Can Anyone Pull Off a Wide-brim Fedora?

[RBH]

Great photo Lolly!!

 

[memphislawyer]

Pulling it off may be possible for me, but to ME, I don't look or feel right. I have a Stetson Saxon which I see is measured at 2". Seems like the perfect brim to me. I have an Akubra Stylemaster which is a fine, fine hat, but the brim just seems to wide to me, makes me feel more "western" in it than a dress hat. I have a little Bailey Yates hat in wool felt for winter, in black, and I think it is classified as a stingy, as it is a severe upturn in back and then in front maybe 2". For me, the smaller hat just feels right, though Cane Rod Maker says something about I need less taper in the crown.

 

[MrAcheson]

It's all about shape. I'm 6 foot and 185 with fairly long face, a goatee, and fair skin. My usual hat is an Akubra Sydney with a 2.5" brim. I'm sure I could go a little smaller or bigger, but the stingy brim stuff at department stores looks really silly on me. The wider brim balances out my longer face while a tiny brim accentuates my longer facial proportions and stretches my head in the wrong directions.

Plus a wider brim makes for a good functional hat. It's warm in the cooler weather and gives me decent shade when the sun is shining. Stingy brims seems like affectations, especially the straw ones that crop up during the summer. Why would I wear a summer hat that gives me no shade? I might as well just wear a ball cap. That would at least keep the sun out of my eyes and the rain off my glasses.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

Great photo Lolly!!

I agree!
I guess I am just old but I also don't believe in the term "pull it off" when discussing a man wearing a hat. (Im not on the red carpet at the Oscars in a dress ). If you like the hat "Put it on".

 

[Duper]

Who can pull off a wide brim Fedora? All of these gents (Sydney Australia 1934).

Amazing photo. I think Friday, Akubra is trying to get into the record books with more than 1000 folks gathered wearing their hats. Hopefully there will be another image of our broad brimmed friends we can post after the event.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

All those fedoras and I bet not a single damn one of those guys asked " Can I pull this off"!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I'm willing to bet they were pretty picky about their hats, to be honest. There is quite a diversity of crowns, brims and ribbons in that pic.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

I'm willing to bet they were pretty picky about their hats, to be honest. There is quite a diversity of crowns, brims and ribbons in that pic.

Im sure they were picky, those guys are dressed impeccably.

 

[nice hat dude!]

Best example I have is where I started. This is my first vintage felt I found a 2 inch brim

THis is my custom made 2 1/2 brim

I think most would agree with my huskier build and fuller face the bigger brim is better

I was just noticing your last pic,does the brim have a couple of notches in it?

 

[Mystic]

All those fedoras and I bet not a single damn one of those guys asked " Can I pull this off"!

I would think if these guys were asked, back then, to put on one of the 60's or newer stingy brims they would ask...Can I pull this off!

A wide brim back then was "in". It didn't look out of place on any size head or shape of face.

I'm a small guy with a small head hwell:.....when I first started wearing fedoras I didn't think I could pull off a wide brim. Until I began to appreciate wide (or in my case wider) brims and tall straight crowns. I still don't think I can pull off 2 3/4 or 3" brims.

My size didn't change, the wide brim didn't change. But, how I saw the hat on me changed.

Ok, that's my Dr. Phil comment for today :smile:

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

There are some shorter brims in that picture too. I wouldn't say they were stingy but they are shorter.

When I got my Campdraft I thought it seemed pretty wide. I like about 2 1/2".
I didn't wear it outside until one really rainy day. I was working outside and was alone so what did I care what I looked like. By the end of the day I liked it so much I really don't care what I looked like. The wider brim keeps the rain out of your face and cuts down on the wind burn on my face. The tall crown lets you pull it down snug, so it stays on when its gusty. Like my son said, "Thats a lotta hat Dad , it don't look bad, just different."

When I got married, I decided I wanted to wear a top hat with my tux. The rental guy found me one, and although the fit wasn't the best I wore that sucker all day long.(Except in the Church during the cerimony, and during the meal)
I wore it in all the pictues. At the reception a guy that worked with my wife pulled me aside, and I honestly think he thought he was doing me a favour by telling me "You look pretty silly in that hat". I guess to him I couldn't pull it off.
26 years later and I still look at those pictures and think I look pretty good.
Screw him and his opinion.

 

[Mystic]

Take a good look at that picture, I can see some shorter brims in there.

I didn't notice any thing "real" stingy like 1 1/2" OR 1 7/8"...

But, I think I saw Geraldo Rivera back behind the right shoulder of the guy with white hair and no hat. lol

 

[Historyteach24]

No hat guy trick with lighting

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

[/IMG]



August 30, 1986.
The day Clagwell got hitched.
,,,,and oh yeah, its a Biltmore.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

Just the same teach, I really like this hat.

 

[Historyteach24]

I loved that hat as well. It was a labor of love. I bought it with a huge stain on the front as you can see for 8 dollars. It was a Pennys Marathon. I learned how to properly clean a hat with that bad boy. Turned it around for a nice hefty profit because I did not like the shorter style brims on me

 

[XPLSV]

Pics like this from the 30's and 40's just drop my jaw when I see them...I love the tall crowns and wide brims, which are all to hard to find in my size and in good shape!

 

[bulldog1935]

in Texas, any fedora brim looks narrow...

I think Kinky would look better in a fedora

 

[lolly_loisides]

More wide brim pictures from Australia. Milsons Point Railway Station 1920's. Edit - If I'm posting in the wrong thread please let me know. I'm not familiar with the Hat section of the Lounge, so if there's a better place to post historical pictures please let me know.

 

[RBH]

in Texas, any fedora brim looks narrow...

I think Kinky would look better in a fedora

The Kinkster sports a fedora very well indeed.