First piece of headgear?

[BobRoeder]

Re: First piece of headgear?

Before I actually started reenacting, back when I was around 10 yrs old (ca. 1973) my first "kepi" was made from a surplus para-military peaked (or service) cap. We (older brother and I) removed the cloth and kept the vinyl visor, chinstrap, brass screw buttons and headband stiffener, covered it with grey cotton cloth (w/ cardboard circle) and a red cloth band over the frame (all scrap cloth from old clothing), then my grandmother did some CS officer type embroidery in yellow thread on the sides and a quatrefoil design on the top. Looked like a CS Artillery Lieutenant's cap, sorta. Wore it until it fell apart. During its life I was offered $25.00 for it by the dunking booth guy at the Erie County Fair but I wouldn't give it up.

My first reenacting cap was a crummy sutler row quality grey kepi.

I've upgraded significantly over the years and also began leaning more toward the blue.

[Jimmayo]

Re: First piece of headgear?



Bought my first hat at my first reenactment in 1982 at Gettysburg. I am the guy in the white shirt with the Gray hat. My present hat shown in avatar I had made at the Blue Bonnet Hat shop in Norfolk. I didn't know anybody that carried decent hats in the CW community so I had that one made using a hat from an article from North South Trader magazine. It is all hand sewn and cost a whopping $75 bucks in 1984. I wore it at the Crater NPS last weekend.

[Philip cav]

Re: First piece of headgear?

My first piece of headwear was a hat I got from a gift shop in a Iowa gift shop... It was a brown unlined hat with a brown leather sweatband... I wore it for about 2-3 events (lost it at some point), then was given a sutler row federal issue forage cap. Have upgraded since then.

[Diplogeek]

Re: First piece of headgear?

My first reenacting hat was a Crews kepi by Greg Starbuck, purchased used from George "Soup Bone" Weymer on this very forum. I love that hat, but a day of the sun beating down on me at the Gettysburg events this summer persuaded me to pick up a slouch, as well, so my ears didn't wind up looking like a couple pieces of bacon hanging off the side of my head. I got a black slouch from the nice ladies at Clearwater Hats that I really like, especially now that it's getting broken in a bit. I'll wear one or the other depending on the weather, my mood and what's appropriate to the scenario.

I wore the kepi in a tintype I got done after the Gettysburg events (I wanted to look as rough as possible for the photo, and coming in straight off the field seemed the best way to go). It really is a great hat, and I like the pushed-up brim look a lot. I was fortunate to run across AC before I even found a unit to join, so I've ended up with pretty decent gear early on.

My first kepi ever was one of those suede deals, Confederate, as I recall, purchased on a family vacation to Williamsburg, Virginia when I was a kid (I thought I was hot stuff, too, because it wasn't one of the crappy, cotton and plastic ones). I wore that thing out and about and on camping trips for years- I think it's still floating around back at my mom's place somewhere, actually.

- Allison Jones

[unclefrank]

Re: First piece of headgear?

A felt "slouch" hat that was part of the Union uniform special from C&C Sutlery. Also got a Barney jacket that was thick enough to wear on the coldest winter day in Michigan. The hat shrunk about two sizes after the first rain and was disgarded. The Barney jacket I gave to a female friend who thought it was stylish.

[Haversack]

Re: First piece of headgear?

A gray wool "McDowell" forage cap from Fall Creek.