30's hat style

[Michael Mallory]

1930s fedoras tended to be quite different from the next decade's. They often had center dents instead of teardrops, wide pinches, and flatter brims that turned up on the sides more than the up-in-back-down-in-front style we think of as a fedora. The original 1880s fedoras, of course, had the kind of brim one associates with homburgs or derbies, only not quite as hard. The evolution of cowboy hat to "city" hat seems to have happened in the 20s, so 30's hats still retained a Western flavor.

 

[Mr. Rover]

Cultural Significance?

I was under the impression that teardrop/c-crowns (usually c-crowns as they were home-made, not blocked) were more popular in in America. Many of the Depression pictures and what Hollywood movies I've seen from the 30's seem to feature this.
On the other side of the pond in jolly ol' England, center dents were always more popular. I think someone posted a picture of the crowd waiting for Lindbergh and most of them were center dents. That tradition lasted even up until the 80's when Indiana Jones was being made (Indy's hat was made at Herbert Johnson, afterall).

 

[Matt Deckard]

Very good indeed Mark... Ashamed to say this and it wouldn't be acceptable on this forum I feared, though here goes...

I have run into such a problem with an Optimo hat I recieved. I was expecting the same 2 5/8 grosgrain ribbon as I had recieved in the past on a new hat I had ordered. When I recieved the hat I noticed the color of the ribbon... The color was was different. I couldn't call Graham up and just say that, I would have felt foolish if my eyes were tricking me... so I went to Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) in Pasadena and had them pull out the old Spectrophotometer. Needless to say I was brought to tears and became almost irreconcilable when they told me the light wavelengths from the ribbons on both hats didn't match.... The ribbon from the second hat was nearly the same, though it had to be from another cake.

I sent the new hat back and demanded my money!

 

[Mr. Rover]

*tongue in cheek* What a travesty, Matt!
Graham over at Optimo should really be ashamed of himself for trying to even ATTEMPT to pass off inadequate work under your discerning eye!