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[jlee562]

Seems I have read some place on FL that a liner with the joining split on the side rather than at the back is a sign of a newer hat.

How new would this indicate and would this hold true across most or all hat makers?

IIRC, it's the other way around. I recall Steve Delk of Adventurebilt speaking of vintage side seamed liners that were used in the production hats for Indy IV.

Perhaps someone can confirm or refute.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I think that it can go either way. I have seen vintage head wear with the crease in the back as well as at the sides. I fyou ordered a brand new Optimo, the crease would be at the side.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

For my job interview tomorrow, should I wear my black derby or my oxblood 4-point diamond fedora?

Thanx!!
Charlie

 

[Mystic]

IIRC, it's the other way around. I recall Steve Delk of Adventurebilt speaking of vintage side seamed liners that were used in the production hats for Indy IV.

Perhaps someone can confirm or refute.

Thanks for the input. I was looking through the Disney Diner last night and it looks like a side seam liner could be common with Disney Hats.

 

[ZAZ]

Regarding fit and security.

I ordered an Akubra through David Morgan and I am having trouble deciding if I want to exchange sizes. There is nowhere to try on a quality hat within several hundred miles so I can only guess and speculate for fit.

The Akubra seems to fit well. The sweatband is snug and the hat does not move around on my head. Maybe it could sit a little lower, but it is defiantly not too high. I can practically turn upside down and the hat will stay on my head but the slightest breeze will slide it off. I have another hat with a sloppy fit that is one size larger than the Akubra. The sweat band is loose and the crown rests on the top of my head. This hat moves around but does not get slid off in the wind.

That leaves me to wonder; Is this a normal trade off, or is there something about fit I do not understand? I like the snug fit but a hat that blows off of my head all the time is really irritating. I don't want to pay to send back this hat only to find a bigger one is too big because then by the time I get the original size back I will be $40 into shipping alone on a $145 hat. Suggestions?

 

[Walt]

ZAZ,

DM should have included some felt pad strips with the Akubra. Did you check in the shipping box for those? You might try those to shim up whatever direction is a little loose (front-to-back or side-to-side). It is also sometimes possible to shrink a hat a little if one is careful. Akubras also have a reputation for shrinking some depending on the particular fur felt blend so it may with some wear snug up enough. There are other options but it sounds like padding will probably suffice. It also sounds like the hat is no where near enough loose to return, but that is of course your decision in the end. I would certainly at least try the padding first.

The topic of hat fit comes up often. Hats are like clothing and shoes in that sizing is very variable. It isn't like machined fasteners and wrenches were 10mm is exactly that and not something else. The high variability in human body part's dimensions plays a big part in the fit challenge.

There is no "perfect" answer about hat fit or how high the hat should or shouldn't be, etc. That is all personal and subjective---no one has the single correct answer. Obviously if a fedora sits like a skull cap or hurts your head then it's probably is too small and if it is so large it covers your ears or eyes or it flies off when you sneeze then it is probably too big, etc.

You don't say how strong the wind is when it comes off. If it is truly a very light breeze and it comes off then I would tend to agree it is too loose. Now if you are talking 50+ MPH gusts then maybe not....

Cheers!

 

[Rogera]

For my job interview tomorrow, should I wear my black derby or my oxblood 4-point diamond fedora?

Thanx!!
Charlie

Oxblood!

 

[howardeye]

For my job interview tomorrow, should I wear my black derby or my oxblood 4-point diamond fedora?

Thanx!!
Charlie

I hope it went well.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I hope it went well.

It did. I wore the oxblood.

 

[Dan Allen]

IIRC, it's the other way around. I recall Steve Delk of Adventurebilt speaking of vintage side seamed liners that were used in the production hats for Indy IV.

Perhaps someone can confirm or refute.

I just acquired a Beaver Brand Major that I presume to be relatively new having the size tag with both metric and us size. It has the seam on the side.

 

[Rogera]

Hi! I am new to the lounge and am loving it. I only have a Tilley that I have been wearing for years, and bought a Mayser a few years ago, but don't get too much wear out of it because my wife thinks it is too dressy unless we are really dressing up to go out.

So I have two questions:

1) Is there a happy medium between the Tilley and Mayser that I could wear everyday?

2) I have started checking out local antiques shops in the area and have happened across quite a few vintage hats. They are all too small for me, I am a 7&3/8, but would be happy to purchase any of them and ship them out. What is the best forum for that conversation?

Thanks,

Ron

Not to be repetitive but David and jlee are right. Wear what you want. I have found that a nice hat, button up shirt that goes with the hat and jeans is great. I get compliments on my hats all the time. A hat and button up shirt dresses you up better than 98% of the people you see out and about and people notice. Maybe we can start a trend!!

 

[howardeye]

It did. I wore the oxblood.

Great! My custom made new hat when the time comes will be Oxblood or Black Cherry!

 

[danofarlington]

Not to be repetitive but David and jlee are right. Wear what you want. I have found that a nice hat, button up shirt that goes with the hat and jeans is great. I get compliments on my hats all the time. A hat and button up shirt dresses you up better than 98% of the people you see out and about and people notice. Maybe we can start a trend!!

I think this way too. Hats can be a dressy item, even if they are not dress hats per se. My hats always look better on me with a button-down shirt collar. They seem to go together. I say that not because I'm a prig for formal style, but it just seems to hang that way, so I don't fight it. Some people you see on the Lounge can do a fedora with a tee shirt, but I think you have to be sort of buff for that to work, and I'm not, and anyway it wouldn't look right on me. So fedora and button down shirt is what I put together.

 

[ZAZ]

Sorry, my original post was not very clear. I am worried my Akubra is too small rather than too big. It is comfortable and seems to fit well but gets blown off by anything more than a gentle breeze. I have larger hats that are less prone to being blown off simply because they are loose and ride as low as my tall head will allow. So I was wondering if this is a common problem that varies from hat to hat or if my hat is simply too small. I know the best way to figure this out is to simply try on different hats, but like I said, there is literally no good place to buy a hat around here.

 

[jlee562]

Zaz, it would he helpful to see the hat and where it's riding on your head. Although people's skull shapes differ, as a general rule, a hat should ride about 1-2 fingers width above your ear. A properly fitted hat should not blow off, nor should it rest on your ears.

 

[ZAZ]

It is roughly 1 1/2 fingers so I don't think its too high. The hat looks good and it feels good so I would say it fits, but it blows off very easily which is very irritating. I don't know if a bigger size would help or not.

 

[jlee562]

Generally if it's blowing off your head, you'd want a smaller size. I would pad the sweatband until it shrinks and conforms to your head. Akubras generally shrink a tad.

 

[ZAZ]

It is already snug. The felt pads make it unwearable. Perhaps I need a taller crown rather than a different size?

 

[randooch]

Zaz, how can the hat fit snugly and still blow off your head? This should not happen unless A) you're talking about VERY strong winds, or B) you have a hairy forehead.

 

[Walt]

It is roughly 1 1/2 fingers so I don't think its too high. The hat looks good and it feels good so I would say it fits, but it blows off very easily which is very irritating. I don't know if a bigger size would help or not.

Generally hats come off easily if they are too loose especially if the hat is sitting as low as you describe. I'm curious to know more about it blowing off since you state you don't find it to be too loose other than coming off easily. Are we talking strong wind gusts or light breezes? Seems like there might be some additional details missing here....either that or we have a mystery. [huh]

Or perhaps like Randall suggests maybe you have long bangs or thick hair going way up high over your head? I could see that causing the problem like someone that has a tall and bushy perm. I solved that problem with male pattern baldness!