Am I doomed to no hat?

[Brinybay]

When not at work or going out, I usually wear a baseball cap. But since finding FL, I liked the idea of switching to something more stylish.

I managed to get downtown (Seattle) today to Byrnie Utz Hats. To get to the point, I tried on a few and honestly, I did not think I looked good in them at all. Maybe it's the shape of my head, but I thought I looked like a complete dork. I tried on Fedoras and two types of newsboys, the low-profile type and the more "billowy" type, like RD wore in Godfather:

Robert Deniro looks good in it, but I looked like a clown.

I'm really bummed! Are there others who found they just can't wear a hat?

 

[metropd]

Just have not found a style that suits you....and when you find it so will the confidence.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

Just about anyone can wear a hat. It's not as simple as just trying on a hat. For some it takes time to find the perfect hat, others it's easy to find. Somewhere out there is your kind of hat. Find it!

 

[Edward]

I'd also recommend taking someone else whose opinion you can trust shoppnig with you. What looks "bad" to you might in some cases only be a matter of a lack of familiarity - someone else might have a different, more objective take on what looks good on you.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Well, Brinybay, as Metropd and Happyfilmluvguy have pointed out, there's the issue of finding the right hat or style. For me, a hat with a narrow brim doesn't look good because it accentuates the fact that I could stand to lose a pound or two. But...

The other issue is simply that you're not accustomed to seeing yourself in a hat. My son thought he didn't look good in a hat, but as others here in the Lounge observed when I posted a photo he could have been a model for hats! He looked very good... yet he was more comfortable with how he looked in a baseball cap that was literally falling apart because he was used to it.

If you were with someone you knew while trying on hats that may have made you self-conscious as well. Did the salesman/saleswoman at Byrnie's make any suggestions as to a style that might suit your build and face shape?

This might help. Miller Hats has a page on deciding what style of hat to wear.

Take a look, and go back to Byrnies. You might need to go back a few times trying on hats to get used to the idea of how you look in one. One option is to purchase an inexpensive hat (wool, if going new) and try wearing it--just around the house at first, to get used to it.

It's a heck of a major change in how you see yourself. It may take some time to adjust.

Good luck, and enjoy the process!

Tom

 

[number6]

hat

A hat needs to be 'worn' , not just dropped onto your head. Took me ages for my wife to get that , now she has found a hat that suits her she is happy to wear it and feel good in it .
As advised already , you need to try lots on to find what you like .
Have fun choosing .

 

[Mike in Seattle]

It's probably that, since you're used to baseball caps, a fedora is a new and different look. It may take you a little bit to get used to. It's akin to being used to wearing jeans & a sweatshirt all the time, and then putting on a suit - it's a new & different look, a new & different feel. It's going to take a little while before you get accustomed to it and feel comfortable in it.

You might try a less-expensive fedora-like hat until you get used to it and know what you want as far as brim, crown, etc. But Byrnie Utz is a good place to start, since you can try on a variety of types and styles.

 

[ScottyBlues]

You might as well wear a pancake on your head

A baseball cap is such a styleless nothing. I find it hard to believe that adults would willingly wear one. Take it off, set it down, and back away slowly. When you get 10 feet away, run like mad.

Seriously, there are so many styles of true hats that everyone can find something that fits their personality and dress. Fedoras are by far the standard in dress hats and a great place to start.

When trying on hats, don't be overly critical. You will always think you look ridiculous in something you're not used to. The hat has to match your overall mode of dress and fit your personality, or at least, the personality you wish to project. Confidence is the most important characteristic to make a hat work.

Take a friend or SO when looking. Often we dress for the approval of others and those opinions can be valuable. If you know another hat lover, take them along. They will be able to give you invaluable advice about styles, particularly the fine nuances of selecting brim width, band/ribbon style, etc.

If in doubt, start small--buy a less expensive hat, not a tiny hat. Wear it every day and get used to handling it and the feel. Then your next hat will benefit from what you've learned on this one.

Overall, keep in mind that you are crafting an important element of your individual style. Just as your mood changes, your style can change to reflect it. Be yourself and select the hat that makes you feel more like you.

 

[toobacat]

Maybe you should go back to the store with a friend and a camera, then post some pictures. I think you could get some honest feedback here.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Well, Brinybay, as Metropd and Happyfilmluvguy have pointed out, there's the issue of finding the right hat or style. For me, a hat with a narrow brim doesn't look good because it accentuates the fact that I could stand to lose a pound or two. But...

...

This might help. Miller Hats has a page on deciding what style of hat to wear.

...

It's a heck of a major change in how you see yourself. It may take some time to adjust.

Good luck, and enjoy the process!

Tom

I think there are a lot of good suggestions here, and I have found the Miller Hats site that Tom pointed out very helpful. It really is a matter of experience, and getting to know the sublties of hats and what looks good on you and what does not. At first all you'll see is hat. As you get used to it, you'll start to see how it does or does not compliment you.

For example, I recently discovered that a lower, slightly tapered crown, with a wider brim (2-1/2" or more) looks much btter on me. That realization came about after a bit of trial and error, though, so no I am starting to sell off the taller, straight-sided crowns and the hats with narrow (stingy) brims. It took a few hats to suss it out, but now that I know I buy my hats based on what look better on me, and not what I wish looked good on me. Like Tom says, though, enjoy the learning process! You don't have to start wearing a hat 24/7 to be a hat wearer.

 

[KObalto]

Guide

I think if you go to millerhats.com there is a page on matching hats to the shape of your face which may be helpful.

 

[Mustang]

Are you sure it's not just a matter of being comfortable with those types of hats? I think Edward made an excellent point in recommending that you bring someone along next time, to give a different perspective. Hopefully you bring someone you isn't inclined to dislike those types of hats! :eusa_doh: lol

 

[NonEntity]

All good advice above.

As suggested, if you would post a pic of yourself in any kind of hat, we could weigh in and give you some direction.

If you are not comfortable with that, at least tell us a bit about your size, height, build, hat size, and so forth.

As a general rule, select a hat or cap that opposes what your face and body are. If you are short, round-faced, and portly, a high-crowned, broad-brimmed fedora will look best

For example, I am tall and thin, with broad shoulders, but a relatively small head. As a result, fedoras with tall, straight-up crowns, 5+ inches, and/or wide brims, 3+ inches, accentuate my features and look dorky on me.

Newsboy caps, even the less floppy ones but especially those, do the same thing, as do wide, 11+ inch diameter, berets.

Based on what you have provided so far, I'd recommend a fedora with a 4 - 4 1/2 inch, tapered crown and a brim near 2 1/2 inches, maybe even less.

In a cap, go with an ivy, AKA driver, which has a more sleek look, and in a beret, a diameter of 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 inches.

 

[BuddyJ]

I got my first hat at Byrnie Utz. Your first time in there, especially if you're new to hats like me, it can be so intimidating. The young staff there is eager to help, but they're not the best at putting shoppers at ease. I fiddled around in the store by myself for a bit until finally I gave in and had a sales associate help me. I said I wanted a nice hat and that I thought I was a 7 1/2.

She produced a hat for me to try on. It didn't fit correctly and didn't look good at all. But, by the look of things, she knew that I was a Long Oval, and was able to then direct the search to something that'd fit better. The nice woman moved a stack of boxes around and opened up one of those big glass cabinets and pulled a few hats out from some low, dark corner. It only took two more hats to try on before I'd found the perfect one.

Try going back and getting some help. It just takes some guided searching.

 

[Donato]

For years I refused to wear a hat because I thought I looked like "a dork" too, especially in a fedora. And it annoyed me because I like them. So I recently decided to take the plunge and a whole new world has opened up for me. The replies you have already received apply to me too. I was just not used to seeing myself in a fedora and then there is the issue of choosing the right style, crown height and brim size to suit your face. But now I don't care whether or not I look good in a fedora. I wear them because I like them!

 

[Ugarte]

In addition to the excellent advice offered here, I'd also like to suggest that sometimes a hat needs some of you in it to make it right for you. That is, you may have to put some work into it.

The Akubra Federation in my avatar to the left is a good looking hat, no? It doesn't look much like that any more. I thought it looked okay, but it wasn't what I had in mind. A subsequent shaping saw the crown more deeply creased in a teardrop, the front pinch lengthened and tightened and some work on the swoop of the brim. I believe it looks very "fedora" now and I love wearing it. It's very comfortable. Click on the thumbnail below for a low-quality snapshot of the Fed as it looks today.



Again, my point is that a hat may take some "personalization" before you can truly wear it.


Mark
.

 

[Brinybay]

I got my first hat at Byrnie Utz. Your first time in there, especially if you're new to hats like me, it can be so intimidating. The young staff there is eager to help, but they're not the best at putting shoppers at ease. I fiddled around in the store by myself for a bit until finally I gave in and had a sales associate help me. I said I wanted a nice hat and that I thought I was a 7 1/2.

That pretty much describes my visit to Byrnie's. The young gal helping was good at retrieving hats in my size, but offered no advice on what suits me (but I didn't ask her either). Looking more closely at RD's pic, (granted, he's an actor with a staff of pros helping) it's not just "sitting on his head" as someone else suggested. That's all I did, put them on my head and looked straight in the mirror, with no idea of how to actually "wear" a hat.

As usual, a wealth of good advice, and I appreciate y'all being patient.

Here's a couple of pics, with and w/o the baseball cap:

 

[nulty]

If a cord is struck within your imagination when you see a hat that you think you might like to try , the best thing to do is let that seed germinate for a little while. Don't try something just for the sake it being something other than a ball cap. There are no rules. The point being is what works best for you at the place in time you are in. I know I look like a dork to some folks when wearing a hat but to others that catch what I'm trying to do the hat looks great and is a nice walk down a seldom trodden path.

It's all about that idea in your head that fuels the appearance you want to portray. Most communication is non verbal. A hat coupled with a sense of self expression says an awful lot....

make it fun

 

[Ugarte]

Pics strike me as a guy with a deep, full face.

Check out the advice from here as referenced earlier:

[size=-2]"1. Deep Full Face; For an individual with a Deep Full Face it is recommended a medium height full crown hat to carry out big facial proportions. A Hat band of narrow to medium width gives needed effect of added crown height. This type of hat will usually look good with a matching hat band. The wide snap brim (between 2 1/2" - 3) should be snapped fully across (almost ear to ear), adds to apparent width, cutting down length of face. This face usually looks well in a Homburg with a flat set brim. If you wear this hat on back of the head it would make the deep full face look too prominent. Therefore, avoid taper crowns and some of the hat crowns that are too high or too low. Avoid tilting your hat to the back too much, this would make the big face to prominent. Slight tilt to the side is O.K."[/size]​

I should provide the caveat that, despite the reference to the Homburg, this describes what I like to refer to as a very "fedora" looking hat, which merely reflects my bias toward that as my favorite style of lid. It comes from watching too many old movies.

But what kind of hat do you like? What sorts of hats have you seen that you fancy? Was it Bogart (stingyish brim to go with his narrow face) or more a 1930's era fedora a'la Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in one of his several movin' pitchas'?

It's not necessary to answer those questions, but they are food for thought.

Just trying to help.


Mark
.

 

[Brinybay]

Pics strike me as a guy with a deep, full face.

But what kind of hat do you like? What sorts of hats have you seen that you fancy? Was it Bogart (stingyish brim to go with his narrow face) or more a 1930's era fedora a'la Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in one of his several movin' pitchas'?

Mark

Funny you should ask. It was RD as the young Vito in Godfather. The "newsboy" he wore struck me as a stylish "working class" appearance. But like I said earlier, he had a staff of pros, lighting, and camera angles working in his favor. As far as Fedoras, it wasn't a movie, but seeing some of y'all on this forum, w/o any pros or camera angles.