Hat Size Theory Question.

[GWD]

I'm a 7 1/8 and I have a 7 1/8 Long Oval hat that sits just a bit high on my head.

Would it be safe to say that a 7 1/4 Long Oval would be a decent fit?

 

[Dixon Cannon]

My two penny's worth is that hats do tend to shrink/expand depending on the environment. Storing the hat with a stretcher in place helps to hold the shape and stretch just a bit if necessary. With use, under normal wearing conditions, outdoor heat, head heat, head moisture - all will effect the fit and the hat will tend to conform to your head shape over time. A stiffer hat may take longer - mine are all very soft.

I've got smaller hats that expand nicely with the stretcher and then stay that way on my head due to the wearing conditions.

Good luck

-dixon cannon

 

[Stoney]

If the hat is a long oval then it's most likely vintage and as Dixon stated they tend to shrink.


You really need to measure your head in three ways to determine of you are wide oval , oval or long oval, extra long oval ect.

1) Obviously circumference gives you the size

2) then measure head length

3) and finally head width.

I've been searching for a post here that indicated what difference between length and width denotes a long oval extra long oval and so forth but I'm not having any luck finding it. DRAT!:eusa_doh:

Well this is half of the answer anyway. We just need to find the other part about how much difference between length and width ect.. Anyone remember that post?

 

[GWD]

One more time, this time with feeling.....

Let me re-ask the question. If a regular 7 1/8 hat fits me fine and a 7 1/8 Long Oval hat sits a tad high, would it be logical to think that a 7 1/4 Long Oval would fit fine?

The reason I'm asking is, I want to expand my search for hats that fit.

 

[rmrdaddy]

Not that I know much..
But, a long oval is just that. My understanding is that L/O guys who try to wear R/O hats have gaps on the sides. I think the 7 1/8 L/O is sitting high because the sides of the hat are more narrow, and as such getting "caught" on the sides of your head. Going to a 7 1/4 would likely result in a hat too big overall IMHO. I've also been led to believe that L/O hats aren't all that common in the grand scheme of things...
Come on GWD, I'm not buying ALL the 7 1/8/s....

 

[GWD]

Ahhhh but there is a certain private auction (cough) that has a very nice 7 1/4 long oval hat that I like very much! I'm just trying to think outside the box.

 

[rmrdaddy]

well shoot....
win the darn thing! :eusa_clap

and then get these:
http://www.thefedorastore.com/product-p/strips.htm

I'm sure you can wangle it to fit!!!

I'm placing an order for a few of the FedoraFelts soon. I happen to have acquired an interesting brick red hat that while listed as a 7 1/8, is a little roomy on my noggin. I'm thinking one of these tucked into the back of the sweatband should do wonders!

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

..If a regular 7 1/8 hat fits me fine...

Then you are a 7-1/8.

XOXOXO

 

[DrSpeed]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I suppose that if your head circumference is 7 1/8 your size is 7 1/8. The shape of your head determines if your a long oval or not, while the circumference remains the same (unless you perform some cranial surgery ).

 

[Woodfluter]

///I've been searching for a post here that indicated what difference between length and width denotes a long oval extra long oval and so forth but I'm not having any luck finding it. DRAT!:eusa_doh:

Well this is half of the answer anyway. We just need to find the other part about how much difference between length and width ect.. Anyone remember that post?

Hey Stoney -

I found that post a while back or else some other website that defined the categories, and copied it into my pda, but I don't have the link. Here's what it said, paraphrased.

The categories have a Length minus Width difference as follows:
Oval = 5/8"....................Regular Oval = 1-3/8"
Long Oval = 2-1/8"..........X-Long Oval = 2-7/8"
XX-Long Oval = 3-5/8".....XXX-Long Oval = 4-3/8"

I'm probably rated XXX, but maybe only PG. Anyway, you might need jumbo calipers to figure out the long and short cranial dimensions. Another way, recommended by a custom hatmaker I've been dealing with, is to cut out an oval in a piece of heavy paper (e.g. file folder) and keep trimming the hole until it fits your head perfectly where you want to wear your hat. Then you have everything you'd ever need to know. A bit of a bother, but you only need do it once.

- Bill

 

[Woodfluter]

Let me re-ask the question. If a regular 7 1/8 hat fits me fine and a 7 1/8 Long Oval hat sits a tad high, would it be logical to think that a 7 1/4 Long Oval would fit fine?

The reason I'm asking is, I want to expand my search for hats that fit.

Ummm....I'm still a little confused. Let me ask a couple of questions.

(1) Are the hats in question very stiff or quite soft and conformable?

(2) If you put the 7-1/8 LO gently on your head, is it pressing down on the sides more than the front and rear?

(3) If you push the 7-1/8 LO down moderately hard on your head, so that it conforms whether it wants to or not, does it sit at the correct height?

(4) Are you sure you know what the actual present-day circumferences of these hats are? Could the 7-1/8 regular oval have stretched a bit, while the 7-1/8 LO shrunk a tad? Could check this with a tape measure.

- Bill

 

[J.B.]

...I found that post a while back or else some other website that defined the categories, and copied it into my pda, but I don't have the link. Here's what it said, paraphrased.

The categories have a Length minus Width difference as follows:
Oval = 5/8"....................Regular Oval = 1-3/8"
Long Oval = 2-1/8"..........X-Long Oval = 2-7/8"
XX-Long Oval = 3-5/8".....XXX-Long Oval = 4-3/8"...

Correctamundo.

...cut out an oval in a piece of heavy paper (e.g. file folder) and keep trimming the hole until it fits your head perfectly where you want to wear your hat. Then you have everything you'd ever need to know. A bit of a bother, but you only need do it once...

Great idea. Kind of like capturing the "reading" from a conformer device?!

 

[Sir RBH]

Top ten hats

Good Day all

Just found this on the net
Its great to see that style, formality and tradition haven't gone by the way..

I was overwhelmed to see which hat is voted the NUMBER ONE HAT

www.10sitestosee.com/top-ten-hats

talk about ruining ones day..

RBH

 

[Justdog]

The categories have a Length minus Width difference as follows:
Oval = 5/8"....................Regular Oval = 1-3/8"
Long Oval = 2-1/8"..........X-Long Oval = 2-7/8"
XX-Long Oval = 3-5/8".....XXX-Long Oval = 4-3/8"

So what is the difference between a long oval 7 1/8 and a reg 71/8? I had someone tell me the inside oval is 8x 6 1/2 circ 22 LO but on a 7 1/4 I measured 8x 61/2 circ 22 1/2 Would the cicumference not be a bit longer on a LO or as your chart states only the depth of the oval is adjusted by the elongation in the subtraction of the width. Just cant see how it can have the same front to back measurement and the oval be off a whole 2 sizes.

 

[GWD]

I'm almost sorry I asked this question, I'm more confused now than before.

Now that I have my own hat blocks the question is almost mute. I'm fairly confident that any hat I find on either side of 7 1/8, Regular Oval or Long Oval, can be shrunk or stretched to my satisfaction.

Thank you guys very much for your efforts.

 

[Stoney]

Bottom line is size circumference is the same regardless of oval type.
The differences between a regular 6 7/8 and a 6 7/8 is the ratio of length to width. A Long oval has a skinnier , yet longer head as viewed from the top as compared to the standard size. The chart that Woodfluter kindly posted denotes at what dimensional difference one goes from a regular to long oval ect.

Bottom line.. measure the circumference of your head to get the size, then stream the felt near the brim and wear the hat immediately to conform the hat to your own head shape.

 

[Woodfluter]

I'm almost sorry I asked this question, I'm more confused now than before.

Now that I have my own hat blocks the question is almost mute. I'm fairly confident that any hat I find on either side of 7 1/8, Regular Oval or Long Oval, can be shrunk or stretched to my satisfaction.

Thank you guys very much for your efforts.

Hey there GWD -

It isn't as hard as it might seem. So you are some variety of 7-1/8. The circumference is then 7.125(pi). Now apparently that's a "hatter's pi", which is 3.145 instead of 3.14159, but in the elastic world of felt, probably irrelevant. So we're looking at a circumference of 22.41 inches. That should be the size measured by a tape measure placed around your head, where you wear the hat.

If you want to know your dolicocephaly, which is a fancy term for long-headedness, you need to know the length and width of your head. This is easily gauged with really large calipers if you happen to have any lying around in your top dresser drawer, but none of us do unless your parents were old-school anthropologists.

So your skull probably isn't going to change any time soon, and if you get an accurate tracing, it's good for life. Thus you might endeavor to fold over a file folder, cut an oval in that, open it up and fit it over your head, and trim it wherever it seems tight. After about 5 discarded attempts (in my case), you'll end up with a pretty accurate tracing of your head's outline where you customarily wear a hat. You can measure the maximum and minimum diameters of that and compare it to the schedule for degrees of ovality.

There ya go.

- Bill