Downton Abbey - Men's hats

My plan was to blog the below just before Christmas but other things distracted me and was unable to do so. Now I give you this in the New Year 2013, hope you will enjoy the theme of men's hats as depicted and renditioned in Downton Abbey the series.

Downton Abbey the TV series has caught my attention by the way the male characters are depicted, being very classically, stylishly and very sartorially dressed. For the day I will focus on the men's hats selection & choice. 

Nowadays it is very rare to see men in hats (proper hats, and not baseball caps). 

The Downton Abbey series portrays the male characters it be from the top of society (Earl of Grantham) to the lower end of society (the male servants i.e. Mr. Carson or and Mr. Bates ) as sartorial gents who utilises the head gear very elegantly and very stylishly as an accessory. I hope that the series will revive and bring the men's head gear back as a staple accessory of any gent's day to day dressing and wardrobe.

Earl of Grantham, head of the Crawley family wearing different head gear, from Panama hat, Homborg hat, Top hat to country cap.

 Mr. Matthew Crawley and the Earl Of Grantham in country caps

Mr. Matthew Crawley in Homborg, country cap and Fedora

Lady Mary Crawley and Mr. Matthew Crawley in country attire

Matthew Crawley in a Homborg hat,  - holding a top hat and - wearing a Trilby hat

 Mr. Matthew Crawley and Mr. Tom Branson (left) in a Lord's hat

Mr. Tom Branson in chauffeur uniform, hat and the driving goggles.

Mr. Tom Branson in a Lord's hat with Lady Sybil Crawley

Sir Anthony Strallan in a Lord's hat and Top Hat

Sir Richard Carlisle in a Homborg hat and Fedora

Sir Richard Carlisle and Lady Mary Crawley

Dr. Richard Clarkson in a Homborg hat

Mr. Carson in a bowler hat

Mr. Bates in a Panama hat and a bowler hat

 Mr. Molesey in a bowler hat

Photos sourced from Downton Abbey Wikia, Pinterest, Fan Pop and PBS Org

Gent's white attire formal dressing - Downton Abbey

I have just began following the TV series Downton Abbey (Highclere Castle), which depicts  the lives of the English aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post Edwardian era. My focal point being the appropriate classical, stylish gents dressing as portrayed by the TV series. 

I was impressed by the fact that Mr. Hugh Bonneville "Earl of Grantham" head of the "Crawley" house hold went to some great length to get the true sartorial white tie attire made at one Savile Row's bespoke tailors as shown below. A lot can be learned from Downton Abbey's Earl of Grantham, as how a true gent should / must dress.

For me Downton Abbey is about keeping the tradition, high standards and ....more.

This brings me to the days subject, why do men commit unforgivable sartorial sins? I am not talking of the every day Jack and Joe, for whom getting "properly" dressed will mean upgrading from jeans to a pair of baggy chinos below the buttoms and an oversized button down shirt, paired with some trainers and perhaps a tie of some sort with a Mickey Mouse motif. Nothing wrong with that, unless you are employed at Walt Disney. No, I am referring  to some men of International power who have the means and the aides to be very elegantly and sartorially dressed. But .....

Mr. Hugh Bonneville as Earl of Grantham (here being suited properly by one of Savile Row's tailors) for the Downton Abbey series. Well done Earl of Grantham.

The Earl of Grantham in a bespoke white tie suiting from one the SR tailors.

HRH Prince Philip in white attire, very correctly done as always.

The Sartorial sin of white attire committed by President Barack Obama & former USA President George W. Bush Jr. 
First, note that Mr. Barack Obama is in a white attire ensamble, however his waistecoat is a tad longer than the tail coat, that is one sartorial sin, but when paired with the second sin as shown below in the next picture, the scene is disastrous. 

White tie attire worn with a down collar shirt. Hmmm, wonder were are all those White House advisors, protocol managers etc. This is not suppose to happen. But.... not to mention that the tail coat looks a wink oversized by judging by the stance at the back of the neck.  The shirt has no studs but normal buttons. Too many sins for an evening. President Obama can definitely afford a bespoke white tie attire ensemble. 

Below is ex US President Mr. George W Bush Jr. committing the same sartorial sins as Mr. Barack Obama above.

Well, it is not only the American powerful men that commits sartorial sins but the Prime Minister of the UK, Mr. David Cameron pulled the same trick of having the waistcoat a tad longer than the tail coat, but otherwise he was looking very dapper for the occasion. 

Photos sourced from Savilerow Tumblr,NY times, George W Bush White House Archives and MSNBC, Daily Mail UK and The Gentleman's Gazette