Akubra CEO vs. Fed IV Deluxe

[danofarlington]

With all due respect might I suggest you see one in the flesh and with different outfits and on different people before making that assumption? The CEO is a very dressy and well finished hat and goes very well with a suit. Particularly for people who look better with a larger brim.

The back would turn up very easily with the application of a little steam, but why would you do that when the Campdraft comes that way and open crowned?

You're talking me into it. I could upturn the back brim with the Campdraft, but that's a hat model I think I want to put off farther down the line, already having a Stetson Open Road. At some point I think the customer--in this case me--just ought to bite the bullet, buy the hat, and see how he likes it. If you really like the CEO, I might go for it in the Fall, we'll see. Are you choosing to wear it a lot vis-a-vis your other hats, did you say?

 

[danofarlington]

If you're considering the Squatter, check out DavidMorgan. I wish I had, because they offer it in Fawn and Black, two colors that are not available from HatsDirect.

I was actually looking most closely at David Morgan because he offers to block the hat in advance for $20 in the way I like it, the way I think that is pictured in the photo. That's what I want--something already blocked the way I like it. Saves me fussing around with shops and the transportation or postage. I really prefer other people doing the work.

 

[Neophyte]

With all due respect might I suggest you see one in the flesh and with different outfits and on different people before making that assumption? The CEO is a very dressy and well finished hat and goes very well with a suit. Particularly for people who look better with a larger brim.

The back would turn up very easily with the application of a little steam, but why would you do that when the Campdraft comes that way and open crowned?

James, I truly apologize for the confusion, and looking back on my choice of words, I understand. What I meant to say, and I can't believe I thought someone would pick up on this considering the way I worded it, is that the Federation IV, when compared to the CEO, seems more casual. Forgive me, as I did not articulate this. As a 19-year old college sophomore, I'm still a little stuck in that world where "casual is fashionable" and "dressy is for squares."
I'm not of that perspective, but I do acknowledge that this, sadly, seems to be the trend among my peers. Thus, I meant to articulate that, in my own opinion, the Federation IV is less "dressy" than the CEO (though it still works great as a dress hat), and thus to my peers would be considered the more fashionable clothing item (granted, any hat other than a baseball cap will call that into question among kids my age). I love the look of the CEO, and I find it a very dressy hat (that's the reason it's named the CEO, I'd imagine).
Sorry for the confusion, I tend to make statements without fully explaining my conclusions.

 

[James71]

No problem Neo. All good here. Im a gen Xer so we tend to be a bitter and defensive lot. Im also a square and dress quite formally a lot of the time. (Im a scientist for the government)

Dan, with regards to how often I choose it over my other hats. Its by far my most worn hat. Ive got two campdrafts which are both newer than the CEO, a black bogart, a stack of cattlemen, a coober pedy and an arena.

This morning I had to force myself to wear my glen grey campdraft with my black suit, because thats the purpose I bought it for and if I dont wear it with that suit I shouldnt have bought it. The silverbelly campdraft I find too "dressy and flash" for everyday wear to the office. The cattlemen get a lot of wear, but they are my working in the yard or hunting hats. The bogart is after 6 only. The other two are country only hats and dont get work to the office.

I find the CEO walks the line between dressy and casual perfectly. It dresses down with my leather jacket and jeans better than the campdrafts, but still looks great with a suit. In spite of two newer hats, the CEO is still my favourite.

One thing though, even in winter all of these hats except the cattleman are too hot and make my hair sweaty. Ive cut out the plastic liner on the CEO and one of the campdrafts and its made a suprising difference.

A dark brown fed IV is the next hat to add to my collection. I might wander into hats direct in Katoomba tomorrow morning for a coffee and try one one...I wonder if the milliner would bind the brim for me...

 

[danofarlington]

No problem Neo. All good here. Im a gen Xer so we tend to be a bitter and defensive lot. Im also a square and dress quite formally a lot of the time. (Im a scientist for the government)

Dan, with regards to how often I choose it over my other hats. Its by far my most worn hat. Ive got two campdrafts which are both newer than the CEO, a black bogart, a stack of cattlemen, a coober pedy and an arena.

This morning I had to force myself to wear my glen grey campdraft with my black suit, because thats the purpose I bought it for and if I dont wear it with that suit I shouldnt have bought it. The silverbelly campdraft I find too "dressy and flash" for everyday wear to the office. The cattlemen get a lot of wear, but they are my working in the yard or hunting hats. The bogart is after 6 only. The other two are country only hats and dont get work to the office.

I find the CEO walks the line between dressy and casual perfectly. It dresses down with my leather jacket and jeans better than the campdrafts, but still looks great with a suit. In spite of two newer hats, the CEO is still my favourite.

One thing though, even in winter all of these hats except the cattleman are too hot and make my hair sweaty. Ive cut out the plastic liner on the CEO and one of the campdrafts and its made a suprising difference.

A dark brown fed IV is the next hat to add to my collection. I might wander into hats direct in Katoomba tomorrow morning for a coffee and try one one...I wonder if the milliner would bind the brim for me...

Very interesting. Now that I have your evidence of use, and for the price, I may have to try to get a fern green color in the CEO, that being the most combinable one to me of their selection. By the way, around here a silverbelly Stetson Open Road and its equivalent Campdraft wouldn't be considered too dressy for a suit; maybe the opposite. One last thing though--CEOs come pre-creased, correct?

 

[James71]

The CEO comes pre creased with a centre dent and a broad front pinch. Mine came quite stiff. Definitely stiffer than the CD and the Bogart. Its starting to soften up nicely now though.

Im unsure about how much variance there is in the stiffness between hats even of the same type. My grey CD is much softer than my Silverbelly one and they were only bought 7 days apart.

The silverbelly one is a bit much for wearing to the office I reckon. I will wear it for really dressy occasions. Im reticent to make it an everyday hat because I assume it will get dirty quite easily where the CEO doesnt.

The Fern Green goes with practically everything. When I wear out my latest cattleman, ( I go through a cattleman every 2 years - hence a stack of old ones) I am going to replace it with my current CEO and get a new CEO to wear to work with suits. I spend a lot of time in the bush and the cattleman is my everyday working around the farm hat. The CEO will do that job nicely once the bloom is worn off.

 

[Neophyte]

I agree with you on the versatility of a green hat. My squatter goes with just about everything except bright, bright yellow.

 

[James71]

You know, that green squatter is a damn fine looking hat Neo, I reckon that might be the replacement for the cattleman rather than the CEO.....

 

[Neophyte]

Thank you for the compliment, James71.

The hat has been absolutely wonderful. It took a while, but I finally found a crease that eliminates most of the perceived taper. Stiff but soft felt, really snappy brim. I can't say I know much about hats, but I love the Squatter. If I ever get a custom hat, I will ask for it to be designed to the specifications of the Squatter, but with a higher crown and unbound brim. I love the green color as well, and it took me several weeks to choose between the CEO in fern and the Squatter.

I did not think the Squatter would work with my clothing, but I'm quite surprised at what Akubra's green colors can do. In this photo, I'm wearing a burnt orange button-up, and later a brown-green tweed blazer/jacket. The whole ensemble, to my surprise, looked quite good.

 

[Adnamira]

Reading the Fedora lounge forums, it seems a taper in the crown is somewhat akin to leprosy I've just been reading that if you have a long, narrow face, which I do, then high stove pipe or non tapered crowns aren't a great idea. I've also read from the same source that if you have big ears than a squarer crown might be a good idea. So I'm thinking maybe a slight taper would be right for me. I have a Federation coming that I bought on ebay, so I guess I will see, but maybe a CEO would work well for me.

 

[Wolfwood]

Well, Hugh Laurie definitely has a narrow, long face and he pulls off a relatively full crown with little effort.

Just in case the pic does not show:
http://images1.fanpop.com/images/ph...ster-jeeves-and-wooster-2251490-1024-1556.jpg

Although he also goes for a bit of taper in some episodes of Jeeves and Wooster:

http://images.zap2it.com/images/tv-EP00360395/cast-of-jeeves-and-wooster-5.jpg

 

[bulldog1935]

OK, I'm not trying to badmouth Akubra, but over the summer bought one of their hemp hats from David Morgan for a wide-brimmed kayaking hat on the coastal flats.
It is absolutely the roundest had I've hand my hands on, or tried to fit my bean into. Fitting it on my head is a chore. Yes, I could make it bite and even count on it in a gustting 22 knot wind, but heads just aren't shaped like that.

 

[Wolfwood]

I've got a hemp Balmoral and it fits be perfectly...