An Intro to Hat Terminology: A Fedora Lounge Guide

[danofarlington]

But seriously, check the look of the hat. You can usually tell by that. Sometimes when they say wool, it's really wool. A good clue is if the size is expressed in S-M-L or a usual number size like 7 14. If the latter, fur felt.

 

[mayserwegener]

These are all vestiges of an earlier time in hat construction. The sweatband bow and band snaking through the perfs in the rear of the sweatband might have been a method for adjusting the fit of the hat. But if you look behind the sweat you can see that they are not connected and are there for decorative purposes only. The little bow continues in hats to this day.

Here a some examples of early functioning ones.

 

[howardeye]

But seriously, check the look of the hat. You can usually tell by that. Sometimes when they say wool, it's really wool. A good clue is if the size is expressed in S-M-L or a usual number size like 7 14. If the latter, fur felt.

This is the one I was talking about. I like the hat but I have never heard of this company. I know they have a lot of wool in the UK.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150954714269?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

[howardeye]

Here a some examples of early functioning ones.

Thanks. I do not have anything that old. I wish I did have that option on a few of my hats to snug them up a little.

 

[danofarlington]

This is the one I was talking about. I like the hat but I have never heard of this company. I know they have a lot of wool in the UK.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150954714269?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Definitely fur felt, I would say.

 

[Dinerman]

Herbert Johnson's one of the big makers. Definitely fur felt.

 

[howardeye]

Thanks for the info

 

[Liddleman]

Hat Glossary

Hi all, my first question on this great forum. I've seen the word 'Beater' used once or twice in differing contexts and wondered what it actually means. Thanks in advance, Tim.

 

[job]

It's a hat that you will not feel bad if you sweat it up and get it dirty. I have my best hats and then I have a few beaters for yard work and rainy days.

How about WONKY. The brim on my hat is all wonky. I'm going to steam and reshape it.

 

[Liddleman]

Thanks John, much appreciated. Just one more definition needed please. 'Lumpy', which I've seen a couple of hats described as but they had, for me anyway, no appearance of actually being 'lumpy'

 

[Golden]

Fedora education...

I am educating myself one hat at a time, one thread at a time.
Just received my first Indy Fedora from Steve Delk.
Love it, seems to be stuck on my head now..or so my wifey and dog seem to think.

Been trolling and getting more and more into Fedora's.
Now that I have one....I seem to have this odd thirst for about 30 more, varying colors and styles.
Really at the front end of learning how to distinguish between makers, styles, eras etc etc.
I apologize for noobiness of my posting.

some initial questiones;
What is LO or other terminology used when people are selling a hat?

Whippet--
-Oval?
-Mallory?

Where might one find a repository of all things hats related (here obviously) but in terms of styles and types with images so I can skillfully discern between them, there parts and and value?

Sorry for the noob questiones

Thank you



-j

 

[jlee562]

Whippet is a style of hat produced by Stetson and widely emulated. Wide brim with wide binding on the brim which often (but not always) contrasts the wide band on the crown.

LO = Long Oval, referring to the shape of the head from a bird's eye view. Oval, long oval, round oval, ex.

Mallory: hat brand.

 

[fedoracentric]

Yes, Mallory was a hat company. It lasted until the late 1940s when Stetson bought the company out.
After Stetson bought the company, they continued making hats as if they were the Mallory hat company for some time.
But eventually, Stetson phased out the Mallory brand.
Also, if I am not mistaken, by the 60s or so, Stetson started making a hat model named "The Mallory."

 

[Golden]

excellent.

ty for the edumacashun


-j

 

[DesertDan]

Another term I did not see mentioned in the thread so far is "Rake" which refers the amount of slope from front to back of a creased crown (or vice versa on a forward raked crown) .

 

[John Galt]

Thanks John, much appreciated. Just one more definition needed please. 'Lumpy', which I've seen a couple of hats described as but they had, for me anyway, no appearance of actually being 'lumpy'

Lumpy, to me, describes a felt that is out of shape. Warbles in the brim or waves/lumps in the crown.

These are remedied with re blocking, re flanging, and/or ironing. They usually can be worked out by hand, but the results are not as satisfactory, IMHO.

 

[Zombie_61]

...So could someone set the record straight on what exactly a "snap brim" is? Comparisons to "shaped brim" would be much appreciated...

A snap brim is flanged so that it can be worn with the brim flipped up or with the brim flipped down in front. If the hat has a high flange, the brim will have a more pronounced curvature and therefore will snap more prominently. A flat brim all the way around has no snap to it whatsoever. Shaped brim doesn't mean much. Brim are shaped into whatever form is desired, that's all there is to it.

I'd like to revisit this for clarification, please. I've always thought the term "snap brim" referred to a hat on which the wearer could "snap" the front of the brim up or down as they please. But recently I've seen the term "snap brim" used to describe hats on which the front of the brim is "permanently" turned down (with the back of the brim turned up). Example: I've seen the Akubra Federation IV described as a "snap brim" hat. However, I have two of them, and neither brim has the "snap up/snap down" capabilities of my Akubra Campdrafts. Are both usages of the term correct depending upon the context?

Another point of terminology that's important to mention--when eBay sellers say "wool," they mean "fur felt." So far I don't know what they call wool.

I don't know that this is necessarily true in all cases. We know there are "wool felt" hats and "fur felt" hats, and I believe some inexperienced eBay sellers use the term "wool" when they actually mean "felt" regardless of whether the hat is actually made from wool felt or fur felt.

 

[jlee562]

FWIW, I wouldn't call the fed iv a snap brim. It doesn't snap up and down!

 

[John Galt]

FWIW, I wouldn't call the fed iv a snap brim. It doesn't snap up and down!

+1

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I don't know that this is necessarily true in all cases. We know there are "wool felt" hats and "fur felt" hats, and I believe some inexperienced eBay sellers use the term "wool" when they actually mean "felt" regardless of whether the hat is actually made from wool felt or fur felt.

I believe some ebay sellers make some kind of homework and as they don't see the XXX markings on sweatbands, they assume the felt is wool. I have bought a Resistol Stagecoach "marked" as wool but it isn't.