Here is why there are so many tiny and so few large vintage hats

[HanauMan]

This may be of interest.

The basic German WWII helmet was produced in six sizes, ranging from extra small (52cm) to extra large (63cm). A quick glance of the production figures shows that 65% of helmets produced were for the small to medium sizes (52cm - 57cm) and 35% for large sizes (58cm - 63cm). 40% of produced helmets (the largest production run, followed by 20% for 58cm - 59cm 'modern head sizes') were for the 56cm - 57cm sizes. This does seem to infer that many people did indeed have smaller hat sizes in the past.

BTW, I'm referring to the liner sizes here, not the shell sizes.

Source: German Helmets.com

 

[40Cal]

Glad to know I have an un-evolved 1940's sized head!

 

[hatsRme]

Glad to know I have an un-evolved 1940's sized head!

As long as your knuckles don't drag on the ground when you walk, you're good Robert!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

The average Civil War soldier was <30 yrs old, an average of 5' 8" tall, & weighted <150# at the beginning of the war before he was starved to death.

 

[alanfgag]

I recently spent a fine afternoon with Josiah Jenkins who has worked at Jedlicka's Saddlery in Santa Barbara since the 1940s. As you might imagine, he has a story or two to share about the hat business. Today they sell mostly Hatco products. He took me back to his office to see his prize 1950s Shudde Bros. 7XCB. Below is a photo of a modern era ordering card showing the size breakdowns for orders with Bailey Hat Co.

 

[moehawk]

A couple things that made me wonder...
At what approximate age does a boy's head attain it's adult size?
At what approximate age in the Golden Era was a boy expected to dress like a man?
I've not seen fine felt or straw hats labeled as "boy's medium" or "youth large". Perhaps some of the large amount of smaller hats on the market were meant for the better dressed tween and teen boys. Who seem to not wear nice hats a lot these days.
Just a thought.

 

[T Jones]

Maybe people are just getting fatter. According to the article below the obesity rate has risen 25% since the 1950s to 2018. Fast food, lack of exercise, sitting and watching TV and playing on smart phones rather than being physically active....

Obesity Rates: Then And Now

Approximately 10 percent of U.S. adults were classified as obese during the 1950s. In 2011 to 2012, however, the CDC reported approximately 35 percent of U.S. adults were obese; the prevalence of obesity among American adults has more than tripled within the last six decades.

National surveys of childhood obesity weren't recorded before 1963; however, the rate of childhood obesity in the U.S. began to rise in the 1980s. In 1980, 7 percent of children ages 6 to 11 were obese; in 2012, the rate was nearly 18 percent. In adolescents –12 to 19 years of age– the increase in obesity rates was more striking, climbing from 5 to 21 percent during the same period.

What Caused the Rise in Obesity?
Many reasons account for the rise in obesity rates in the U.S. The average restaurant meal is four times larger than it was in the 1950s. Similarly, the size of American-manufactured dinner plates has increased nearly 23 percent, from 9.6 inches to 11.8 inches, since 1900. A study published in a 2012 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research describes the subconscious bias to consume more food when served on larger dinner plates. These larger portions at restaurants and at home, increased added sugars; improved technology resulting in more “screen time” spent in front of computers and television; stress and lack of sleep, and even the temperatures of our homes and workplaces are documented reasons that promote American’s growing waistlines.

The complete picture underlying the obesity problem is complex and includes roles for genetics and dysfunctional reward systems meant to regulate food intake.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/384722-how-much-have-obesity-rates-risen-since-1950/

 

[Frunobulax]

Glad to know I have an un-evolved 1940's sized head!

A vintage head on which to hang your vintage hats!


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[40Cal]

A vintage head on which to hang your vintage hats!


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Thanks , Jim. Next time someone tells me I look old , I'm gonna tell em, " I'm not old .....just have a vintage head."

 

[LuvMyMan]

Makes perfect sense.

In a few decades, our offspring will look like this:

Oh? I sure think this guy lives down the street....LOL!

 

[LuvMyMan]

Improvements in diet as time goes on is the main answer not evolution of larger heads as evolution takes a lot longer. Adult size is determined largely by diet prior to puberty. It’s a sad but extreme case but it’s borne out by the current news story of children allegedly imprisoned abused and starved by their parents in California.

That was such a sad thing to learn about on the news. Makes me wonder how those "parents" think and live? Lucky now those children are rescued. My heart sure goes out to them.

 

[LuvMyMan]

If smaller hat sizes were more in demand in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, it would make sense that those sizes were produced in larger quantities than the less-requested larger sizes. Fewer large-sized hats then means fewer vintage large-sized hats now. It's just an off-the-top-of-my-head theory, but it could explain why we larger-headed folks are having difficulty finding vintage hats that fit us.

Well after chatting with my Husband that wears a 7 1/2 L.O. size, we both wish that more hats in nice vintage shape were floating around. It has been a long time since finding a near new never worn vintage for less then an arm and leg price...and at our age we need hold onto arms and legs...LOL!

 

[LuvMyMan]

At least at HatCo a medium is made on a size 7 1/8 block and a large on a 7 3/8 block. Medium at one time was the average size of a Mans head. Now large is the average size.

Jeff

I was thinking that a size 7 1/4 was about more an average size right now, but you could be right on the 7 3/8 size? A long time ago my Husband could wear a size 7 3/8 L.O. but not now....humm....might be weight gain?

 

[scottyrocks]

Maybe people are just getting fatter. According to the article below the obesity rate has risen 25% since the 1950s to 2018. Fast food, lack of exercise, sitting and watching TV and playing on smart phones rather than being physically active....

https://www.livestrong.com/article/384722-how-much-have-obesity-rates-risen-since-1950/

So maybe the term 'fathead' is now less an insult, and more a descriptive observation.

 

[GHT]

So maybe the term 'fathead' is now less an insult, and more a descriptive observation.

Quite, but as for shortening Richard Cranium, best left alone.

 

[Guttersnipe]

. . . Interestingly, I've heard that American GI's during WW2 were of smaller stature at the time, partly because they were the generation that grew up during the Depression, ergo they weren't as properly nourished as they could have been. Whether this is true or not, I see a lot of military clothing of the era in smaller sizes

Diet in childhood and adolescence was part of it, but there were other factors too. People ate less vitamin or calcium enriched food, were more active, and generally ate smaller portions / fewer calories. In sum, that all meant people were slimmer and slightly shorter. Also, servicemen -- particularity junior enlisted men -- were often very young and had not finished growing. It was actually quite common for boys who left home at 18 for the service to return in 1945 or '46, as fully grown 20-somethings, to find they had outgrown all their civilian clothing.

The average Civil War soldier was <30 yrs old, an average of 5' 8" tall, & weighted <150# at the beginning of the war before he was starved to death.

If memory serves, on average, union soldiers were 24 years old, 5'8" tall, and weighed 142 pounds at the time of enlistment during the Civil War.

 

[mayserwegener]

Here is an early 1900 JHS label from a Hat Carton. 60cm was the largest size listed but don't ask me why the French Point size 6 1/4 instead of 6 1/2. You can faintly see the quantity numbers under some of the cm sizes.

You have to factor in that some men wore their hats high on their heads especially Stiff Felts. Also if you had a larger size than 7 1/2 / 60cm you might be forced to wear it that way or have it modified / conformed.

 

[mayserwegener]

This may be of interest.

The basic German WWII helmet was produced in six sizes, ranging from extra small (52cm) to extra large (63cm). A quick glance of the production figures shows that 65% of helmets produced were for the small to medium sizes (52cm - 57cm) and 35% for large sizes (58cm - 63cm). 40% of produced helmets (the largest production run, followed by 20% for 58cm - 59cm 'modern head sizes') were for the 56cm - 57cm sizes. This does seem to infer that many people did indeed have smaller hat sizes in the past.

BTW, I'm referring to the liner sizes here, not the shell sizes.

Source: German Helmets.com

I am not sure how they would translate to Stiff or Soft Felt Dress Hats fit wise. I don't believe German Hat Companies made Soft Felt or Stiff Felt Dress Hats above 60cm maybe 61cm. If they did it was a special order.

 

[redlinerobert]

Nice to know that if I was born 100 years ago I'd basically be in a side show....

 

[steur]

Glad to know I have an un-evolved 1940's sized head!

+1!