Appropriate times to wear a fedora

[Papa Smurf]

Hi everyone,
I am new to the hat scene but I love it! I was wondering... Is there any proper time to wear a fedora with slacks and a polo shirt, and if so what type of fedora would work? Thanks in advance!!

-Ryan

 

[lc1484]

Anytime you feel like it!! Wear what you want. I base it on the weather and what I feel like wearing...When I pair the hat with something more than casual, then I color coordinate.

welcome to the FL

Larry

 

[CRH]

Hi everyone,
I am new to the hat scene but I love it! I was wondering... Is there any proper time to wear a fedora with slacks and a polo shirt, and if so what type of fedora would work? Thanks in advance!!

-Ryan

Welcome to the lounge, Ryan :eusa_clap.

I wear fedoras with anything and everything and usually dress pretty casual. My only suggestion as to what type of fedora is whatever type tickles your fancy . In general for me thin ribbons are more casual and wider ribbons more dressy.

Once you get some ideas from other loungers please feel free to make up your own rules!

 

[M6Classic]

Except during straw hat season or at Fenway Park, I wear a fedora pretty much every time I leave home, regardless of my attire or the occasion. A fedora is a very versatile hat, especially when compared to, say, a Homburg, which is more formal, a bowler, which raises all kinds of etiquette issues, and a newsboy cap which you probably would not wear to a dressy affair. To my mind, a fedora can go anywhere at any time. I have eight fedoras, some I wear for knocking around, some I think look better when I have on a suit. I have a black fedora which I wear with...I know, I know, the horrors...a tuxedo.

What it gets down to is this...and I have said this before on another thread...if you feel comfortable and unselfconscious under your hat, you probably look fine under it, too. Wear your fedora any time you want.

Buzz

 

[Spats McGee]

Welcome to the Lounge, PapaSmurf! A fedora with slacks and polo shirt? Perfectly acceptable. I'm sure that you'll find other Loungers in that same type of outfit in the "What hat are you wearing today?" thread. As others have pointed out, the fedora is a very versatile hat. The only real question now is: which one do you want with that polo shirt? Thin or wide ribbon? Wide or stingy brim?

 

[zetwal]

I agree.

Which hat you choose is just a matter of taste and comfort. Welcome to the Lounge ~

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Hi everyone,
I am new to the hat scene but I love it! I was wondering... Is there any proper time to wear a fedora with slacks and a polo shirt, and if so what type of fedora would work? Thanks in advance!!

-Ryan

Hello Ryan, Welcome to the Lounge.

Please everyone; don’t let this erupt into another debate between the “follow the rules” camp and the “do what you want” camp. This is just my humble opinion.

When I’m wearing just a polo shirt and slacks, I tend to choose a stingy-brim (2”) fedora. When I’m wearing a vested suit and an overcoat, I tend to choose a wider-brim (2.5+”) fedora. As I pile on more clothes and my shoulders get wider, it seems to call for a wider brim.

Another consideration: In casual clothes, I tend to wear my fedora more toward the back of my head; in formal clothes, I’ll wear it down on my eyebrows.

In choosing a fedora, I recommend that you find a bricks-and-mortar hat store and try on a lot of hats: wide brims and narrow brims, tall crowns and short crowns, wide ribbon and narrow ribbon. Try at least three sizes: including a tighter size that will sit higher on your head and a looser size that will sit low near your ears. Put each one on the back of your head, then down on your eyebrows and all the possibilities in between. Try it on straight (horizontal side-to-side) and at a sharp rake. Do all this in front of a 3-way mirror, so you can see yourself as others see you. Perhaps you might want to take along a friend whose sartorial opinion you value, someone who seems to know how to look good in whatever he/she wears. Finally, of course, consider the other clothes you will most often wear with your fedora.

I hope this helps, Ryan. Have fun!

 

[jazzncocktails]

Check out the Fedoras and Hawaiian Shirts thread, and you'll see that fedoras are pretty versatile. Have fun with your hat(s)...and welcome. There are great people on this site who will give you lots of fantastic advice.

 

[handlebar bart]

I wear fedoras with anything. Fedora and jeans......okay. Fedora and sweats......okay. Fedora and jammies......doin it right now and it's okay too. If you can go a whole day without seeing another person in a fedora then I think you get to rewrite the rule book. Enjoy your hats.

 

[jimmy the lid]

If you can go a whole day without seeing another person in a fedora then I think you get to rewrite the rule book. Enjoy your hats.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Fedora and jammies......doin it right now

lol

Welcome, Papa Smurf! A grey snap brim is very versatile. Your own confidence level carries the rest of it - or not.

 

[Goose.]

...proper time to wear a fedora with slacks and a polo shirt, and if so what type of fedora would work? ...

Hi Ryan....

I'd wear a fedora with a t-shirt and SPAM flip flops before I'd wear a polo shirt.
So, I can't objectively contribute to this thread other than to say "WELCOME"

 

[BobC]

If you can go a whole day without seeing another person in a fedora then I think you get to rewrite the rule book. Enjoy your hats.

Let me repeat that....Enjoy your hats. Welcome to the lounge PS. You will like it here. And be careful of these people. They will drag you into their addiction just as they have me.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Hi everyone,
I am new to the hat scene but I love it! I was wondering... Is there any proper time to wear a fedora with slacks and a polo shirt, and if so what type of fedora would work? Thanks in advance!!

-Ryan

Hi Ryan welcome to the Lounge

I think you can get away with your look

 

[handlebar bart]

Hi Ryan welcome to the Lounge

I think you can get away with your look

lol lol lol Okay, okay....I stand corrected. Some of the original rule book should remain intact. Mens fedoras don't go well with capris and purses......and whatever the rest of that is.

 

[munchausen]

What the...?

Hi Ryan welcome to the Lounge

I think you can get away with your look

I honestly can't understand the youth of today...

 

[Blackthorn]

I wear fedoras with anything. Fedora and jeans......okay. Fedora and sweats......okay. Fedora and jammies......doin it right now and it's okay too. If you can go a whole day without seeing another person in a fedora then I think you get to rewrite the rule book. Enjoy your hats.

Hear, hear! Exactly!

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I wouldn't say I'd wear a fedora with anything under any circumstance, but I think it's mainly a matter of how you're comfortable. I mean, I'm now willing to dress much more casually with a fedora than a couple of years ago. But I have my own rules that serve me well. I have to have some sort of collar, so a t-shirt only works for me if a have a jacket or open button-down shirt over it. Polos, yes... but now that I own some newsboy caps, I'm more inclined to go that route. I also notice that I favor narrower brims when going casual. [huh]

That's just me.

 

[RBH]

Welcome to the Lounge Ryan!
The more you wear your fedora the more you WILL wear it.

 

[Woodfluter]

Hey Ryan, welcome! You'll like it here.

I agree with most of what's been said.

However, just speaking for me, I tend to feel that lighter-colored fedoras seem right with more casual clothes. But then I'll go and do just the opposite sometimes. Likewise thin ribbons or lightweight, fairly short brimmed western hats seem to be OK with anything casual.

Now here's an example from 1440's Italy, Donatello's statue of David. Showing that a snap-brim can even fit into clothing-optional situations. Yes, just hat and boots and a sword.



I'd forgo the laurel wreath unless you've just killed a giant, however.

- Bill