The fez (Turkish: fes, plural fezzes or fezes[1]), or tarboosh (Arabic: طربوش / Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [tˤɑɾˤˈbuːʃ], ALA-LC: ṭarbūsh), is a felt hat either in the shape of a truncated cone or of a short cylinder, made of kilim fabric, red in colour, usually with a tassel attached to the top. The fez is largely believed to be of Moroccan origin[citation needed] and later spread to the Ottoman Empire where it was popularized.
For the longest time I've wanted a fez hat. probably after watching Bing Crosby wear one so effectively in The Road to Morocco, but more recently the desire came to the forefront with the first season of the 11th Doctor Who (Matt Smith). Like he says , "Fez's are cool."
Last year I had come across one in a local men's shop. It fit well, had a nice wicker lining and all. My interest sparked my wife to get it for my birthday, but she couldn't purchase it then and there with me in eye shot. So she wen't back in a couple of days and of course as luck would have it, it had been purchased mere hours earlier. She was quite disappointed. But they said that they were ordering a new batch so she put one on hold. Turns out they were a cheaper kind, no wicker lining, much cheaper and ws selling for much more. So the hunt went on. It is rather hard to find one that is decent on this side of the pond. Most are the crappy costume numbers of questionable quality. So on to ebay I went. Very few in the kind that I wanted there too. mostly the cheap stuff or the soft shriners kind with all kinds of decorations on them.
Then, the other weekend I came across one as a buy it now for $15. Nobody bit onthat one for a couple of days, not even questions. So I contacted the seller to ask him to send a fe pics of the inside and ask how tall it was. When the pics arrived, they showed the wicker lining I was looking for and it was only about 5 1/4" tall. Perfect. So to avoid a bidding war and losing this one I just dod the B.I.N. Perfect fit and a fun piece of headgear to wear.
I now have my coveted fez. Of course I'm sure that now that I have one all the quality ones will come out of the woodwork at reasonable prices too. Funny how that works.
So, now I encourage you to post your fez if you have one. If not just find classic images from history and the movies that catch your interest and post them here. Should be fun, especially if the image has any history behind it.
Cheers!
Dan
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