Hat Blog

Bob Dylan and Hats

What can I say about this that won’t be reductive?  I’m reluctant to write this, I admit a degree of crassness, but do want to address the Scorsese documentary.  Hats do play a part in this event and, after all, we are a hat blog.  First of all, one of my favorite Dylan tunes, “Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat” is actually one of the few songs sung in its entirely in the film.  Here are the lyrics:

Well, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat Yes, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat Well, you must tell me, baby How your head feels under somethin' like that Under your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat Well, you look so pretty in it Honey, can I jump on it sometime? Yes, I just wanna see If it's really that expensive kind You know it balances on your head Just like a mattress balances On a bottle of wine Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat Well, if you wanna see the sun rise Honey, I know where We'll go out and see it sometime We'll both just sit there and stare Me with my belt Wrapped around my head And you just sittin' there In your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat Well, I asked the doctor if I could see you It's bad for your health, he said Yes, I disobeyed his orders I came to see you But I found him there instead You know, I don't mind him cheatin' on me But I sure wish he'd take that off his head Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat Well, I see you got a new boyfriend You know, I never seen him before Well, I saw him Makin' love to you You forgot to close the garage door You might think he loves you for your money But I know what he really loves you for It's your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat

Copyright © 1966; renewed 1994 Dwarf Music

So what to make of this?  Initially, it appears as if the hat represents nothing more than a strong symbol of association that Dylan ascribes to the woman that the song is about.  Why does the woman wear this hat and why does it catch Dylan’s attention?  Something to consider is the fact that pillbox hats were hot-hot at this time.  Jackie Kennedy wore pillbox hats designed by Halston, a very chic designer of the day.  Jackie led the fashion parade in those days.  This woman was not someone acting outside of the mainstream.  The hat certainly catches Dylan’s attention, in fact as she carries on with another guy, this clown is wearing her hat and that bothers Dylan more than the affair!    Finally, Dylan thinks that this hat is so powerful that he levels the accusation that another guy does not love her for her money (back to my point about the kind of women who would wear these hats in those days), but rather because of the hat, and only the hat! 

If you are readers of this blog or VillagHatShop.com, you know that I continue to address the historical power of hats as symbols.  I won’t reiterate here, see other blog articles and VillageHatShop.com for more on this.  But, did anyone notice that short film, identified as the first footage of Dylan in New York’s Greenwich Village, within the film?  The entire short is nothing more than Bob Dylan changing hats.  Talk about symbolism!  Here, clearly in my opinion, Dylan is saying, as did Scorsese throughout the film, that Bob Dylan is a chameleon, is capable of changing personas, musical styles, and the like. 

Tonight is the second part.  Keep on the lookout for hats. 

Fred Belinsky

http://VillageHatShop.com

The Stetson Hats Logo and THE CROSSING

This passage is from page 98 of Cormac McCarthy’s THE CROSSING, “… and he drank from the canteen and poured the rest of the water into the crown of his hat and watered the horse out of the hat and …”.  Now take a look at the Stetson Hats Logo.  The uninitiated reader can perhaps begin to appreciate the intimate relationship between a cowboy, his horse, and his hat.

Fred Belinsky

http://VillageHatShop.com  

LOS ANGELES TIMES MAGAZINE’S MEN’S 2005 FALL FASHION ISSUE

This past Sunday, September 4^th 2005, the cover of The Los Angeles Time’s Magazine: Men’s Fall Fashion Issue, pictures a check cut-and-sewn European-style walker.  These classic hats, made with fine, rich fabrics, suggest the smart, old-world of the British Isles, the Tyrolean Alps, and northern Italy.  The hat is the perfect expression of the magazine’s title for this year’s apparel selection, “The Classics, Rocked”, for this is a hot style even though it’s been around with more conservative bon vivants for decades. 

The Village Hat Shop carries a number of styles that fit this bill.  Some examples are The Winston from Stetson Hats, or The Rex-Tweed and Rex-Herringbone from Italy’s Borsalino Hat Company.  Both Block Headwear and Goorin Hats have a couple numbers that also will work well in carrying off this sporting gentleman look.  If you like the shape, but want to consider felt materials in lieu of wool or cotton fabrics, see the line from Jaxon Hats – both the styles and the prices are right on.

MORE ON HATS AND CORMAC MCCARTHY

After ALL THE PRETTY HORSES (see previous post), the Border Trilogy continues with THE CROSSING.  In the book’s early going, sixteen-year-old Billy Parham visits an eccentric old Mexican man who is rumored to be a brujo.  Billy seeks this man’s advise regarding the ways of wolves as Billy has been stymied in his attempts to trap a wolf who has wandered into New Mexico from Mexico.  As Billy is helping the old man rise up from his bed, McCarthy writes “The boy almost put his hat on the bed but he caught himself.”  Now what is that supposed to mean, you may ask.  Perhaps some western readers of McCarthy may know the reference here, but for rest of you, the HAT BLOG comes to the rescue. 

Hats on a bed are back luck - not only bad luck, but specifically the kind of bad luck that this Mexican man may be particularly susceptible to.  Here is what Texas Bix Bender writes in HATS AND THE COWBOYS WHO WEAR THEM, 1994, Gibbs-Smith:  “Seems the expression comes from way back when people believed in evil spirits – other than the ones you drink.  These evil spirits lived in the hair.  This probably came from static electricity in the air crackling and popping when you came in and took off your hat.  So, the idea was, don’t lay your hat where you’re gonna lay your head ‘cause evil spirits are spilling outta the hat.  It doesn’t make any sense.  But then, superstitions seldom do.”

So there you have it - why Billy caugth himself before putting his hat on the bed.

Fred Belinsky

http://VillageHatShop.com

HATS AND CORMAC MCCARTHY’S ALL THE PRETTY HORSES

I just read Cormac’ McCarthy’s ALL THE PRETTY HORSES.  Why does this master craftsman, perhaps the dean, of American letters refer to hats six times in the first two pages of this National Book Award winning masterwork of the West?  “He took off his hat and came slowly forward” (the second sentence in the book).  “He stood with his hat in his hand.”  “He walked out on the prairie and stood holding his hat like some supplicant to the darkness over them and he stood there for a long time.”  “…. and the sound came lagging and he stood still holding his hat in his hands ….”.  “He hung the hat on a peg by the door and came …..”  “…. and the women sat holding on to their hats.”  These references, of course, are carefully designed.  The hat is to stand for something essential, is critical to the picture being painted. 

The ALL THE PRETTY HORSES story is about sustaining personal integrity as the very purpose and meaning of life.  The setting is mid-twentieth century west Texas and northern Mexico.  There are few possessions that matter, but those that do, matter fiercely.  Horses and hats are among them.  A horse we can understand, but a hat is an inanimate object.  Why should it matter so much? 

To many, the western hat is a badge.  Wearing it says something loud and clear about the beliefs and values of its owner.  When and how to hold it, when and how to wear it, when to hang it, how to use it as a tool – this is much more than just another article of clothing.  The importance of hats to this sub-culture of America cannot be overstated any more than one can overstate the importance of hats to Hasidic Jews or devout Muslims.  Hats have always been important symbols.  As covering to the cranium, is it any wonder. So add Cormac McCarthy to the list of those who understand and appreciate hats.  And, oh by the way, read this book – it’s great. 

Fred Belinsky

http://VillageHatShop.com 

I just read Cormac’ McCarthy’s ALL THE PRETTY HORSES.  Why does this master craftsman, perhaps the dean, of American letters refer to hats six times in the first two pages of this National Book Award winning masterwork of the West?  “He took off his hat and came slowly forward” (the second sentence in the book).  “He stood with his hat in his hand.”  “He walked out on the prairie and stood holding his hat like some supplicant to the darkness over them and he stood there for a long time.”  “…. and the sound came lagging and he stood still holding his hat in his hands ….”.  “He hung the hat on a peg by the door and came …..”  “…. and the women sat holding on to their hats.”  These references, of course, are carefully designed.  The hat is to stand for something essential, is critical to the picture being painted. 

The ALL THE PRETTY HORSES story is about sustaining personal integrity as the very purpose and meaning of life.  The setting is mid-twentieth century west Texas and northern Mexico.  There are few possessions that matter, but those that do, matter fiercely.  Horses and hats are among them.  A horse we can understand, but a hat is an inanimate object.  Why should it matter so much? 

To many, the western hat is a badge.  Wearing it says something loud and clear about the beliefs and values of its owner.  When and how to hold it, when and how to wear it, when to hang it, how to use it as a tool – this is much more than just another article of clothing.  The importance of hats to this sub-culture of America cannot be overstated any more than one can overstate the importance of hats to Hasidic Jews or devout Muslims.  Hats have always been important symbols.  As covering to the cranium, is it any wonder. So add Cormac McCarthy to the list of those who understand and appreciate hats.  And, oh by the way, read this book – it’s great. 

Fred Belinsky

http://VillageHatShop.com