A "Stingy" day.

[spiridon]

When I first started buying/collecting fedoras I stuck pretty much exclusively with the stingy brims. This Dobbs was one of my first "vintage" purchases...

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Nice one ... I also started out on the stingys

bk

 

[Feraud]

Nice. I think I have the same hat. Is the brim just over 2"?

I went the other way. I started with wide and have begun to include shorter brims in my collection.

 

[deanglen]

Are stingies a primarily late developement? I always think of the 1960s. I'm asking because it would seem then, that the style change was motivated by a 'contemporization' of style versus the application of the improvement or otherwise of the 'look' a stingy lends to its wearer. Like suits in the 60s, tighter, thinner lapels, less room. I have a friend who wears a stingy Dobbs. He puts on a hat I gave him with a 2 1/2" brim and he looks 'different', more 'vintage' looking, and his Dobbs is a lighter grey version of Spiridon's. Just trying to be insightful here.

dean

 

[spiridon]

Nice. I think I have the same hat. Is the brim just over 2"?

I went the other way. I started with wide and have begun to include shorter brims in my collection.

Feraud, it sits right at 2". I have a few that are less than 2, but most are 2 to 2 & 1/4 inches. As I have become more and more involved with acquiring different styles and such I have found my tastes have expanded.....along with the width of the brims.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Dean,

There were short brims in the teens, in the mid 30's, and then again in the 60's. They always seem to be accompanied by wide ribbons too.

It makes sense, since the men's clothes of those three periods were more form-fitting and slim than at other times.

Joel

 

[Feraud]

I think that is basically correct deanglen. Brims appeared to get shorter as the decades went on. People who go for "the look" certainly match brim length with collar width and pant legs too, I think. There are probably exceptions to these rules.

spiridon, I think 2 3/'3 is the shortest brim I own. I strongly doubt I can carry off anything less!

 

[adamgottschalk]

First nice hat I bought was this 1980s Borsalino, 1 7/8" brim:

Next I think I got this Thomas Begg, at 1". Radically stingy. It garners comments and compliments every time I wear it. Most recently, "Wow! I didn't know they made hats with brims so small."

Most recently I got the prize of my collection, a stingy Bourbon Street from Art, 1 7/8":

I started with stingies, having an innate sense they were right for me. From the hats, I went on to seek out narrow lapels and narrow ties. The widest brim I have is 1 7/8". I don't think I'd feel comfortable in anything wider.

 

[spiridon]

adamgottschalk, I know what you mean. I used to be unable to see myself wearing anything over a 2-inch brim. I gradually ventured out to wider brims....and I found that some of the wider brims that I used to think looked goofy on me.....well, I came to like.

Don't get me wrong, I think the "stingy" brim suits you very well, but I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere down the road you find a "wider" brim hat every now and then is a good change of pace.

 

[canucklehead]

Fine looking hats, adamgottschalk and spiridon both! I suppose I should count myself in with the stingy crowd, too, as my only hat's brim is 2". I'm not sure I could pull off a brim much wider than that; I think it would make my head look tiny.

That 1" extra-stingy (miserly?) is interesting; I, too, didn't know they made hats with brims that short. Again, not sure I could pull it off well, but it definitely suits you. (Venturing off topic for a moment, that suit looks good on you too.)

-Mike

 

[Mr Maltby]

"That 1" extra-stingy (miserly?) is interesting; I, too, didn't know they made hats with brims that short. "

I think that as with any era, you will see extreme versions of the fashions of the time, for those who are able to take it just one step further. If you look at the ties from the 60s, most range1 1/2- 2 inches on average. Ive seen them so narrow that they barely cover the width of the button on your shirt. I myself am 1 1/2 inch brim man, and cannot try pull off anything more narrow, or more wide. I was thrilled when I found someone who could take the 2 inch brims down to 1 1/2 for me. Its strange what a 1/2 inch, or 1 inch brim's difference can make.

 

[44forrest]

I like a wide brim on a skinny face and a skinny brim on a wide face.

 

[Mr Maltby]

Interesting notion. I think its a confidence deal. I feel most confident in a stingy brim, so I wear it with a fair amount of pride, panache, if you will. Im sure there are many on here who very much dislike them, and wont wear a brim under 2 1/2 inches, and look darn good in them for the same reason I look good in mine.