Colour coordination help

[DragonJade]

I'm about ready to spring for my first fedora and would like a little advice on colours. I have a khaki trench, wear black suits and mostly white shirts.

I'm thinking of getting a Fed IV, either carbon or brown. Which colour would work best? I'm thinking that the carbon would look too dark in comparison with the trench, but would look great with a black suit. On the other hand, the brown would probably go better with the trench as it's in the same colour family (kind of) as khaki, but still pretty dark and may not work as well with a black suit.

Your opinions would be appreciated.

If anyone has any pictures showing the carbon or brown along with a khaki trench or black suit, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[johnnycanuck]

If you wear black shoes I would go for the Grey. If you wear brown go for the brown. But if you are trying to match the Trench coat The moonstone would go nicely. My two cents worth.
Johnny

 

[DragonJade]

Thanks.

I wear black shoes to go with the suit. I don't think I'm fashionable enough to wear brown shoes with a black suit.

 

[Mr E Train]

Moonstone.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Agreed, the lighter Moonstone is more versatile and matches better across a wide range of colors. Carbon Grey is VERY dark (it often appears black in anything less than very bright light) and will go fine with black, blue, and grey, but not so well with khaki or other earthtones.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Carbon grey has a bit of a blue tone to it, in addition to being dark. It won't work with the trench.

If your willing to expand on color choices, why not black. It goes with everything. Or, if you know your way around replacing a ribbon, go for a brown hat with a black ribbon.

You best bet, which takes you outside Akubra, is to find a mid-to-dark gray that's earthier, or a tan felt with a black ribbon.

 

[daizawaguy]

If you wear black shoes I would go for the Grey.
Johnny

Agreed. Shoes, belt and Fed should be same tone in my opinion. Thats the center of the accessories. Seems the brown would add too much of a casual tone, especially on a black suit. But it does depend how you wear it - if you are trying to get a formal/casual look - grey=formal; brown=casual (or more at least)...that`s my view...enjoy

 

[westinghouse]

Charcoal scarves work great with camel colored coats in wintertime. I say charcoal or dark grey.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

OH! Some other advice I was given on this very forum about this sort of thing; As long as you coordinate with either the coat or the suit/ jacket, you can't go wrong. Thus, if you must have only one hat for colder weather, coordinate with the coat, because the hat is generally removed with it. But for non-coat weather, you match the jacket.

This is not the limit of possibility merely the safe bet.

 

[Joeyeah_right]

Of course, you could always go for one of each
I did, I have a carbon grey FedIV Regular and a brown Deluxe, so one of them will match whatever I am wearing!

 

[DragonJade]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'd love to get two (or even three for that matter), but I'll have to see if my budget will stretch that far. The economy has not been good for my income level the last six months.

I think I'll go for the moonstone to match the trench. It'll be trench weather for the next month or so, and I'll need something to help keep the light rain off. When the weather gets warmer and less wet, the carbon will be great with the suit.

The brown I guess can wait a little. I'll keep my eye out in the sales corner and on ebay. I did see a beautiful chocolate brown one last month, but unfortunately it was too big for my 7 1/8 head.

 

[cybergentleman]

my opinion is that a hat is a piece of outerwear like a coat.

it should be able to stand alone or work in conjunction.

so a dark brown like the christys adevnturer for example can work alright with dark colors or lighter ones too.

i personally think if you try to coordinate too much you will look absurd. a hat is not a necktie.

 

[Michaelshane]

i personally think if you try to coordinate too much you will look absurd. a hat is not a necktie.

I rarely match a hat with anything.I just grab one and go.

 

[elvisroe]

my opinion is that a hat is a piece of outerwear like a coat.

it should be able to stand alone or work in conjunction.

so a dark brown like the christys adevnturer for example can work alright with dark colors or lighter ones too.

i personally think if you try to coordinate too much you will look absurd. a hat is not a necktie.

Agreed. Although I also tend to agree with johnnycanuck that if you're going to coordinate with anything then go with your belt and shoes.

I wear my carbon grey fed iv with a kaki-green jumper and have also matched it with a camel coat. It goes OK but as Not-Bogart13 says the hat does have a hint of blue.

I'd be wary of going black as not everyone can pull it off without looking like a gangster or a rabbi. If you're thinking black I'd try a few on first to see if you can get away with it!

 

[DragonJade]

I'd be wary of going black as not everyone can pull it off without looking like a gangster or a rabbi. If you're thinking black I'd try a few on first to see if you can get away with it!

I did have a think about black, and there's no way I could pull it off without looking like a gangster wannabe.

In all honesty, I think the Tawny Fawn would match the trench the closest because of the yellow tone of the trench, but I'm not feeling the love for the Tawny Fawn at the moment, and it would look very monochromatic. Not sure if my oriental skin colour goes with being dressed head to knee in the same yellowy/khaki/brown is a good thing, either.

Here's the trench in slightly different lighting to give an idea of its colour:

 

[cptjeff]

Moonstone would probably work best IMO. That color works with pretty much everything.

The trouble is that you're trying to compromise between an extreme earthtone and an extreme black/gray neutral. Generally, they don't match well.

So I would go with a moderate of either camp- the moonstone or the Tawny. Even better would be an earthtone with a black ribbon. Brown with black ribbon. Or something that's just unique and doesn't try to tie in to either piece. That's where white and cream hats come into the picture, or blues, reds and greens.

Actually, green would be quite nice. Green with a black band. Akubra makes a nice heather too, but unfortunately I don't think they make Feds in that color.

So yeah... Sorry, that really wasn't much help at all, was it?

 

[johnnycanuck]

Either the Federation in moonstone http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?view=51&returncat=Fedora+Hats&returnpage=0 or the Squatter in Willow green http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?view=58&returncat=Fedora+Hats&returnpage=1 would go well with a black suit and/or the jacket.
Johnny

 

[DragonJade]

Thanks, everyone. I'll have a bit of a lie down and have a think on this.

 

[Bird's One View]

I have moonstone and carbon. I prefer carbon unless it is hot and sunny. Both shades read lighter in real life than they often do in photos. (Carbon is a shade or two lighter than oxford gray suiting.) Also both have a slightly cyan cast. I would prefer a truly neutral or even a slightly warm gray.

 

[cybergentleman]

options

for inexpensive and variety of choices and modifications, you could try out the christys.

if you want the akubra fed....based on what i have seen i'd say moonstone is your best bet for color, albeit a tad dressier.

i can tell you that the sable color that christy's offers is quite dark. based on this, don't discredit the brown hat. brown may seem casual but depending on the felt pouncing could look sharp with almost any color suit other than black.

and let's face it- black suits are inherently more dressy, so you'd probably go with a more formal hat anyway (dressier felt quality i mean)


if you want light:
I think earth tone gray felt is pretty versatile, maybe more so than the blue hue'd gray you so commonly find.


if you want dark hats, i'd say a deep brown, it goes with navy, grey, and of course tan and green suits. black suits go with grey or black hats...and you aren't wearing the hat inside anyway, if it's dark enough brown it wont clash with the black suit as much as you might think.