History White "Street Rod" gatsby hats - circa 1978

Uncle Gein always wore those hats, we just knew him as Ed.....

 

I had one of those, back in the 70's, that I wore during my kart racing days. Think I wore it out.

 

Interesting post, I still wear these caps a lot, I have sold them at my vintage clothing store for twenty years. They make them now in a mesh weave for air flow and are worn like Dennis Gage wears him if you are a conformist or worn backwards if you are a nonconformist. They are usually refered to as driving hats. News boys and big appless are usually wool in tweeds and are cut much fuller. I remember the white pith helmet era as well, I was so impressed when the big boys came to our rural dragstrip and wore full whites and the pith helmets with chainstitched club logos or specific car logos. Speedy Bill from Speedway motors would dress crews up like this, and it was so cool!! I wear mine backwards and kinda feel like a geek if I wear it like a golfer! Strokes for folks!! ~Sololobo~

 

Perhaps those of us that attend NSRA shows should wear them to the next event to indicate that we want to go back to the way things used to be.

 

allways heard them refered to as British driving hats!
Bill.

 

I have a black one I wear when driving the bucket, it's a repop now I need to go find a new one so I'll have a spear to carry with me.

 

My favorite

 

I had 2 of those hats .... One to shit in and the other to cover it up!

 

If I recall correctly (it has been a year or forty), we got ours in the work clothes department at Sears. We looked sharp on the starting line, though....

 

I have a bunch of Stroker hats in the storage unit. It was regular car show dress in the 60's & 70's. I also have a white LA Roadster one I got from a member back in the 70's.

 

I grew up in my grandfathers mens clothing store that he opened in 1926. It was closed in the early 80's. I remember he sold these caps in wool tweed, wool broadcloth and other fabrics. This style goes back to the early 1900's or even farther. In their day they were as COMMON as "baseball" style caps are today. Up through the 50's ya could see these caps everywhere but few "ball caps" by comparison. They were the everyday headgear if ya weren't wearing your dresed up fedora hat (felt or straw). Check out the pics from say 1950 and earlier where ya see "everyday" street scenes. And then there were the cyclists, race car drivers, and pilots even. It was common to turn the cap backwards and add a set of goggles.

 

Dickey Pierson hated those hats, and didn't want to mess up his pompadour so he bought a coupe and built this

 

A story about Tom Medley and his Stroker McGurk character appeared some years ago in Rod & Custom or Hot Rod magazine. When asked about the hat, Tom said that the early lakes and hot rod boys wore them because they were cheap and looked cool. They bought them from uniform supply houses and their intended use was for meat cutters and were to go with the white aprons, jackets, etc.

 

hahaha, fuck yes.

 

When all your hair falls out, you find yourself more interested in hats. I had a white Stroker hat and wore it to bits. I'd like another.

 

Try B! Wear Cap Co. They offer a white linen 8-panel cap for $35.00 plus shipping. I bought a tweed one for my brother not too long ago, and was mighty pleased.

Oh, and if you think $35.00 is expensive for a cap, that's only $2.26 in 1935 dollars.

-Dave