From Baseball To Fedora
Author: Sarah Orrico
An insider look into the hat journey of one of our own: Meredith Darling, senior CRM manager
I asked our Goorin HQ team member Meredith Darling about her progression of hats before and during her first few months at Goorin. Here's what she said:
Q: Have you always worn or liked hats? // A: Being from Texas I admire a good cowboy hat but have never owned one. Over the years I've acquired a solid collection of baseball caps, which is all I wore until I started working at Goorin (thankfully that didn't stop y'all from hiring me!). My baseballs are literally like a history of sporting events. Rangers, Phillies, Cubs… As for fedoras, or "fancy hats" as I used to call them, I never thought I could pull them off so I didn’t bother trying. I found them so intimidating.
Q: What has always been your easy go-to outfit? // A: You can bet on any day that I'm in jeans, a pocket tee with a French tuck, boots or sandals (depending on the weather), and layered bracelets, rings, necklaces… and now a fabulous hat. I like to keep my clothing more basic/classic and use accessories to add personality.
Q: What was the first Goorin hat you purchased? // A: Night Hawk in tan. I had a virtual stylist appointment with the wonderful Alex Mroz (@virtualstylist_by_goorin) and shared my hesitations: "Not sure I can pull it off… Something low-key… I have a big head…" (haha). I asked him for a good starter hat and he nailed it. I love how Night Hawk can dress up or down an outfit, and how it itself can be dressed up or down. It wasn't long before I added feathers and last Friday I bought a Concho band for it at the SoCo store!
Q: After a few months of working for Goorin, how many more hats have you acquired? Is there more variety in your hat choices now? // A: I've definitely branched out in variety, and believe I have a full-on hat problem. In four months I've added 11 new hats to my closet. [BLOCK No.18] is my favorite, but really it’s the details of a hat more than the block that converts me.
Here is my purchase order: 1. Night Hawk (tan) / 2. Culture Chameleon / 3. El Musico / 4. Coastline Drive / 5. Floater / 6. Blueberry Haze / 7. Saint Charles / 8. Desert Sun / 9. Bobby Dean / 10. Lickety Split / 11. Dean the Barber (quartz)
Q: Why do you like hats? // A: My whole life I've struggled with self-confidence which is why I never thought I could pull off a nice hat. "Pull off", I hate that phrase now... But I didn't want to bring more attention to myself. I used hats to hide, really. But with this job I started to wear my new Goorin hats in meetings, at first putting them on right before and then taking them off right after. Then I'd forget to take them off and next thing I knew I was in a hat all day. When I wore my first hat out it was such a turning point. Now I find wearing a bold hat actually gives me confidence. Instead of hiding I want to stand up taller. I faked it until I made it. My advice to those new to hats is to just wear one for one day (in public). That's it. And see how you feel. I swear it's transforming!
Q: What have been your favorite hats you've purchased recently and why // A: DEAN THE BARBER. I'll be honest, I didn't see the draw of [BLOCK No.26] at first, which is funny because that's our most popular style for new customers. But that cookies and cream vibe on Bobby Dean sold me.
Q: What’s been your favorite way to style hats in your wardrobe? // A: It's been a couple months since I socialized without a wearing a Goorin. I wear ones like Desert Sun when laying by the pool, truckers when in the pool, and felts/toquillas/etc. when out with friends. It's really hot and humid in Austin, but I still break out the felts if I'll be inside for a while. I've been experimenting a lot lately with accessories too. Angela, the SoCo Store Manager, has amazing style and I watched her use bands, ropes, pins, and feathers to completely transform some of our hats and I was inspired!
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