Fedora Brim Size In 1920's

[Joshbru3]

Hello everyone,

I Had a question. I know that stingy brims were mostly a late 50's through 70's thing, but some people consider a 2 inch brim, stingy. I most definately wouldnt. I think if a brim is under 2 inches, then it would be considered stingy. I own a couple magazines from the 20's and it seems to me like a good portion of the fedoras worn by men in those magazines had 2 or 2 1/8 inch brims. Obviously there has always been large brimmed hats, but was it more popular to have a 2 or 2 1/8 inch brim in 1920's america? Bowlers and Boaters dont have a brim much bigger than that. I mean a bowler has a curled brim, but just measuring end to end, they usually dont go more than 2 1/8 or 2 1/2 inches. Was the larger brim (2 1/2-3 inches) more popular in the 30's and 40's?

 

[ScottF]

Hello everyone,

I Had a question. I know that stingy brims were mostly a late 50's through 70's thing, but some people consider a 2 inch brim, stingy. I most definately wouldnt. I think if a brim is under 2 inches, then it would be considered stingy. I own a couple magazines from the 20's and it seems to me like a good portion of the fedoras worn by men in those magazines had 2 or 2 1/8 inch brims. Obviously there has always been large brimmed hats, but was it more popular to have a 2 or 2 1/8 inch brim in 1920's america? Bowlers and Boaters dont have a brim much bigger than that. I mean a bowler has a curled brim, but just measuring end to end, they usually dont go more than 2 1/8 or 2 1/2 inches. Was the larger brim (2 1/2-3 inches) more popular in the 30's and 40's?

All of the '20s fedoras I've seen have been 2 1/4" or larger, but I would probably have ignored anything shorter.

Anything under 2 1/4" looks stingy to me.

 

[Blackthorn]

All of the '20s fedoras I've seen have been 2 1/4" or larger, but I would probably have ignored anything shorter.

Anything under 2 1/4" looks stingy to me.

Me too.

 

[tnitz]

20's Brims

Based purely on Harold Lloyd films through the 20's (I can't say for certain I have ever held a 1920's fedora), the brims on the soft felt hats are wider. They are fairly rare, in his films, anyway, mostly filmed in LA, until the latter part of the 1920's, increasing in popularity until gaining a majority by his 1930 Catspaw talkie. Also, the most common crease, by far, is a center dent with side pinches or plain center dent. Others are seen, but these appear to be the most common.

It's easy to forget today that the introduction of the soft felt hat into men's wardrobe was rather rebellious. It was an intentional introduction of a "casual" hat into a formal environment. The same is true of what we today call a business suit which then was a sporting outfit meant to rebel against a morning suit. Soft crowns with casual creases (as opposed to a bowler, itself originally a casual hat), short soft crowns (as opposed to a top hat), wide, often dropped, brims (as opposed to the curled brims of top hats or bowlers) all spoke to a casual aire. I know today we often talk of a "dress hat" of soft felt but it's rather ironic.

Also, my impression is that the clothiers of the films were trying to make a statement - Older or higher status individuals in the films often wear a center dent felt hat either with rolled brim (what we call a Homburg today) or dropped brim. It appears to me that the center dent without any other pinches was considered dressier, perhaps because it suggested a newer hat.

I haven't seen any narrow brims in those films that I can think of.

 

[rlk]

As always there was a wide range of styles at any given time. Look at the famous C&K ads of 1929-30, many are in the 2"(or slightly over) range. I have an early Dobbs Cross Country with a 2" brim and 6" crown. I think that 2"-2-3/8" would have been common up to the late 1930's for a city hat. I haven't seen any that I think would be under 2" however.

 

[danofarlington]

Based purely on Harold Lloyd films through the 20's (I can't say for certain I have ever held a 1920's fedora), the brims on the soft felt hats are wider. They are fairly rare, in his films, anyway, mostly filmed in LA, until the latter part of the 1920's, increasing in popularity until gaining a majority by his 1930 Catspaw talkie. Also, the most common crease, by far, is a center dent with side pinches or plain center dent. Others are seen, but these appear to be the most common.

It's easy to forget today that the introduction of the soft felt hat into men's wardrobe was rather rebellious. It was an intentional introduction of a "casual" hat into a formal environment. The same is true of what we today call a business suit which then was a sporting outfit meant to rebel against a morning suit. Soft crowns with casual creases (as opposed to a bowler, itself originally a casual hat), short soft crowns (as opposed to a top hat), wide, often dropped, brims (as opposed to the curled brims of top hats or bowlers) all spoke to a casual aire. I know today we often talk of a "dress hat" of soft felt but it's rather ironic.

Also, my impression is that the clothiers of the films were trying to make a statement - Older or higher status individuals in the films often wear a center dent felt hat either with rolled brim (what we call a Homburg today) or dropped brim. It appears to me that the center dent without any other pinches was considered dressier, perhaps because it suggested a newer hat.

I haven't seen any narrow brims in those films that I can think of.

This is very interesting. I like to see the reasons behind styles, to understand them better. I also am persuaded by the "rebelling against" logic, because every new decade wants to dump the old stuff and come up with something new, rebelling against the old. That's the very reason to have a new thing. It happens in music as well as fashion. So this observation, or interpolation, is very thought-provoking.

 

[buler]

Check out the brim on the Mallory hat on the left in this 1910 ad!!

B

Mallory1910


Also great 2 pages of Mallorys 1927

Mallory1927

 

[rlk]

1930 crowd

 

[danofarlington]

Well, I don't see any stingy brims in that group. But the bald guys in the first and fourth rows look like they desperately need hats.

 

[rlk]

Well, I don't see any stingy brims in that group. But the bald guys in the first and fourth rows look like they desperately need hats.

Remember the crowns are large, there are virtually no wide brims and plenty that are stingy and typical lack of snap brims.

England 1923:

 

[Richard Warren]

These from 1920 catalog with brim size given, courtesy of ScottF:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=47775

 

[rlk]

These from 1920 catalog with brim size given, courtesy of ScottF:

As I look over photos of hats of the 20's there is a general reduction of brim size(soft city hats) over the decade. Foreshadowing the repeat of the trend in the 50's.
And then in the usual cycle brims widened in the later 1930's into the 1940's.

Lots of straws in 1925

 

[Dewhurst]

It trends. But it also varies.

Geez, that is the honest summary, but it seems so brief.

Very interesting information in this topic.

 

[mayserwegener]

Only 1 of my 6 1930s or older Hückels has over a 2 inch brim. Also 5 of 6 have modest crown height.

I think overall (not my Hückels) the crowns were on the tall side with varied taper.

 

[daizawaguy]

Well, I don't see any stingy brims in that group. But the bald guys in the first and fourth rows look like they desperately need hats.

Now that`s interesting Sir! I would have said the opposite.

The guy in the middle, lowest circled, has to be a stingy no? I can spot a few others. Ok, not below 2" (but quetionable), but I would say "Stingy" nontheless...

 

[Joshbru3]

THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!! All of your answers and input was awesome. I guess after reading everything, I gather that wide brims were the norm, but in the 20's so were 2 inch brims. Based on the pictures in this thread and vintage magazines, a 2 inch brim or a 2 1/8 inch brim was not considered stingy back then, just another "Style" of the day. One thing that I did notice was that many times when someone did wear a 2 inch brimmed hat in 1920's pictures, it was often NOT snapped in front. Obviously people did snap their brims and the evidence is in the advertisements posted by rlk, but it just seemed that from the photos, it was a common style to wear a 2 or 2 1/8 inch fedora un-snapped. Again, thanks everyone for their input and very valuable knowledge.

 

[daizawaguy]

it was often NOT snapped in front. Obviously people did snap their brims and the evidence is in the advertisements posted by rlk, but it just seemed that from the photos, it was a common style to wear a 2 or 2 1/8 inch fedora un-snapped.

Just my personal take on this...but I guess the fedora then was still making the transition form the `bowler` type hat, and the flanging techniques and style were still in transition...

 

[danofarlington]

wide brims

Speaking of wide brims, today I saw a few minutes of a 1948 movie called Silver River with Errol Flynn. It was a Civil War era movie in which Flynn wore a wide-brim cavalry type hat. That really looks good! An inspiration for today's hat wearers. We don't have the swashbuckling star anymore. I guess he was one of a kind. I always like to see his movies because of his spirit and style.

 

[AXL DEMOCRACY]

Huge Errol Flynn fan! I know exactly what film and what hat you are talking about! You should check out a film called "Never Say Goodbye" - he wears a cool fedora in that one!
Not sure if the film is still available. I have access to it on the VHS.

 

[pimple]

what the amazing picture!! love it.