Choosing the Correct Hat for your Body Type

[scottyrocks]

One of the things I've noticed while looking at photos taken in the U.S. and Australia during the late-1800s is that the crowns of hats worn by working men often appear to be creased, at least in part, to minimize the amount of space between the the hat and the wearers' heads. Pure speculation on my part, but I think this was done to lessen the amount of air "trapped" under those crowns that could become superheated and make the wearer even less comfortable while working under the relentless sun. I also think this is why companies like Akubra and Stetson designed and produced hats with wider brims and lower tapered crowns--to meet the needs of those working men (and women, in some cases).

It has been my experience that a taller crown with more room underneath actually makes a hat cooler in hot weather and warmer in cold weather.

When a fabric lies right on my head, the sun heats it and the hot fabric, sitting on my head, roasts me.

When it is very cold, the cold fabric lies right on my head, and I feel the chill.

The air pocket alleviates both of these issues, for me, anyway. In cold weather, the cold fabric is off my head, while the heat from my head stays in the air pocket and keeps me warm. In hot weather, the air pocket keeps the hot fabric off my head. keeping it cooler. True, I can take the hat off in hot weather, but then I get burnt.

 

[jlee562]

youtube has a great video about faces and hat styles put out by Gentlemans Gazette.....

That's the same video we've already been discussing. And I'm still quite confident that he's wrong about short guys and 2" brims.

Another thought occurred to me as well. Surely what looks "right" ebbed and flowed as fashion tastes changed through the decades, no? The average brim got shorter into the 60s's, so I wonder what a later hat matching guide might look like?

 

[Michael R.]

That's the same video we've already been discussing. And I'm still quite confident that he's wrong about short guys and 2" brims.

Another thought occurred to me as well. Surely what looks "right" ebbed and flowed as fashion tastes changed through the decades, no? The average brim got shorter into the 60s's, so I wonder what a later hat matching guide might look like?

I need to watch it again Jared , I thought he said Moderate 2 1/2" Brims . LOL I could almost agree , but 2 1/2" Brims are my limit on the stingy side . Some guys seem to prefer 2 1/2" Brims , but I guess it all comes down to our experiences and lifestyles , etc. . I like your Hat choices from Westerns to Dress Hats .

 

[jlee562]

I need to watch it again Jared , I thought he said Moderate 2 1/2" Brims . LOL I could almost agree , but 2 1/2" Brims are my limit on the stingy side . Some guys seem to prefer 2 1/2" Brims , but I guess it all comes down to our experiences and lifestyles , etc. . I like your Hat choices from Westerns to Dress Hats .

Perhaps I'm the one that misheard the video, but I thought he said 2". I agree that 2.5" is a nice brim width for a variety of folks. Perhaps one of the reasons why a hat like the Stratoliner became so popular.

I'll say though, even as somebody who eschews the particulars of the "rules," they are a good starting place to think about what suits the individual wearer. It just starts to lose me getting into the particulars of widths and ribbon heights. While I'm again not trying to throw the baby out with the bathwater and say ribbon width doesn't affect the look of a hat, I also think of the classic Stetson Playboy ad proclaiming "2,000,00 men have paid more than $10,000,000 for the Stetson Playboy!"

They sold that many because the same hat can suit different people with a little adjustment here or there. Surely those 2 million men weren't all the same size and shape!

Also, thanks for the kind compliment.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

If more people had a ' tête à chapeau ' there'd be less need for rules & guidelines. in all honesty, very few people 'really' suit hats, so trying to push a round peg into a square hole is just a waste of time. If you like a hat, wear it & be assured, most onlookers won't be judging you on whether or not the hat has the correct ratio for your facial features or body shape. As for our own opinion regarding whether or not a hat suits us, we're far too subjective to be objective. So wear it & be damned.
Oh, & being obsessed by dimensions, does make Jack a very dull boy.

 

[Zombie_61]

It has been my experience that a taller crown with more room underneath actually makes a hat cooler in hot weather and warmer in cold weather.

When a fabric lies right on my head, the sun heats it and the hot fabric, sitting on my head, roasts me.

When it is very cold, the cold fabric lies right on my head, and I feel the chill.

The air pocket alleviates both of these issues, for me, anyway. In cold weather, the cold fabric is off my head, while the heat from my head stays in the air pocket and keeps me warm. In hot weather, the air pocket keeps the hot fabric off my head. keeping it cooler. True, I can take the hat off in hot weather, but then I get burnt.

I'm sure your experiences are considerably closer to the truth than my speculation. To that point, I can definitely say my own fur felt hats keep my head warmer in cold weather if there is at least a little space between my head and the felt. I have one fur felt hat with a crown that is so low and so tapered that it fits my head like a fur felt watch cap--very little open space, and I actually feel colder on cold nights while wearing it than I do in any of my other hats.

In warmer/hot weather, I really can't say which is better. Once the temperature and/or humidity get high enough, all of my fur felts are just plain hot and somewhat uncomfortable.

...Another thought occurred to me as well. Surely what looks "right" ebbed and flowed as fashion tastes changed through the decades, no? The average brim got shorter into the 60s's, so I wonder what a later hat matching guide might look like?

I think this is a good idea. And while they're at it, they (or someone) should update the "rules" of hat etiquette as well.

 

[Deeeluxe Definitely]

I recently had a very lucky antique store find: my first proper fur felt, leather sweatband, lined fedora! It meets all my many preferences (tear drop, black, 4.5" crown, raw edge... one that actually fits my strangely shaped head!), and the entire point of upgrading from my old wool hat was to get a brim wider than the 1 3/4" one I'd been wearing.

But this one is a full 2 1/2", which I like in theory, but I have reservations. I have a larger than average head, am average height, average shoulder width, but I am thin, and I have a long/thin/sharp-featured/angular face.

Half the photos and videos I've taken of me in it, it looks fantastic, but then from certain angles I'm unsure. Maybe I've just not acclimated to it yet. I really don't want the hat to overwhelm me or to draw too much of the wrong kind of attention - a proper fedora in 2021 stands out as is.

I do think I'm wanting more of a film noir look than a jaunty one, but I always want to work within the confines of what looks aesthetically right on me.

I don't want to convince myself 2 1/2" isn't too much if it actually is, but I dont want to have someone cut off 1/8" or 1/4" and regret it terribly.

I wish I were in a better place or time to easily find a shop where I could try on hats.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Personally, I don’t think 2 1/2” is too much brim for any adult to wear well. 2 3/4 and more then maybe, but 2 1/2 is a fairly short “wide” brim.

You can always do what I did and gain 45 pounds so you will look better in wider brims.

 

[jlee562]

2.5"" was a fairly common mid century fedora brim width. I think you'll be fine.

I'm not very tall and I'm fairly skinny and most of my hats nowadays are a minimum of 2.5". I haven't been taking a lot of straight-on hat pics, but this is a 2.5" brim Stratoliner. This is one of my smaller brims.

 

[belfastboy]

I think a fairly common aspect of being a hat guy is going through the phase of becoming comfortable wearing wider brims. I will bet if you wear it 'as is' within a few weeks the brim width will be a non issue

 

[1967Cougar390]

I recently had a very lucky antique store find: my first proper fur felt, leather sweatband, lined fedora! It meets all my many preferences (tear drop, black, 4.5" crown, raw edge... one that actually fits my strangely shaped head!), and the entire point of upgrading from my old wool hat was to get a brim wider than the 1 3/4" one I'd been wearing.

But this one is a full 2 1/2", which I like in theory, but I have reservations. I have a larger than average head, am average height, average shoulder width, but I am thin, and I have a long/thin/sharp-featured/angular face.

Half the photos and videos I've taken of me in it, it looks fantastic, but then from certain angles I'm unsure. Maybe I've just not acclimated to it yet. I really don't want the hat to overwhelm me or to draw too much of the wrong kind of attention - a proper fedora in 2021 stands out as is.

I do think I'm wanting more of a film noir look than a jaunty one, but I always want to work within the confines of what looks aesthetically right on me.

I don't want to convince myself 2 1/2" isn't too much if it actually is, but I dont want to have someone cut off 1/8" or 1/4" and regret it terribly.

I wish I were in a better place or time to easily find a shop where I could try on hats.

Give yourself some time to get used to wearing your new hat. I am sure after wearing it for a short period of time you will like the 2-1/2 inch brim.

Steven

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Give yourself some time to get used to wearing your new hat. I am sure after wearing it for a short period of time you will like the 2-1/2 inch brim.

Steven

Or think it’s too small and start looking for wider brims.

 

[Deeeluxe Definitely]

Thanks guys. It's good to get the greenlight from some respected regulars of whose posts I've read a combined dozens in my recent research here.

I have certainly worn more extravagant things in public before, so I will at least give it a test run.

 

[Scooterz]

I consider 2 1/2 inch the sweet spot for me. I have a couple of 2 3/8 that I really like and some 2 5/8 and 2 3/4 inch wide brims and a few wider. I have very few hats with less than a 2 3/8 inch brim. You will get used to looking at yourself in the mirror in what seems to you now like a wider brim. Other folks probably just see a hat on your head and don't think about how wide it is unless it is extreme. Many of them probably wish they had the gumption to wear a hat more often or at all.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I’m a polypetasus: I like most all hats: stingy to western and most everything in between...I can’t get comfortable under a derby.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

^^^^hard if not impossible to say without seeing pics. Head circumference is just one variable in overall proportion. Face morphology, hair, ears, neck, all factor in wearing a hat or a hat wearing you.
Let’s see some pics with your new 2 1/2” brim. Then we see, subjective as it is.
B
Ps: welcome to the lounge.

 

[Deeeluxe Definitely]

So, I took it for a stroll tonight. Probably inspired by the film noir I watched prior, I decided to wear it a little higher and cocked to the side. This has really made it perfect, in my eyes, and it has dispelled any fears I had. I even took the coat off and it didn't look too wide with just the shirt and vest. Could be that the tilt just makes it look better, or maybe I'm just acclimating.

I'm definitely not getting it cut down; if I somehow change my mind and want it narrower, I'll just get the (already substantial) flange increased.

Many of them probably wish they had the gumption to wear a hat more often or at all.

Indeed! A college roommate once admitted he wishes he had the courage and confidence to carry off a fedora. And mine at the time was tamer than what I've got now.

Let’s see some pics with your new 2 1/2” brim.
Ps: welcome to the lounge.

Thanks for the welcome! But, in the words of Limahl, I'm too shy shy for the time being. We shall see, haha

 

[Rmccamey]

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 is my sweet spot, but I do love a big curled brim western and my derbies, too! Wear hats for a while and you will soon find "your style". Most of us here venture beyond our comfort zone regularly. I don't have a Fez yet...but maybe...

I consider 2 1/2 inch the sweet spot for me. I have a couple of 2 3/8 that I really like and some 2 5/8 and 2 3/4 inch wide brims and a few wider. I have very few hats with less than a 2 3/8 inch brim. You will get used to looking at yourself in the mirror in what seems to you now like a wider brim. Other folks probably just see a hat on your head and don't think about how wide it is unless it is extreme. Many of them probably wish they had the gumption to wear a hat more often or at all.

 

[Frunobulax]

I think a fairly common aspect of being a hat guy is going through the phase of becoming comfortable wearing wider brims. I will bet if you wear it 'as is' within a few weeks the brim width will be a non issue

Give yourself some time to get used to wearing your new hat. I am sure after wearing it for a short period of time you will like the 2-1/2 inch brim.

Steven

All true statements.

Besides, when you're wearing it, all that matters is the comfort. Other folks have to suffer through my ugly mug on a regular basis, so the hat is inconsequential.