Does this fedora look right on me?

[1961MJS]

Hi

A side view and quarter view would help in deciding what the hat does for (or to) you.

Later

 

[TipTop]

Ritch Rand, the high-end cowboy hat maker (and author of Cowboy Hat Book) says that you should always judge a hat scale viewing head to toe (torso and leg length consideration). After that, length of face and width of shoulders are indicators for crown height and brim width, respectively. Now this may be only for cowboy hats, but with these pics, the scale of your face and shoulders can be kept in mind, even discounting your overall height.

FWIW, I think the brim looks a bit wide on you, but I'd like to see it with a collared shirt. (like going to the tailor's with moccasins on when you are getting your pant cuff length set.)

Similarly, being used to western curled brims, I am having a hard time getting used to this newly rehabbed Churchill I just got back from Rands. I think it has a campaign hat feel to it from head-on. Maybe a bit more pencil roll would help, or, I could just walk around with my head turned sideways.

 

[danofarlington]

good point on the pinch! bring it in tighter in the front, and it'll give it a more classic look to go with the taller crown.

I was going to say, go broader with the pinch, as that's the style I prefer. But the dimensions are well within range of what fits his face. He could get other hats with a narrower brim, or higher or shorter crown. It's a nice dress hat for him.

 

[Duper]

This is a tough question. I think if you had just thrown this into the "new hat thread" you would have had a bunch of " nice lid, looks good" comments. I know I did not see anything particularly wrong and I am not sure a shorter brim would do the trick. I think as hat lovers we often see the hat we like rather than the full picture. Simple things like colour of the hat make a difference even when the hat dimensions stay the same. I have four Camp Drafts. I get lots of compliments on the Blue Grass green and nothing at all said about the fawn colour. When I put on the Silverbelly it seems a lot bigger to me than the others. When I asked my wife she said I am tall enough to make it work so that jives with the torso and leg length idea offered. I still have a thin face, but being 6 feet tall, maybe that compensates somehow. Also about the brim size and shoulder width I had never heard that one before but it makes sense. It is all about angles and shapes. I know I can't imagine going over a Camp Draft size brim.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

if anything you would suit a higher crown. Your wife's suggestion of it being too tall is just because she's not used to seeing you in such a hat.

bk

+1

The hat looks good on ya! Enjoy and be confident, Amigo!

 

[clossonrr]

@ jbucklin, yes it is the same hat you have, the heritage. Yours came out looking much better than when it was shipped to you, I might try and adjust the pinch as well

@ All, thank you all for your feedback, it has helped me decide to carry on and see how it goes. I actually wore the hat out tonight to the shopping store and I did get myself a nice compliment from a gentleman I crossed paths with.

1) I have wore a friends fedora with a 2'' brim and it fit me very well. I think I do agree that this hat with the 2 1/2'' brim may be a bit too big for me. I might shave this down or purchase my future hats with a 2 3/8'' brim, that may be more fitting.

2) I have pondered that I might be a long oval instead of a regular size but I have no way of testing this... no hat stores anywhere near, and when i did make it to a hat store all they had were regular sizes. If I was to order a long oval when I purchase my next hat online would that be a big mistake where i would have a useless hat if that was not my size or would i still be able to wear it?

 

[jbucklin]

@ jbucklin, yes it is the same hat you have, the heritage. Yours came out looking much better than when it was shipped to you, I might try and adjust the pinch as well.

If you trim it along the inner edge of the binding on the brim it will come to about 2 3/8". Also, to loosen up the reeded sweatband, hold the hat in front of you, top of the crown up. Place you you fingers on the inside of the crown and thumbs on the outside so hat they are pressing in on the brim. Grip it pretty tight and move the sweatband back and forth (like you're milking a cow, but horizontally). This will loosen it up and it will conform much better to your head. That is one stiff hat.

Also carefully steam the front of the crown, all around the area of the pinch and push in on those dents to make them larger.

It's a little freaky to do these kinds of things at first, but you'll be much happier with the hat after you've done it.

 

[clossonrr]

@1961mjs, requested a side view. I tend to think these beautiful hats always look awesome from the side

 

[TipTop]

@1961mjs, requested a side view. I tend to think these beautiful hats always look awesome from the side

FWIW, from profile, I think the scale of the crown overpowers (is too bulky for) your fine features (neck, nose, eyes, ears). However, a collared shirt and jacket would add to your "base" under the hat. Maybe this is one to wear when more "dressed up."

 

[scottyrocks]

In the side view, the hat appears way too big on your head. The back of the crown is significantly behind the back of your head. In your first picture, there is too much room at the sides. As someone mentioned earlier, all the details make a difference.

I love earth tones. I have mostly brown and 'tan' hats. The couple of grays I have make me look washed out. Color isn't a minor detail, but it will be a factor in whether or not to purchase a hat. Then there is brim width, and crown height and shape. And it is with that last factor, shape, where the finest details are, afaic.

I have three brown hats with almost identical dimensions. But the cut and shape of each one makes it look completely different on my head, at least to me. Other people looking at me probably wouldn't know the difference (I don't think my wife can tell which is which when I wear them, or even know that I have just changed from one to another).

Have you measured your head? I'd be curious to know what your circumference is, in either inches or cm, and then this hat's size. Measure your head around its most bulbous part. Start about an inch above your eyebrows and wrap around back across the largest part of your head.

The point of all this is that you may feel the hat looks too big simply because the hat is too big. I think this hat, one size down, may look completely different on and to you when you look in the mirror, and in photos.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

I agree with Ray's comments on the hat. Don't get rid of it, it doesn't look BAD, but a little less hat would balance things out more and look even better.

later

 

[gtdean48]

@1961mjs, requested a side view. I tend to think these beautiful hats always look awesome from the side
...

Looks like good symmetry to me. Wearing it will make you more comfortable with the brim width.

 

[clossonrr]

@scotty rocks. I'm at the office now and have no way of measuring but I seem to fall in between sizes. I have ordered Stetsons hats from the village hat shop in size 7 1/8. They were much too tight and sat just a little too high at that so I sent them back and got a
Modern whippet in 7 1/4 . Plus I have heard that hats tend to shrink some. This hat is 7 1/4 as well

 

[jbucklin]

Closson, did you get my PM?

 

[scottyrocks]

@scotty rocks. I'm at the office now and have no way of measuring but I seem to fall in between sizes. I have ordered Stetsons hats from the village hat shop in size 7 1/8. They were much too tight and sat just a little too high at that so I sent them back and got a
Modern whippet in 7 3/8 . Plus I have heard that hats tend to shrink some. This hat is 7 3/8 as well

This may sound incredibly ridiculous, but what about a 7 1/4?

I'm a 7 3/8, and a 7 1/2 floats on my head, and that's just one size up.