Morgan,
I don't mean to be critical of some, but I don't believe many people truly understand how "foppish" many hats were in the 18th century. The hat you pictured would have been more likely worn by someone of more means than the poor in the 18th century, but it certainly wasn't foppish for the times. A hat such as yours would have been worn by famiily members of the merchant or county squire class, unless one was a puritan or of a religous background that required everyone to dress severely plain.
I'm old enough to remember the days when even those of us as kids and who grew up rather poor just "had" to have a nice hat to go to church and many men wore more dressy hats every day. Men of the 50's and early 60's would be stunned to see a baseball cap being "in fashion" as the most popular hat today. I remember when men would not go to town without at least a somewhat dressy hat as they would not have been taken seriously. I remember when dungaree's or blue jeans were not considered "proper civilian attire" for liberty, even for privates, and you only wore them when hunting or on leave.
We have discussed creating our own historic anachronisms due to our modern mindsets and I think this is another example of this. Most men n the period would not have purchased the higher quality guns that are often purchased today. But I'm very glad to see the quality of guns raise so much since I started out in the 70's. I'm also glad when people like you make things to a higher standard for the period.
Gus
