"Dressing Down" a Homburg

[Not-Bogart13]

With my new found interest in homburgs, my mind has turned to what I might wear with one. Trouble is, I have difficulty imagining a homburg with anything short of a full suit, if not a tux. By todays standard, a homburg is very formal.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has had success in pairing a homburg with less formal attire. I hardly ever wear a suit, so I'm trying to figure out if I can get more frequent use out of homburgs.

Thoughts? Rules? Experiences? Pictures?

 

[Brad Bowers]

I've never tried it, but I think if anyone can do it or has done it, it would be Dinerman. That guy can make anything work!

Brad

 

[David V]

I take it all back.

Cooler heads have swayed me.

 

[Torpedo]

It certainly does not require a tux (it did not at the time, neither), a suit would be appropriate; but, if you do not wear suits, as a matter of fact, having in account people are not in the least familiarized with those nuances of degrees of formality in hats, and would not recognize a homburg's formalness, you could wear it with less formal attire.

If you like it, why not?

Regards!

 

[Dinerman]

One of my favorite hats, an early '30s Mallory.
It can go either very formal or very casual.

 

[Michaelshane]

I wear mine with anything......

[/IMG]

 

[StylinLA]

Great question Not Bogart

I've been wrestling with the Homburg q myself. Love the style, but concerned about how fully dressed I must be to pull it off.

In the end, each of us creates our own style I think, and whatever is comfortable and feels right for us in the only way to know.

My own two cents is that I think a Homburg at least requires suit and tie.

A lot of our judgements on this classic hat no doubt come from film. I can't recall seeing any worn without the character being fully suited up- and usually with a top coat (which I can only wear for about two weeks out here in LA).

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Back in the day, Homburgs were also worn with country tweeds. Typically, these would be soft autumn colors (brown, tan, olive or rust) not blue, black or dove grey.

One way to dress-down a Homburg is to give it a bit of a pinch in the front. If you like feathers, you can add one to dress it down still further.

Finally, I like my Homburgs to have a pronounced “dip” in the front of the brim, like Dinerman’s. This will take it still another step closer to the less-formal fedora.

 

[Slim Portly]

I currently have three homburgs, two of which I have rebashed to make them more wearable with less formal clothing. The black homburg is a vintage Stetson Premier which now sports a teardrop bash, which, because of the height of the hat, is not at all obvious. The tan is a newer wool Dobbs Fifth Avenue which has both a teardrop bash, a lowered crown, and an obvious front pinch which in my estimation makes it even more informal. However, the taper, crown height, and especially the brim curl keep these two hats well within the boundaries of what is clearly a homburg, and I hope you will agree that while they may not be as "wearable" as a fedora, they certainly do not scream "formal" by any stretch.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Such good stuff already!!!

Dinerman; Great look. I'll have to give that one a go!
Wolfmanjack; Our tastes in homburgs is a perfect match, and the front pinch works better with for my face. Plus, I happen to have two autumn colored tweeds! :eusa_clap
Slim Portly; I love that all-black outfit. It doesn't get any cooler than that!

Keep it coming, guys! I'm eating this stuff up. Yum!

 

[carouselvic]

Slim, you always look good enough to bury.

 

[Slim Portly]

Slim, you always look good enough to bury.

A fine compliment, to be sure.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Great thread idea, Not-Bogart13! :eusa_clap

I, too, have a number of homburgs. I've only worn a homburg twice, though, and those were to weddings where I was wearing a suit. I may have to borrow some of the excellent ideas presented here to give my neglected homburgs some use!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[jamespowers]

Such good stuff already!!!

Dinerman; Great look. I'll have to give that one a go!
Wolfmanjack; Our tastes in homburgs is a perfect match, and the front pinch works better with for my face. Plus, I happen to have two autumn colored tweeds! :eusa_clap
Slim Portly; I love that all-black outfit. It doesn't get any cooler than that!

Keep it coming, guys! I'm eating this stuff up. Yum!

You know, looking at your avatar, I would just change the hat and see how that looks. What you have on would actually work fine with a black one or a gray one.
If formality bothers you then make sure to get a homburg other than black. A gray one or a brown one allow a bit more latitude in casual style. I love my brown one with a whole lot of different things from khakis and a button down shirt to a suit and tie.

 

[jamespowers]

Looking at some old pictures, it is obvious that some hat wearers even in the old days were not exactly the best dressed men around. :

I wouldn't worry about what you wear a homburg with.

 

[StylinLA]

NotBogart- while perhaps not in a suit, you do seem to have a major overcoat kinda thing going on- I think a Homburg would look great with those.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I usually wear that gray coat (actually, a pea coat) or a black overcoat in deep winter. The funny part is, in the avatar pic, I have a tan t-shirt underneath. lol Probably a little too casual for the homburg if I take off the coat. :eusa_doh:

I guess that's what gets me. If I remove the coat, I don't want the hat to suddenly seem like a bad choice.

 

[Flitcraft]

Slim, you always look good enough to bury.

Now there's a line worth stealing!lol

Seems like, at least in the U.S., homburgs were worn just as often with casual clothes.
I recently watched a documentary about Will Rogers and saw what looked like a bunch of homburgs worn by several men. Most had a center crease and were bashed with dents in the front.

In Oh Brother, Where Art Thou!, at least one of the convicts on the chain gang is wearing a homburg.
If you can wear one with prison stripes, you can wear it with anything!

 

[Mr. Paladin]

I have two homburgs; one a very formal style grey and another which I have tried to modify though not actually dress down. Here is a picture of it, not the best shirt color to go with but what I had on at the time I tried it on for size. It is a vintage Borsalino with a centerdent wider at the rear than at the front and with a moderate front pinch:

 

[scotrace]

I wear mine with anything......

[/IMG]

That looks like a sort of loden color? Perfect compromise - looks fantastic. What is it, how old, etc?