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Best Chapeaus

Companion Joe

Premium Member
I don't think the chapeaus and current uniforms as we know them are going away anytime soon, not in my lifetime.
When I started this thread, I was in the market for a good chapeau. I went ahead and sucked it up and bought a really nice one from New London Regalia. They were a tad more expensive, but worth it.
As I've said before, I'm not a great fan of the uniforms, but they are what they are. I'd like to see us go back to the frock coat.
 

JFS61

Premium Member
Shame that this thread got derailed, as I too would have liked to have learned of the various merits of the different chapeaus available. From what I've seen, the ones from New London do look quite nice.
 

Companion Joe

Premium Member
Every thread about the Commandery gets jacked by people who don't like the uniforms.

As for New London, I think, from my recent research, they have the nicest chapeaus. They will run you about $100 more than the cheaper ones out there, but as I believe I have said earlier, if you are making a lifetime investment, the $100 is negligible. Go ahead and pay it up front for something you will be happy owning. Although I won't be commander until next year, I went ahead and bought my chapeau with gold trim and a past commander's rosette. I wasn't going to get silver then have to have it torn apart and upgraded or buy another one. If someone belongs to a Commandery where anyone would have a problem with that, I'd suggest finding a new Commandery. We do have one guy that bought a lower end ($300) silver-trimmed chapeau when he first joined and said he'd just buy a New London when he was commander. I told him he has more money than sense.

Some of those $300 models (I won't mention where they come from, but you can get them at a few different places on the web) look, to me, like someone simply took a black cowboy hat, bent up the sides, and slapped a feather on top. They aren't formed the way a chapeau should look. I also looked at one of the vendors previously mentioned in this thread (again, I won't call them by name), and while considerably cheaper, they look to me to be that way for a reason.

If you put a New London chapeau next to all the others, you can spot the difference in the quality of appearance a mile away. They are worth the extra you pay up front.

The only chapeaus that rival New London, in my opinion, are Kalamazoo Regalia (formerly Ihling Brothers or Ihling Everard if you come across an older one). They are a little more expensive than New London. The biggest problem I had when researching what to buy is Kalamazoo's web site only has black and white drawings of what their chapeaus look like. I'm not going to pay that kind of money for a pig in a poke.

I was nervous buying from New London for kind of the same reason because of the fit. Sure enough, although I measured my head exactly, when it arrived, it didn't fit. It swallowed my head. I phoned New London, and they just had me send it back for a smaller size, no questions asked. Instead of measuring, I should have trusted my gut instinct of ordering the size I wear in other hats and what I discovered from trying on other people's chapeaus.
 

Willaim Perkins

Registered User
I don't think the chapeaus and current uniforms as we know them are going away anytime soon, not in my lifetime.
When I started this thread, I was in the market for a good chapeau. I went ahead and sucked it up and bought a really nice one from New London Regalia. They were a tad more expensive, but worth it.
As I've said before, I'm not a great fan of the uniforms, but they are what they are. I'd like to see us go back to the frock coat.
I joined in 1980 and coat was going thru a change then. I want to change to a very inexpensive uniform instep with our ancient knights.
 

Companion Joe

Premium Member
The uniform isn't the expensive part. The expensive parts are the chapeau and sword belts. The uniform can be purchased fairly inexpensively.

As I have always said, you'll never get those with a complete setup and those without to agree. Now that I have purchased a really nice chapeau, no way under the sun do I ever vote in favor of adopting something different to make what I have obsolete. It's not like I'm going to wear it fishing.
 

Willaim Perkins

Registered User
The uniform isn't the expensive part. The expensive parts are the chapeau and sword belts. The uniform can be purchased fairly inexpensively.

As I have always said, you'll never get those with a complete setup and those without to agree. Now that I have purchased a really nice chapeau, no way under the sun do I ever vote in favor of adopting something different to make what I have obsolete. It's not like I'm going to wear it fishing.
I agree with your sentiment which why my proposal would not have a mandatory wear date. While it would affect the cap & mantle, the traditional uniform would go as the Knight is called to Final Assembly.
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
efore I demited out of York Rite I was once told not to come to a Commandery meeting because I did not have a uniform.
I'm very sorry to hear this.
Just yesterday, we conferred the Order of the Temple on four new Sir Knights. I told them explicitly that they do not have to have uniforms to attend meetings,
This is the way it is in my Commandery. You only have to have the uniform if you want to be an officer.
 
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