Look, I found a hat that fits! or Correia, P.I.

My new hat enables me to channel my inner Jake Sullivan. The 1917 I’ve had for a long time, but it increases my Grimnoir street cred.

As somebody who has published a novel set in 1932, it was downright criminal that I didn’t have a proper hat. How can you write about the time “when men wore hats” if you don’tย have a proper hat? Problem is, I have a ginormous head. I’m like an 8 3/4 or 9, which is about the same diameter as a bowling ball. But last week I finally found a fedora that fits my enormous head!

My wife thinks it is odd that I’ve been wearing it around the house and reffering to her as a “classy dame”. Since I was wearing my suit this morning to go to church anyway, I felt the need to put on my new hat, grab my S&W 1917 (which is the only period correct handgun I’ve got currently), and had my daughter take a picture with my iPhone.

When somebody finally makes a Hard Magic movie, I’m going to demand that I get to be an extra.

Some worthy charities
Authorpalooza this Saturday in Sandy

42 thoughts on “Look, I found a hat that fits! or Correia, P.I.”

      1. Good problem to have. I find myself keeping my finger off the trigger on windex bottles and staple guns, too. ๐Ÿ™‚

  1. Larry, I have strange desires to wear various selections of period clothing.
    1930s, 1880s, 1950s…
    And with all of them I feel that the “wrong” lead flinging companion is just… wrong.
    Congrats on the fedora, the kids can also use it for a tent when you go camping.

    Jim

  2. Very classy, Mr. Correia. Do you have any add-ons on the 1917’s grip so it fits your hands better? Most revolver grips from that time feel too small for my hand.

    1. It actually had an old Pachymar rubber grip when I bought it. I’d like to find some period correct wood grips for it though for looks. No collector value on this old girl, since it got refinshed at some point long before I came along.

      I don’t shoot it much, because it is 93 years old, and I’ve got a modern 625 for when I feel the need for moon-clippy revolver goodness. ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. We need to get you an early Government Model in .38 Super.

    And you know, you’re just about 30 degrees of angle away from half Sabrina. . . ๐Ÿ˜‰

    1. There were goatees back then. Not as popular as today by any means, but they were out there. More mustaches and full beards though.

  4. Sweet gun, perfect hat, and your finger is in the perfect spot. “Finger off the trigger until you intend to destroy something.”
    I can’t wait for the book.

    I’m trying to remember though, was 32 a skinny tie or fat tie era?

      1. But then, so should the waistband of his trousers*. (Tie could be even shorter — say just above the xyphoid process, about where you should be doing compressions.)

        (* Grandpa didn’t wear his white polyester pants that high becuase he was old — he wore them the same way he did when he was young and dangerous.)

  5. Nice getup, nice piece.

    And you should totally be an extra, but you’d have to be a bad guy, or a Fed (not that there’s much of a difference) Then the Classy Dame can say she’s married to a movie star too.

    Dangit, now I need a nice hat…

  6. Larry, you are absolutely rockin’ that fedora! ๐Ÿ˜€
    and you can call me a classy dame anytime……

  7. Larry, we gotta get you registered and that pic posted at Fedora Lounge, man! Nice hat, nice S&W–hey, is that Central Casting calling for a gumshoe?

  8. Just plain awesome. Like you just ran away from some 30’s gangster movie. Love the hat. Gives me hope there’s a hat fitting me somewhere out there ๐Ÿ˜‰

  9. The fedora and the 1917 are just *right* for the look. The tie might be a little on the conservative side for ’32, but not by much…

    And here I thought that my brother and I had large heads – metric size 64 for our motorcycle helmets, or roughly an 8…

    So much stuff is imported these days that I no longer trust the English/American sizes – the metric size marked on imported goods like shoes & hats is *usually* pretty close to correct…

  10. You’ve gotta write in a character who can be played by James Gandolfini. Then you can be the double for the shooting scenes.

  11. If you’re going for Extra status, you gotta be one of the boys who bust in on Jake at the hotel, that promptly get chewed up and spit out.

    Seriously, redshirt yourself in your movie!

  12. My Mother was a school teacher in Southern Illinois in the 1920s. She carried a S&W M17 every day. It was a gift from her Uncle who “acquired” it during WW1 in France.

  13. I hope you have the proper period shoulder-holster for that thing. A Mike Hammer/Mickey Spillane moment comes to mind also.

  14. Great photo for the back of the book jacket! But perhaps it needs a violin case lurking in the corner? ๐Ÿ™‚

    I tend to dress late 1800s-mid 1900s, but I teach history so I have an excuse.

  15. Please tilt your hat at some snappy angle. You’re allowed to fiddle around in the mirror until you find the right one. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Re: SF Giants, there is or used to be a very famous hat store in SF. I think the guy retired but his apprentices took over his store.

  16. For leather, I’d suggest something like an A E Nelson #58 or Untouchables rig (which were originally designed specifically for the old Untouchables TV show to use in filming, IIRC).

    1. Oh, also, you might look up the American Zootshooters Association–I think a ’30s retro-MHI zootshoot with cops and Mob torpedoes teaming up against the undead could be fun…

Leave a Reply to Kevin Evans Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *