HEAD SHAPE?

[DOUGLAS]

Does anyone feel that the shape of their head inhibits the use of certain types of bashes? Have you ever put a hat on and no matter how it is originally styled it just doesn't feel comfortable and then ends up in the same possition as other hats. I am wondering if the shape of the head determines what shape a hat will eventually turn in to.
Any thoughts or has this already been discussed here.

 

[farnham54]

We started our threads at virtually the same time, and I think they compliment each other nicely. I look forward to the responses to this one.

Cheers
Craig

 

[nulty]

I think in the end it's in the eye of the wearer. I know there are rules about which type of crown, brim width,bash etc, etc. that look best with the corresponding head shape, width and all that but in the end when you put the hat atop your head and walk out the door, it has to feel right...

I am most comfortable with low crown <2 " brim fedoras . I think I look out of place in anything else. My wife thinks I look best in my 4.5" crown 2 1/8 " brim borsalino..which is not much of a stretch but I ask , what does she know?

So in the end I keep buying the same hat over and over again,

It goes back to the picture you have inside your head of what constitutes your style. complimented by a nice hat...there's that "it" your trying to get and even though each hat you buy is different, in the end,,,,yes,,,they always come back to the same shape or style..

Great Question Douglas

 

[scotrace]

I've just have a conformer on my head fror the first time. WOW. I must be a very long oval. This goes a long way toward explaining why the soft Borsalino I had (and finally sold) would never fit right. No matter how much I stretched it, it felt wrong, and the brim would *never* lie smoothly.

I'd bet head shape has a LOT to do with fit, comfort and hat shape.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Douglas

Based on your question, I wonder what type of hat Beldar would look best in.

How about this style

or maybe this

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

 

[DOUGLAS]

I understand completely Scotrace. My head is almost a perfect egg shape. The conformers don't lie. I have certain hats that fit but don't.
Nulty, What I am getting at is if there are stlyes of hats that you can not wear solely because of the shape of your head. For example I have several hats that I have worn for a long time and when I look at them they all seem to have the same crease or bash even if the didn't start that way. I know some of that could be a habit of holding the hats the same way all the time but part of it I think is due to my head shape.
Maybe it is just in my mind.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Very funny Budlol lol

 

[nulty]

I see your point Douglas and it's a good one. That's why a good custom hat maker like Art Fawcett will want to get your head shape before you drop a lot of dough on a custom job.

I always end up with a big lump inside the crown because I wear lower crown hats. I'm just a big fat head I guess. But I choose to ignore it and press on.

Bud maybe baldar would look good in something by Trojan?

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

I imagine, no matter what hat Beldar started out with, it would end up looking like the orange one. lol lol

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Douglas pardon my prior post, just seems like we need some levity around here today.
That having been said, I do concur with your hypothesis to an extent. I also feel that we all have a pre-determined idea of what OUR hat should look like and eventually, no matter how it starts out, it ends up in a style most comfortable to the wearer. JMHO

 

[DOUGLAS]

Yeah, Bud I know, There must be some way of testing this because taste and comfort will always pervail.

 

[epic610]

i have noticed...

that "long oval" sizes which they used to make (but somehow cannot find anymore) fit me much better than a standard size. in some brands, biltmore for instance, i have to get a 7 1/2 to approximate the comfort of a 7 3/8 long oval.

has anyone else noticed this?

 

[jamespowers]

that "long oval" sizes which they used to make (but somehow cannot find anymore) fit me much better than a standard size. in some brands, biltmore for instance, i have to get a 7 1/2 to approximate the comfort of a 7 3/8 long oval.

has anyone else noticed this?

You are quite right. You have to go up a size to get the fit right if the hat is not properly ovalized. I take an Extra Long Oval so it just pushes me up to a 7 5/8. That works for me. I have only found vintage hats in Extra Long Oval and they fit perfectly. [huh]
I guess the cookie cutter manufacturers now just keep costs down by keeping sizing to a minimum. :rage:

Regards,

J

 

[John in Covina]

Can't tilt back

My head shape seems to make it so I can't do that tilt the hat back on my head look. I think I have the genetic inheritance of many Scandinavians, the dreaded "Square Head" shape. Time for some Sven & Ole jokes!

 

[Joel Tunnah]

in some brands, biltmore for instance, i have to get a 7 1/2 to approximate the comfort of a 7 3/8 long oval.
has anyone else noticed this?

That's exactly what I did as well (same sizes too). I'm a 7 3/8 long oval, and I will only buy 7 1/2 hats now. Even a custom fitted hat I have has tightened up over time to the point where it needs a good stretchin'.

Joel

 

[DOUGLAS]

Do you gentlemen Feel that that inhibits the use of certain styles?

 

[ideaguy]

Yes-and a very good bit of deciphering why we get so frustrated putting the perfect hat on, only to have it "look wrong"- I take a 7 3/8 LO as well, and with a black beard, I have to be aware of the framing effect that will happen. An old art-school trick is to take a photo of yourself in a few hats that just don't do what they're told, enlarge the photos to decent size, & turn them upside down; the unfamiliar image will help force you to concentrate only on the composition, and not the subject matter, hastening a design decision. Yeah, upside down guys with hats on their noggin are a bit out there, but try it- the look that you are striving for may not be attainable at all, no matter how we try to conform to the hat...

 

[DOUGLAS]

That is a good point.I keep trying though.

 

[deanglen]

I believe my head shape is the long oval type. I tried on a couple of inexpensive bowler style hats and they were tight front and back, but gapped on the sides. My Span-Am War era campaign hat reproductions invariably show a front and back brim droop when I put them on, which frustrates me a bit because vintage photos of the time show many of those wearers with flat disc like brims, though some give evidence of the front and back droop I always get. I put it down to head shape. My head isn't round enough to keep the brim flat, the oval headshape must force it to warp. Nothing I can do about it. I think its not a bad characteristic for a fedora. A 7 3/8 regular sometimes feels tight front and back, but 7 1/2 seems to drop onto my ears.

dean

 

[farnham54]

Yes-and a very good bit of deciphering why we get so frustrated putting the perfect hat on, only to have it "look wrong"- I take a 7 3/8 LO as well, and with a black beard, I have to be aware of the framing effect that will happen. An old art-school trick is to take a photo of yourself in a few hats that just don't do what they're told, enlarge the photos to decent size, & turn them upside down; the unfamiliar image will help force you to concentrate only on the composition, and not the subject matter, hastening a design decision. Yeah, upside down guys with hats on their noggin are a bit out there, but try it- the look that you are striving for may not be attainable at all, no matter how we try to conform to the hat...

Genious--I've never heard that before but will definatley try it!!

Thanks!

Cheers
Craig