Full Brim vs. Stingy Brim

[Neophyte]

Alex, you did good for your first hat :eusa_clap. Looks well suited to your face and head shape.

It took me about five hats from Akubra before I found what looked good on me, so I always admire those who get it right on the first or second try .

 

[GWD]

I agree, the Whippet is a great hat, it's proportions are why they are so popular, this one in particular is my all time favorite hat next to my Schnoble (it's vintage btw). But, you can't always wear a Whippet!

To me my hats represent my moods. A stingy brim hat is much more playful and fun-loving or maybe a bit rebellious. Wider brim hats are more conservative and sophisticated or even solemn. Even the way you wear a hat can reflect different moods, that same Whippet with the snap brim up, tilted back would project a complete different mood.

Gentlemen, you make the hat, not the other way around.

 

[Alex]

Thanks a lot guys.
I've established my favorite style at this point would probably be a snap-brim with teardrop crease, and possibly a 2 1/4" brim. For what it's worth, here's a cheap stingy I picked up the other day (don't mind the background).

 

[John in Covina]

Here is the tutorial on matching a hat to the shape of a face from Miller's Hats:
http://www.millerhats.com/hatcare_index/hatfaces.html

 

[HHCassius]

I appreciate the above link as a good introduction, but I don't have a typical head, and so it took a few times going to my local hat shop, The Executive Shop, blessedly walking distance from my job downtown, and even buying the wrong hat, before I understood what works best for me.

There's the fact that I have a long oval head, which makes size not the only consideration, but fit. So I have to try a hat on to know how it'll work, otherwise, there may be gaps on the sides of my head while the front and back may be snug. And then there's where will it fall on your head; generally, most resources will have you measure your head size between 1/8 and 1/2 inch above your ears, so I'm guessing that's about where the brim should fall. Some people can wear hats with a center dent, which means the hat will sit higher on your head; this may even be most people, seeing as the center dent seems to be by far the most popular bash. Thus far, having only done this for little more than half a year, it seems that I can only work with teardrop (aka C-crown) or diamond crown bashes, which rest lower on my relatively tall head.

Then there's balancing the hat to your bodily dimensions of height and weight, your personality, your age, your maturity, your confidence...the list goes on and on. I'm sure for most, I'm preaching to the choir, but these are the considerations I hadn't <ahem> considered early on in my hat search.

My father-in-law, a regular hat wearer, both apple cap and fedora, generally felt that I would be good with a stingy brim, given my age and height, both relatively low. I think he had a point, as my first good hat, a Bailey Mannes straw (100% polypropylene fiber, to be exact) I picked up in Long Beach at the Village Hat Shop, is a stingy brim. For a summer hat, I think it fit the bill quite nicely. But for a hat to truly protect against the elements (function as well as form), a wider brim is necessary. So my next hat was a Jaxon C-Crown Crushable. I'm cheap, and the Jaxon hats may be better suited to a young and inexperienced hat budget, as they are inexpensive, but well-made for the price. My third and final fedora for 2010 was a Jaxon Diamond Crown Wool Hat. It took a special occasion, as well as a little more nerve to wear this one out, given that I'm a generally business casual guy, which doesn't necessarily rise to the level of wearing a nice hat in my limited experience. So I wore it to escort my wife to her Christmas party a few weeks ago, and while I didn't see too many people while wearing it from the car to the coatroom, I'll admit I dug the feeling of wearing it.

In conclusion, I'd say stingy brims are definitely moreso a fashion thing, something to look hip, stylish, or what have you. But a wider brim fits the function of a hat more adequately, something that will protect the wearer from sun or rain. So wider brims make more sense functionally, but stingy brims can be more stylish. I'd say each has its rightful place in the fedora world.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Good post, HHC. I'm still trying to figure out what category my face is in. (No cracks from those Loungers who know me!) I bought a Jaxon C-Crown about five years ago, and have made use of it many times...By the way, how is the hat situation down in Georgia?

 

[150719541]

Thanks a lot guys.
I've established my favorite style at this point would probably be a snap-brim with teardrop crease, and possibly a 2 1/4" brim. For what it's worth, here's a cheap stingy I picked up the other day (don't mind the background).

Hi Alex ¡¡¡ I like this hat, works well on you ¡¡¡¡¡

 

[monbla256]

I appreciate the above link as a good introduction, but I don't have a typical head, and so it took a few times going to my local hat shop, The Executive Shop, blessedly walking distance from my job downtown, and even buying the wrong hat, before I understood what works best for me.

There's the fact that I have a long oval head, which makes size not the only consideration, but fit. So I have to try a hat on to know how it'll work, otherwise, there may be gaps on the sides of my head while the front and back may be snug. And then there's where will it fall on your head; generally, most resources will have you measure your head size between 1/8 and 1/2 inch above your ears, so I'm guessing that's about where the brim should fall. Some people can wear hats with a center dent, which means the hat will sit higher on your head; this may even be most people, seeing as the center dent seems to be by far the most popular bash. Thus far, having only done this for little more than half a year, it seems that I can only work with teardrop (aka C-crown) or diamond crown bashes, which rest lower on my relatively tall head.

Then there's balancing the hat to your bodily dimensions of height and weight, your personality, your age, your maturity, your confidence...the list goes on and on. I'm sure for most, I'm preaching to the choir, but these are the considerations I hadn't <ahem> considered early on in my hat search.

My father-in-law, a regular hat wearer, both apple cap and fedora, generally felt that I would be good with a stingy brim, given my age and height, both relatively low. I think he had a point, as my first good hat, a Bailey Mannes straw (100% polypropylene fiber, to be exact) I picked up in Long Beach at the Village Hat Shop, is a stingy brim. For a summer hat, I think it fit the bill quite nicely. But for a hat to truly protect against the elements (function as well as form), a wider brim is necessary. So my next hat was a Jaxon C-Crown Crushable. I'm cheap, and the Jaxon hats may be better suited to a young and inexperienced hat budget, as they are inexpensive, but well-made for the price. My third and final fedora for 2010 was a Jaxon Diamond Crown Wool Hat. It took a special occasion, as well as a little more nerve to wear this one out, given that I'm a generally business casual guy, which doesn't necessarily rise to the level of wearing a nice hat in my limited experience. So I wore it to escort my wife to her Christmas party a few weeks ago, and while I didn't see too many people while wearing it from the car to the coatroom, I'll admit I dug the feeling of wearing it.

In conclusion, I'd say stingy brims are definitely moreso a fashion thing, something to look hip, stylish, or what have you. But a wider brim fits the function of a hat more adequately, something that will protect the wearer from sun or rain. So wider brims make more sense functionally, but stingy brims can be more stylish. I'd say each has its rightful place in the fedora world.

You make good points in all the above but I still think the "stingey vs normal" brim thing is more of a generational thing unless you are a Thelonius Monk or a detective in a '70s police drama ! I've not seen many of them on folks much older than mabe 30 except for jazz musicians and such. JMHO

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

2 1/4" Brim

GWD, I like that size brim on you the best. You pull that off very well. Cheers!

 

[daizawaguy]

Disagree respectfully with stingy`s as a trendy thing - or at least they have been around since the 20`s, no - a shorter brim?

It`s a very personal thing I would say, how it fits your face.

Here is a 2" VS...

 

[HHCassius]

I guess you could say I'm between things. At this age (35), some would consider me too young to appropriately wear a wider brim. And while I don't generally follow sports, what about Vince Lombardi?!

Or Tom Landry?!

 

[Neophyte]

If you're too young for a wide brim, then I am in big trouble :eeek:.
At the age of 19, the average brim width of my hats is right around 3'' lol!

 

[GWD]

Frank Sinatra,

 

[monbla256]

I guess you could say I'm between things. At this age (35), some would consider me too young to appropriately wear a wider brim. And while I don't generally follow sports, what about Vince Lombardi?!

Or Tom Landry?!

Thos were not considered "stingy" at that time. That was the current style and type of Fedora then. Narrow lapels, narrow ties, narrow hat brims, as was the style in the 60s

 

[GWD]

Thos were not considered "stingy" at that time. That was the current style and type of Fedora then. Narrow lapels, narrow ties, narrow hat brims, as was the style in the 60s

Stingy was always stingy.

 

[Chinaski]

As noted earlier, Dguy, you are an acknowledged "stingy master." That style fits your face incredibly well, but you also have some incredible stingies.

I should have also included GWD in the stingy master category as well. I think this one looks great! GWD, what hat is this one?

 

[HHCassius]

Please consider what I'm up against. Let's be frank. As a black man, I'm trying to avoid the "gangster" look popularized in the video "Gangsta Party" with Snoop, Pac, and Dre. Then, think about all the non-stingy brims they call "pimp" hats on eBay. Thankfully, there are actual hat wearers like Ne-Yo and Mos Def in the hip-hop world as far as examples within the bounds of popular culture that I can look to in the current era.

So whichever I choose, I'm trying to avoid looking trendy with stingy brims, as well as avoid that other look. So I'm pretty much going for a classic look, one that perhaps hearkens back to the 60s and earlier. And while I see a few younger men on here, I see more 40s to 60s patrons of this board.

 

[HHCassius]

If you're too young for a wide brim, then I am in big trouble :eeek:.
At the age of 19, the average brim width of my hats is right around 3'' lol!

I would also wager that you're a might taller than I am at a generously-spoken 5'5". Hence, the considerations of height, weight, body type, age, etc., etc.

 

[bolthead]

As noted earlier, Dguy, you are an acknowledged "stingy master." That style fits your face incredibly well, but you also have some incredible stingies.

I should have also included GWD in the stingy master category as well. I think this one looks great! GWD, what hat is this one?

I agree.

I also totally agree with your post Dguy.

 

[scottyrocks]

I should have also included GWD in the stingy master category as well. I think this one looks great! GWD, what hat is this one?

I believe this one is a 2 1/4" brim. I barely consider a 2"er stingy. A true stingy is less than 2". Or is 2" the borderline with the category of stingy?