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[Rodkins]

I hope someone here can help me. I own a few hats and two happen to be Stetsons. One I have owned for over 30 years and fits like a glove and has since I bought it new. The second is also a Steston and the same style hat but has a bit of A wider brim and it a wee bit taller in the crown and was bough for me by my brother after he looked in my old Stetson and got the size from it. It was a used hat but was never worn by the first owner and still had all the tags and slip that comes with new hats. It even had the original box. Now the question is this. The hat is a Stetson Black Stallion Blackhawk and was made to fit a round head shape and I have an oval. I own a few fedoras also but they all fit and never had to look for hat repair in Denver (I did and found none but a few who custom build hats and they couldn't help me) and one out of state hat cleaner told me it can be made to fit by taking out the wire under the inner band and replacing it an oval. The only thing wrong with that is I am sure there isn't any wire under the sweatband, I looked at how Stetson made hats and they don't use that method, it's shaped on different forms at the factory and then coated to make them stiff to hold the shape. Can this hat be made to fit me and does anyone know who in my area (Denver, CO) can help me with this. I'll appreciate any help at all.

Depending on the size of your hat a water spritz on the sweatband and placing in a hat-jack might work. You can get one online for around $20 and they are handy to have if you deal with hats much. When the small or medium hat-jack (depending on your hat size) is extended it forms a long oval shape. I've done this to a couple of mine and it worked great. I'm a newbie so you may want to wait for some additional feedback before proceeding.
Mike

 

[gtdean48]

Depending on the size of your hat a water spritz on the sweatband and placing in a hat-jack might work. You can get one online for around $20 and they are handy to have if you deal with hats much. When the small or medium hat-jack (depending on your hat size) is extended it forms a long oval shape. I've done this to a couple of mine and it worked great. I'm a newbie so you may want to wait for some additional feedback before proceeding.
Mike

:arated: Like Mike said, get a hat-jack. Modern factory hats come too round for my LO (probably closer to XLO) noggin. I have to shape all modern Stetson with at hat-jack. Akubras seem to form to my head with a few usages but not the Stetsons. HTH....

 

[charlesb303]

Thank you for helping me

I appreciate everyones comments in helping me with this hat question. I didn't see the Greeley Hat Works when I googled it and that was a huge help. I will also look into the hat jacks too. Again, thank you all for the help.

 

[Irish4]

I feel I would look better in a lower crown

I am looking for a fedora that has a lower crow,mine currently is at 4.5,I think it looks a little to tall.Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[gtdean48]

I am looking for a fedora that has a lower crow,mine currently is at 4.5,I think it looks a little to tall.Any suggestions? Thanks

Change the crease? [huh]

 

[cmalbrecht]

I have an old but like new Dobbs long oval and it fits perfectly, but so does my new Stetson that doesn't state anything on it. Some of the older hats are a little too round for me, so I'm thinking of trying a hat jack.

 

[danofarlington]

I appreciate everyones comments in helping me with this hat question. I didn't see the Greeley Hat Works when I googled it and that was a huge help. I will also look into the hat jacks too. Again, thank you all for the help.

www.greeleyhatworks.com

 

[Mulceber]

I hesitate to get a 100% beaver felt hat to wear outside in the rain and snow. What percentage beaver felt is the best for durability?

100%. I can understand wanting to avoid pure beaver for the cost, but you're not going to find anything that handles rain better. -M

 

[rlk]

100%. I can understand wanting to avoid pure beaver for the cost, but you're not going to find anything that handles rain better. -M

A rain hat.

 

[1961MJS]

A rain hat.

Hi, I live in KANSAS, where it rains occasionally, not every afternoon from 3 to 4. I don't want to pay a LOT of $ when I'll be "distressing" the hat myself. Heck, you should have seen the sweat stains on my Sun body's ribbon before I washed it. I'm not buying a Seattle Sombrero... lol

Later

 

[CRH]

A rain hat.

That would be any hat that happens to be on my head when it's raining.

The best rain hat I can think of would be a fireman's helmet. That would cover large hail too.

 

[Mulceber]

A rain hat.

Wouldn't look as stylish, therefore doesn't handle the rain as well. -M

 

[rlk]

With the large wide Western style brims the ample stiffener used in the brims is pretty water resistant(shellac requires alcohol to soften). Crown shrinkage if the hat is truly soaked would be the main issue and this is more a matter of age and quality than the specific fur species. Unfortunately price is not necessarily a quality determinant. Harder to find a pure Beaver junky hat but not impossible. Light rain isn't going to disturb any decent quality fur felt hats other than spotting on some modern hats finished with powder or with a layer of dirt on them.

 

[propp]

I am looking for a fedora that has a lower crow,mine currently is at 4.5,I think it looks a little to tall.Any suggestions? Thanks

That's a sort of standard-size crown height with a typical fedora...4-4 1 1/2".
In your pic/avatar, you seem to be wearing fairly 'high' on your head. Have you tried a different tilt, or size, or slightly wider brim?
Because the crown height in your pic seems right, proportionate to what you're wearing. The fit-height seems a little off, high, but otherwise the crown seems okay.

 

[Irish4]

Thanks

Thank you for your advice.The picture of me in my avatar is a size 7.My head measurement is 22 1/8,so if you go to a hat website,your size choices are Sm,Md,Lg.The hat I have on is a 7,which falls in that medium range.As you can see in my avatar the hat sits more than 1/8 above my ear.How do you know then,when ordering a hat in medium size it will fit any better than my size 7?Thanks

 

[James007]

Measuring head for a good fitting Hat

Hi
I am new to this site, But not new to Dressing up in Period Clothing!
What is the best way to measure on's head to get a really good fit?

Cheers
James

 

[zetwal]

Welcome Mr Bond ...

Use a cloth measuring tape to measure around your head where you would like the hat to fit. Then convert that result (inches or centimeters) into your hat size using the conventional charts.

 

[James007]

Welcome Mr Bond ...

Use a cloth measuring tape to measure around your head where you would like the hat to fit. Then convert that result (inches or centimeters) into your hat size using the conventional charts.

Were on line can i find these charts?

Thanks
James

 

[Irish4]

I'm lost

One of the sug. to keep the hat looking so high up on my melon was to try a bigger size,ok cool,I get it,but if the hat I have is a size 7,and my measurement is 22 1/8,this falls into the Med. category in the size chart.so how do you get a hat that is a size bigger?

 

[zetwal]

Were on line can i find these charts?

A google search will turn up lots of them. Did you get your circumference? If so, tell us what you came up with and we can tell you the probable size. You can also look at these charts. Here's one for example -

http://www.hatsuk.com/hatsuk/hatsukhtml/bible/hatsize.htm