For all of the uninformed a Bend Down is the type of hat the yeshiva crowd wears, in other places it is simply known as the Stetson or the Fedora, while the Chassidim wear Beavers, these are similar to top hats, in that they are solid and stay in shape. Streimels and Spudicks are those huge fury hats that married Chassidic men wear- but these are in a league of their own and besides I already wrote about them.
Bend Downs:
Bend downs are much more versatile then beavers, they can be crushed in order to become a Luabvicther (Lubavitchers are the only Chassidic sect I know of that wear bend downs, and they bend them all the way down- choosing to forsake the bent up look- which is possible for bend down hats) besides for their crushing abilities, bend down hats can also flip the brim up or down. Flip it up when you wear tefilin and also to create some sort of drag to keep you from shuckeling too fast. Flip the brim down when you are going for that stealthy gangster look or just want to be first on line at the new Amazing Savings grand opening.
Wind resistance is cut by flipping the brim down, but flipping the brim up provides a measure of laidbackness that beavers can never provide. Kids can sit on your hat and it could be placed back into position with some smacking. Bend downs are also more blending, and you can always say that every Kennedy was the first president not to wear a hat.
Beaver Hats:
Beavers shine in several departments that the bend down will miserably fail no matter what. First of all the beaver is shiny and reflective, which means that you don’t really need to wear one of those reflectors when walking around dark areas (and most people in Monsey and the Catskills don’t) The Beaver is also a very sturdy hat, it can be used as a stool, sukkah support or a bike helmet (which I have seen many a time)
The beaver also makes for a great frisbee which is important when your trying to get into your door and there are throngs of kids coming to greet you, I have heard in Austrailla the Chassidim use their hats as boomerangs to kill wild kangaroos.
Let us not forget that you will be unique, because only Chassidim wear beavers, so if you were to say- put one on in a non chassidic area you will be automatically raised up to a lofty status.
Which one is better- thats really up to you? I am trying to non-biased in this one, I gave you the facts.
37 responses so far ↓
1 Shevers // Jun 18, 2008 at 10:10 am
Bend down fedoras I think win. You can blend in as a gangster.
2 Chris_B // Jun 18, 2008 at 10:24 am
I know what the furry ones look like and of course I know a fedora, but what’s a “beaver”? (besides the animal and the vulgar 70s slang use)
3 Meg // Jun 18, 2008 at 10:32 am
Useless knowledge of the day. When I first heard the world borsalino to refer to a fedora I was baffled. The word literally made no sense to. “ino” is an Italian suffix meaning small and “borsa” means a lady’s handbag, a stock market or a scholarship.
It made no sense as an Italian world, and I’ve never heard it used outside the Jewish community, so I did some research. It turns out there’s a family of fedora makers who started working in Alessandrina and sold a lot of their hats in New York up through the 1940s. I assume that they used to be a frequent supplier of hats to the Jewish communities in the city at that time.
It’s also a swear word in Gujarati.
4 heshman // Jun 18, 2008 at 10:32 am
Chris its like a shiny velvet top hat.
By the way the slang use for beaver is alive and well. In fact there is a road called Big Beaver Road in Detroit near Somerset Mall and the exit number is 69
5 Chris_B // Jun 18, 2008 at 11:14 am
sweet!
6 gennaro // Jun 18, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Why would a chassid try to kill a kangaroo?? They don’t usually harm people and they aren’t even kosher! Are there even chassidim in australia??? I think you heard a false rumor!!
7 TRS // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Meg: if you go to bosalino’s website, http://www.borsalino.com, or look it up on wikipedia, that great fount of knowledge, you will discover that in fact the company is named after Giuseppe Borsalino (1834-1900), its founder. They do make lots of shtuff, but they’re most well known for their fedoras.
Gennaro: Of ocurse there are Chassidim in Australia! Ever heard of Joe Gutnick? As for their murder of innocent kangaroos…perhaps you didn’t notice that the name of this site ends with “satire”? And don’t tell me you were being sarcastic, you sounded too innocent in your comment.
Bichlal, Lubavitvhers have the coolest Borsalinos simply because we’re not afraid to live in them.
8 gennaro // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:49 pm
First off, I don’t actually recognize lubabitchers as real jews, second of all I don’t see SaTIRE anywhere. It says jewish comedy.
9 Anonymous // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Gennaro you can’t be serious- with regards to that Lubbie comment.
10 heshman // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:54 pm
TRS do you mean Joe Gutnick of red leather chumash fame- I am all about the gutnick chumash- so much easier to read them the stone.
Gennaro- I agree with Anon- are you trying to create some sort of sinas chinam festival here because its hard- my commneters are surprisingly peaceful, open minded and in agreement that ALL Jews are created equal- philosophical differences do not make you more of a Jew then anyone else, who are you to judge where your fellow Jew is holding?
11 TRS // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Oh anonymous, gennaro will be so much more fun if his comment stands. And as for the second one, gennaro, check the name of the site genius.
12 TRS // Jun 18, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Hey Hesh, I refer to Joe Gutnick of “Diamond and Demons” fame, a multi millionaire Lubavitcher in Australia. I’m surprised you’ve never heard of him. Search Shmais for his name…The Gutnick Edition was put out by his cousin.
13 suitepotato // Jun 18, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I often think that a style slide towards the zoot suit and wide brim panama would be very cool, especially with b&w wingtips and maybe some spats even. Now that would be awesome in big group pictures.
14 heshman // Jun 18, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Suitepotatoe- we had this kid named Manny who was into that style in my high school. I used to wear a white suit and a purple suit but no hat.
I am all about zoot suits- how about leisure suits.
15 Meira // Jun 18, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Leisure suits & the pot-bellies married men get from all the home cooked kugel and cholent. Not an appetizing mental image!
16 ~ Sarah ~ // Jun 18, 2008 at 6:57 pm
“…I have heard in Austrailla the Chassidim use their hats as boomerangs to kill wild kangaroos…” —> right. so THAT was the commotion outside my house the other day. I was wondering what the black fur all over the road was from…
17 Mikeinmidwood // Jun 18, 2008 at 7:03 pm
The bend downs are fast but it cant stop a bullet like beavers. tough choice.
18 utubefan // Jun 18, 2008 at 9:16 pm
The shtreimels are made of sable and other fine furs and are worth lots of money, sometimes thousands. Did you know that it is considered “modern” to wear the ones with the reddish fur? And that the Chasidim can tell right away whether yours is good quality or not–sort of like frum women and Shaitels.
19 Chris_B // Jun 18, 2008 at 10:39 pm
“I have heard in Austrailla the Chassidim use their hats as boomerangs to kill wild kangaroos.”
After a bit of (non) research I think this can be confirmed in one of Yidcore’s videos on youtube
20 Heterim are for Hippies // Jun 19, 2008 at 12:18 am
I don’t consider gennaro to be a real jew. How’s that feel?
I wonder if the fedora is considered “modern” in the more insular chassidish circles. Technically speaking it did enter the scene a little more recently than the shtreimel. that’s chassidim for you - resurrecting the fashion trends of the last few centuries.
21 heimish in bp // Jun 19, 2008 at 9:14 am
“the zoot suit ryan(i think) - throw back-a bottle of bear”
love that song, who sings that?
used to hear it on the Rocky Allen Showgram
22 heshman // Jun 19, 2008 at 9:23 am
Utube I am actually friends with a few ex chassidim in Monsey who said they were going to give me a the lowdown on all the different dress styles of chassidim.
23 Meira // Jun 19, 2008 at 10:07 am
Heimish:
It is ‘Zoot Suit Riot’. The band is the Squirrel Nut Zippers.
24 heshman // Jun 19, 2008 at 10:10 am
Actually its the Cherry Poppin Daddies- I own the album.
25 Meira // Jun 19, 2008 at 10:15 am
Crap. You’re right. I those two mixed up.
26 Xvi // Jun 20, 2008 at 2:27 am
Sorry…
Its actually “Grapefruit Diet” By “Weird” Al Yankovic. Do your homework!
Man… Now you got me in a swingin mood. Gonna break out the old B&W Doc Marten Wingtips that my HS menahel refused to accept as dress shoes. He dosent like it when you skank to Jewish music either.
27 Xvi // Jun 20, 2008 at 2:31 am
Also, whats the name of the hat that Popeye Doyle was rocking in the French Connection? Is that a porkpie? THAT would single-handedly stop the whole “Kids At Risk” crisis dead in its tracks. Making that acceptable yeshiva wear.
28 Chris_B // Jun 20, 2008 at 2:55 am
Xvi
That is indeed a porkpie. Also I never saw such a thing as Dr Martins wingtips. When I was a punk kid the choices were boots: short or tall, two colors: punk black or skinhead oxblood.
29 heshman // Jun 20, 2008 at 7:06 am
Doc Martins are classic late 90s yeshiva rebel gear.
30 Xvi // Jun 20, 2008 at 9:40 am
Chris,
You never went to a punk show and saw a contingency of us rude boys? Punk and ska bands (used to, at least) play together all the time so the rudies were out in force. You cant miss ‘em because they all looked like bizzaro yeshiva kids. Short-brimmed fedoras, white button-down shirts, skinny black ties and dark pants. Also, we were the ones skanking in the mosh pits. Anyway, the pièce de résistance was the B&W Doc wingtips. Funky, but cofortable enough to crowd-surf in.
Check them out:
http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Martens-Mens-Wingtip-Oxford/dp/B000BPF19E
31 Chris_B // Jun 20, 2008 at 9:45 am
the boots? if so what color? low cut or high?
in different parts of the US what color docs you wore showed your sect in the punk spectrum. In Texas, oxblood tall docs meant white supremicist and was only for skinheads, low cut oxbloods were for anyone who sympathized with the skins. Basic black was for punk boys, tall for horror punk/goth types. As I understand, in California the color patterns were opposite, but never lived there so cant be sure.
32 s(b.) // Jun 20, 2008 at 10:25 am
I love my docs (I graduated HS in ‘93, and it wasn’t a yeshiva); black, 8-hole. I still have them, though they’re no longer waterproof, if they ever were. ((boots))
33 Chris_B // Jun 20, 2008 at 10:29 am
I feel old now, I graduated in 86.
34 heshman // Jun 20, 2008 at 10:36 am
don’t worry chris an 80 year old women/fan friended me on facebook.
35 Shevers // Jun 20, 2008 at 12:13 pm
“Man… Now you got me in a swingin mood. Gonna break out the old B&W Doc Marten Wingtips that my HS menahel refused to accept as dress shoes. He dosent like it when you skank to Jewish music either.”
Haha there is a kid who comes to my shul who wears those every week for Shabbos.
I have low cut docs and they are the most amazing shoes I own. I wore them waitressing for a year or so and I nearly don’t take them off in the winter here. I wish I would have gotten them a little taller cut though to keep out the snow…
36 Chris_B // Jun 20, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I just never thought of Docs as jewish footwear.
Guess we’ve covered things from head to toe so far…
37 Chris_B // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Xvi,
Your post of the 20th just got past moderation. I should mention that I was going to punk shows starting from around 83, so the ska revival in the US had not really caught on yet beyond imported Two Tone records or some Fishbone(1) songs. Might also be a location thing. At that time I lived in Texas and the scene was more focused around skate punk and hardcore.
Those wingtips you linked to were not available in my era as far as I know. I wouldn’t have worn those in the pit since they have no ankle support and would inevitably get caught on something leading to broken bones.
-1 I still sometimes put on Fishbone’s earlier records and bop around the room like a 5 year old loaded up with sugar puffs. Will never forget seeing them on the Truth & Soul tour down in Austin and partying with Angelo that weekend.
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