are very cheap and if its for a one off use then why not, some are actually very good and real bargain, definitely worth a look on Ebay or Amazon or similar.

For quality hats though you will be paying upwards £50 even second hand, the most I have paid is £90 for hat and it was something I really wanted to make me pay that, I see many hats more much more expensive than that but I always walk by them although sometimes I wish I didn't the following day.

The good thing if your buying historical is many reproduction imports are coming our way and these are well worth a look. 

I'm in the Army now

This Peaked cap is I believe a army officers dress cap.

The hat has no badge or other indication of rank, the lining says made by Moss Bros, it was well worn before I purchased from a Army Surplus depot, but very well made and in good condition.

The hat is made from canvass like fabric with the stiff peak also covered in the same fabric, it has a leather band at the front which can pulled down over the peak and help secure the hat on windy days.

I have had this hat a few years but not yet found opportunity to wear it outside these photos taken for this blog.

 I would like to think of this could be used for Dads Army type character.