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[DJH]

Welcome 2075.

As it happens, the site owners have disabled the option to upload photos to their server. You need to host your pics at a third party site and link to them here.

 

[ShortAndCashed]

Haha, my first cap was a cotton from a dept. store. Now I have... one more hat.... lol But, I am in the market for my second nice hat. Welcome to the lounge, hope you enjoy yourself.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

You will learn alot here and will be able to step up in hats as you gain confidence in wearing Fedora's. Welcome to the journey down the road of great hats.

 

[zetwal]

Welcome, 2075rami ... :hat:

 

[wgiceman]

Welcome, welcome, welcome!! ......... Just a word of advice ...... Start saving up your money. You'll be collecting in no time at all.

 

[jwalls]

WELCOME!! Enjoy the ride.

 

[crawlinkingsnake]

Looking for good quality men's hat shop in Washington, DC area? I'm aware of Hats in the Belfry, Oxon Hill, MD but no where else. Any suggestions? Looking to purchase a nice new fedora for the rapidly approaching fall/winter. thanks-

 

[2075rami]

Welcome, welcome, welcome!! ......... Just a word of advice ...... Start saving up your money. You'll be collecting in no time at all.

I was afraid of that! Just what I need, another collection. I've already fallen prey to mechanical watches, vintage shaving gear, and fountain pens. Now I've got to budget for hats. Great!!:eusa_doh:

I think what got me interested in Fedoras was the great wardrobe in Public Enemies. I looked around a little online at them, but didn't really have the urge to buy anything until I saw The Adjustment Bureau. Gotta get me a Fed! One of these days...

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. Gotta go browse around and learn some more!

 

[Bob Beecher]

Welcome -- from another newbie who also has other collections (antique phonographs and 78s, brass instruments, etc.). I now have five hats -- a dark brown Fed IV; a gray Stetson Temple; two fedoras from Miller Hats (med. brn and silverbelly)...and, since it's hot here in L.A., a Dobb straw hat.

I'd have more by now, but I wear a size 8! Not that many size 8's from which to choose.

Anyway, welcome to the fray.

 

[Beepa]

vintage soft

I'm a newbie to this forum, and looking for a good lid. I remember my grandfather's hats from when I was a kid. They were 40's-50's vintage, wide-brimmed, lined, edged. The thing I remember most is that they took and held a shape easily. The crown stood up, but was quite soft and pliable. Online, there is no way to test for this, and I don't live near a metropolitan area where I can easily check out hats in person. Can anyone give me some directions as to where such hats may be found? Is there a difference between vintage and modern in this regard?

 

[jwalls]

The difference is probably due to the age of the hat. The stiffener in the hat dries out over time. Spray the outside of the hat with 91% alcohol and let it dry and you will see how much stiffener was use when it was new.

 

[cyamamot]

The Quality of a hat

I was wondering what goes into the quality of a hat.

My first hat was a Stetson Inwood, a 4in crown and 1 3/4 in stingy brim, and 2ndly a Stefeno Boston 4in crown, 2in brim.

The biggest differences i noticed was the following:

The Stetson had probably half the thickness of felt than the stefeno
The sweatband of the stetson actually says genuine leather but is quite hard to flip the sweatband out of the hat while the stefeno is quite soft in the inside with no leather indication
The liner in my stetson is not attached to anything when I unfolded the leather sweatband out to let it dry. It was held pretty loosely to the leather liner with tiny glue spots in about 2 spots. Is this common?

I'm pretty new to the hat world, and is this what I should be expecting or is something wrong with the hats i have purchased?

I find it weird to be more happy with the Stefeno hat that has now become my beater every day hat so thank you lounge for the tips on my 2nd hat

 

[HatsEnough]

Photos needed to help further. But your question is very hard to answer. It depends on the ages of the two hats, for one thing. The models matter, too.

 

[cyamamot]

Ah, idk why i didnt see this thread, both hats were purchased brand new, the stetson was bought in Chicago at Sid's Clothing, and the Stefeno was purchased from Hats-plus also in chicago via internet, i'll post pictures later when i get the chance. Thank you for whoever switched the thread for me.

 

[alanfgag]

I'm a newbie to this forum, and looking for a good lid. I remember my grandfather's hats from when I was a kid. They were 40's-50's vintage, wide-brimmed, lined, edged. The thing I remember most is that they took and held a shape easily. The crown stood up, but was quite soft and pliable. Online, there is no way to test for this, and I don't live near a metropolitan area where I can easily check out hats in person. Can anyone give me some directions as to where such hats may be found? Is there a difference between vintage and modern in this regard?

Yes, there is a difference in felt character between fedoras produced today and those made in the 1930s - 1950s. You might consider a trip to Buffalo and visit with Gary White (The Custom Hatter) on Broadway. A call ahead would be a good idea.

 

[CharmCityLights]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, but this seems like a great online community. Anyway, I have a question, or a few questions actually, which I am sure have been asked before, though I am striking out with the search function. I'm new to hats. I wear a knit cap in the winter, but as of now I own exactly zero brimmed hats. Recently, I've been toying with the idea of getting one or two, but here's the thing...I have a truly enormous head. The strange thing is, you wouldn't exactly think it to look at me. I have a fairly normally proportioned face (not too long, not too round), but my head just keeps on going back, and gets a bit broader as it does so. I've been to a few hat shops, and when I tell the proprietor that I've never found a hat that fits me, they always laugh and assure me that they will have something. Ten minutes later they are usually flabbergasted when they find, that sure enough, they don't. So, I have resigned myself to taking a trip, and possibly getting something custom made. But I don't know exactly what I should be looking at. I read somewhere that men with huge heads should really go with a wider brim, but personally I prefer something smaller, along the lines of a trilby. Would that look absurd on someone with an epically large cranium? I live in Baltimore, so Worth & Worth in New York seems like it might be my best bet. I'm in New York once or twice a year anyway. Based on websites, I actually like the look of Optimo's hats the best, but Chicago is kind of a haul...Still, I could make it a short vacation I suppose. Any advice on what establishment I should be looking at? I'm sort of afraid that even at one of these specialty stores I won't be able to find anything stock that fits my head. As I said, I am OK with going custom, except that as a newbie, I have no idea what I should be looking for in terms of style. If I'm going to invest time, and what for me will be serious money, in getting a hat custom made, I don't want to find out that I look absurd in a pork pie, or that a trilby accentuates the size of my hear, or that a wider brimmed fedora really looks too archaic for the rest of my wardrobe (which isn't particularly formal). Any wisdom, and especially any advice from someone else with a gargantuan head, is much appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help, and sorry for the long first post.

Cheers,
James

 

[zetwal]

I can't answer your questions, James; but I would like to welcome you! :yo:

 

[Bob Beecher]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, ... but here's the thing...I have a truly enormous head. ...

Cheers,
James

I hear ya, brother! I wear a size 8. That's a "64" in centimeters. By the old tape measure, it's TWENTY-FIVE inches. But.... you never told us your hat size! Have you measured?

As long as you're not bigger than an 8, you can still find nice hats -- just not as many as most! I've bought hats online without any problem. The pickings on eBay is a lot slimmer for the . . . uh . . . head that is not.

Welcome!

 

[CharmCityLights]

Thanks guys. I hadn't ever measured before. Just dug out the tape measure, though it's not a cloth one, so I'll have to double check later when I have one of those. I seem to be somewhere in the 24 to 25 inch range. Perhaps there's hope.

 

[zetwal]

I seem to be somewhere in the 24 to 25 inch range. Perhaps there's hope.

Try to pin it down better. One inch in circumference can make a big difference in fit.