We've been trumpeting the "return" of women's hats here at All the Rage for some time now, but they are back for men, too, and we don't mean just baseball caps. On-trend guys, inspired by the likes of Justin Timberlake and Johnny Depp, are sporting fedoras, straw hats, knit caps and more. Places like J. Crew and Gap are reporting strong sales, from metro centers to the sprawl of suburbia. But the new generation of male hat wearers is puzzling over hat etiquette -- ("Whaddya mean I can't wear it at the dinner table?") [Wall Street Journal] Maybe I can talk my co-blogger par excellence Adam Tschorn, who wears a hat with panache, into explaining it all for the lads. 

J.C. Penney has been trying to improve its fashion cred lately. In its latest step in that direction, the giant retailer is opening MNG Mango Shops in 77 of its stores and online and billing it as the biggest fast-fashion rollout ever. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Emma Watson, who has spent most of her life playing Hermione in the Harry Potter movies and recently marked the end of filming the last in the series by cutting her long locks into a pixie, may have had a motive other than just a fun style change. Today's speculation: she might be gunning for the coveted role of spiky-haired Lisbeth Salander in the American version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." [People] 

It takes work to be a vampire ... especially it you're a lady vampire and have to fit into a slinky latex dress. Since she joined the cast of "True Blood" last year, Kristin Bauer worries more about getting to the gym and ab classes. And lunch at Craft Services? Just walk right on by! [People] 

Billie Madley, an actress in New York, has a 600-pair shoe collection that was featured in "Sex and the City." Joan Benham, a housewife in London, has 356 pairs of Manolos. Dioulde Diallo, a shoe store manager, keeps half her collection in London and half in Paris. Yes, guys, women really can be obsessive about footwear! [Telegraph]   

Speaking of shoes, eco-friendly cork shoes are showing up on fashionable feet. And cork clutches are coming on strong too. [FabSugar]

International Playground, the New-York based chain of boutiques, opens Thursday in Echo Park. [StyleSectionLA]

And now, back to hats: If your summer travels take you to Paris, check out the display at the Maison Rouge, which is featuring an exhibition containing more than 300 hats and headdresses from around the world. [TMagazine]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Justin Timberlake rocks the hat look. Credit: Dave Hogan / Getty Images

There's nothing the hipster demographic likes to do more than flog a trend to death, and in recent weeks I've found myself fighting the urge to run pell-mell through the streets of Echo Park, knocking stingy-brim fedoras off every third head. (My one exception are the classy-looking valet parking attendants at Rick Bayless' new Red O restaurant on Melrose -- somehow those guys make it work.)

But on Monday came a glimmer of hope that someday the under-70 crowd could once again embrace a humble chapeau beyond the ball cap or the stingy brim. That was when the announcement landed in my e-mail inbox that the collaboration between Stetson (the company whose namesake founder John Batterson Stetson pretty much invented the cowboy hat) and milliner Albertus Swanepoel (a 2009 nominee for the Swarovski CFDA Accessory Award and a hat designer whose work is frequently used on the runways of New York) was due to hit stores this month.

The fall 2010 Albertus Swanepoel for Stetson collection consists of 14 limited-edition luxe lids that range in price from the $115 Verbier  -- it's the one that looks like a plaid pom-pommed fez in the above photo -- to the $600 Singita (the feather cap at top), which is named after an African game reserve (Swanepoel

Over here at Rage Central, we're doffing the coonskin caps of our collective childhood to mark the passing of actor Fess Parker, who passed away today at the age of 85.

As the LAT obituary points out, in his role as Davy Crockett, the actor/future hotel developer and wine maker, touched off a merchandising frenzy that moved some 10 million coonskin caps since the character first appeared on TV in 1954. (Two of those belonged to a younger version of this Rager and his brother -- luxe editions from our grandparents, with red, silk quilted linings).

The strange cap eventually transcended the character itself, becoming a sartorial symbol of boyhood gone by and a instant trigger for whole generations of nostalgic longing. (See 1983's "Christmas Story," for example.)

And it was just in February that we remarked on the abundance of raccoon fur on the runways of New York Fashion Week, including a pillbox cap with a dangling raccoon tail we spotted at Thom Browne's show.

And, although Parker's reign as the King of the Wild Frontier was well in the rearview mirror by the time this Rager was in short pants, we have to 'fess up that when we heard the news of Parker's passing, a little bit of our childhood high-tailed it out of the building too.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: The coonskin cap popularized by Fess Parker''s Davy Crockett character half a century ago, continues to influence fashion, such as this pillbox hat with a dangling racoon tail that appeared in Thom Browne's fall/winter 2010 runway collection during New York Fashion Week in February. Credit: Peter Stigter and Jonas Gustavsson / For The Times

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Before heading out to the holiday sales, gift receipt in hand, get some fashion inspiration from some of our readers’ favorite features from 2009.

It might be too winter-dreary to imagine springtime with its warm sunshine, blooming flowers and wild and fantastical Easter hats -- but since Los Angeles winters are short, we think it's OK to start dreaming now.

Revisited by popular demand is the story (and the dazzling photo gallery) about the splendid hat traditions of African American churches -- and we aren't just talking about in the South.

Karen Grigsby Bates painted the picture of "broad brims in coral, pink and cream trimmed in ribbons and flowers; lampshade profiles in aqua and pistachio; and high-hat toppers in dusty rose, trimmed in lace and festooned with silk flowers" the ladies of South L.A.'s West Angeles Church of God in Christ wore on Palm Sunday.

-- Kelsey Ramos

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Photo: A lime and lace hat. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Though a knit hat in the Los Angeles climate might be considered a fashion statement, the organization Krochet Kids International wants it also to be seen as a political one.

As a former game show question-and-answer man, I always appreciate finding out the "why" of our wardrobe choices. And a few weeks ago, when I was wandering about Carmel-by-the-Sea looking for cuff links, a chance detour into the the Carmel Hat Co. yielded not only a dapper looking straw Scala for my balding pate, but the explanation behind the instantly recognizable staple of jungle and tropical excursions known as the pith helmet (which the Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion also calls a "topee" or "topi").

According to the husband and wife owners Mary San Marcon and Chris Estrella -- who've been married 31 years and owned the postage-stamp-sized chapeau shop (it's less than 400 square feet) in the Doud Arcade for the last 16 of those -- the virtue of the solid yet lightweight domed head gear lies in the thick layer of solid material underneath the thin layer of fabric: pith or cork (essentially a layer of tree bark).

"Originally what they would do is soak the helmet in water overnight," San Marcon explained. "And then it would keep your head cool as the water evaporated slowly throughout the day."

While I didn't think it was quite the appropriate headgear for that evening's black-tie wedding, it fits in nicely with the explorer/desert military vibe that labels like Versace and Galliano had embraced for their Spring/Summer 2010 men's runway collections in Europe earlier this year. 

Now, I'm not advocating that when next spring rolls around everyone should chuck that stingy brim fedora and go all safari, but if global warming trends continue, a tree bark topper is certainly one low-tech, old-school option for keeping a cool head with a dash of retro-explorer style.

The Carmel Hat Co. at the Doud Arcade, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif.  (831) 625-9510.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: The Carmel Hat Co.'s stock of pith helmets includes a style historically associated with British troops in South Africa and Afghanistan, center, and a lower-profile style, right, more common in India and known as a "Bombay bowler." $48.50 each. Credit: Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times

 

Everyone gets comfortable in their individual fashion style. Branching out to try something new and unexpected can be a bit scary. To -- correctly -- add a bit of pizazz to your noggin, check Times columnist Patt Morrison's video on how to wear a hat. Sure, this video coincided with her 2008 article for Los Angeles Times magazine, but some looks never go out of style.

-- Whitney Friedlander

MORE HOW-TO VIDEOS:

How to wear sequined clothing

How to wear animal print

How to get the perfect manicure

How to do a marble manicure at home

Public Service sounds like the latest traffic court penalty, but it’s actually a new men’s boutique behind Shorty’s Barber Shop on Fairfax Avenue.

Owners Lauren Megson and Chris Bair, who also owns Shorty’s, decided to convert the rear of the barbershop into a retail area that resembles a 1970s rec room with table tennis, air hockey and gymnasium wood floors.

Public Service stocks shirts, outerwear and leathers from L.A.-based brands NSF, Ever, Apolis Activism and Shades of Greige. Angelenos can’t get enough of loungewear, so the boutique carries an large assortment of hoodies, henleys and sweat pants from LnA, Alternative Apparel and Plain Gravy.

Gift merch (yes, that season is upon us) includes novelty graphic T-shirts ($30-40), Comme des Garcons fragrances, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Brixton fedoras and a contraption called Clocky, which is an alarm clock that falls on the floor and keeps ringing before you have a chance to knock it off the nightstand. 

On Thursday, Public Service celebrates its grand opening with an open-bar celebration from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Call store to RSVP.

755 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 951-1191. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. www.publicservicela.com

-- Max Padilla

Photo credits: Public Service

Accessories designer Eugenia Kim loves mice.  "They are  very New York, kind of neurotic, high-energy, furtively look around a lot, and very stimulated," said Kim in a press release about her new line of hats for Urban Outfitters called Eek!  While there are no mice on these hats and headbands, they've been a common theme on the shoes and hats she makes for her own collection.

Eek! Includes '20s-inspired felt cloches, knit berets, ruched satin headbands and lily leather hair clips all with the sense of whimsy Kim is know for.     

Eek! Hits Urban Outfitters Aug. 1.  Hats range from $38-$48.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

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Photos: Pieces from Eek! By Eugenia Kim at Urban Outfitters/Urban Outfitters

 

 

One of the key runway accessories out of the men's Spring/Summer European runway shows was the woven hat -- and not just the same-old stingy brim fedora either. With colors like bright pink and road stripe yellow at Etro and woven toppers at Z Zegna, the catwalk was clogged with the head-turning headgear. Click here for a gallery of some of my favorites.

-- Adam Tschorn

At Paris Fashion Week, men's collections display explorer aesthetic  | Photos

Menswear works a macho vibe at Milan Fashion Week | Photos

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Photo: Etro Spring/Summer 2010 runway show Credit: Peter Stigter / For The Times

As if ripping through the trafficked streets of L.A. on fixed-gear bikes wasn’t risky enough, the daredevils who ride these brakeless bicycles rarely wear helmets. Efrem Yohannes, who works at L.A. Brakeless in Venice, swears he’d act even more imprudent if he wore a helmet. (We think he’s wary of looking like an egghead.) Perhaps he and his crew would rethink their stance if they saw these helmets designed to look like caps. They’re made by a Danish company Yakkay, which Valet uncovered last week. After Sunday's earthquake, I might even consider wearing Yakkay’s helmets in my daily life.   

-- Alexandra Le Tellier

Fixed-gear bikes go West

Getting from A to B on Ultra Motor's A2B Metro electric bicycle

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