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

[tropicalbob]

I've observed this as well, and I always wondered why there wasn't more of an abundance of sizes over 7 than under 7. My size is a 7, the gray area in my view.


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

Also, a great many servicemen were only 18 or 19 years old. When my dad served in the Pacific theater he was called "the old man" by the guys in his platoon because he was 22.

 

[tropicalbob]

It's literally impossible for me to find vintage hats in my size - 7 5/8.

Try 7 7/8.

 

[Hat bum]

Am I missing something? Heads are getting bigger yet there are many small size vintage hats. Well surely they wouldn't be small size if heads had not got bigger.
And as the larger head is a recent phenomenon, you are not likely to have as many vintage large hats.
So the reason that there are so many smaller vintage hats is because in vintage times there were less big heads, apart from egoists, film stars & politicians.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Zombie_61]

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...

That, and the proliferation of "junk" foods in recent decades. I know they existed long before the terms "junk food" and "empty calories" were coined, but the amounts in which they're produced these days are staggering. Sometimes it seems half of the people in the U.S. are making a sincere effort to eat healthier and get more exercise in an effort to live forever, and the other half are eating themselves into early graves.

Semi-related to this thread, a few months ago I read an online article which stated the results of a study that had been performed to determine whether or not humans are or are not actually larger than we used to be. As in real estate, their results showed "Location, location, location!" appeared to play a large role. For example, they determined people in North America are, on average, definitely larger than their ancestors, while in some areas of South America and the southern Pacific the people either showed no measurable growth or were smaller. The article included no conclusions or possible reasons for these results, so make of it what you will.

 

[Dan Allen]

I find the comment about the WW2 soldiers being on the small side interesting. I read an article some time back written by a French journalists who spent time with a U.S. military unit in Iraq. He wrote that though he was above average height and weight for an average Frenchman he was dwarfed by virtually every American GI in the unit. It makes you wonder if the increase in head size in not across the board...I know the over all weight in not.

 

[Frunobulax]

I find the comment about the WW2 soldiers being on the small side interesting. I read an article some time back written by a French journalists who spent time with a U.S. military unit in Iraq. He wrote that though he was above average height and weight for an average Frenchman he was dwarfed by virtually every American GI in the unit. It makes you wonder if the increase in head size in not across the board...I know the over all weight in not.

It's also an all volunteer service now. And yeah, it does seem that plenty of the guys I see on base are big fellas. Glad their on my side!


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Redfokker]

We had some HUGE Samoans on base when I was in the USAF in the mid 1970s.

Take a tour of any 18th century warship still on display and you get a whole new perspective on how small everyone was back then. My forehead hitting bulkheads is a testament to this.

 

[89quattro]

Try 7 7/8.

Try 8 1/4.

Interesting that I haven't checked the forum for several months, and spotted this new post. I was just about to spend an hour or so steaming/stretching/cleaning my stable of 64 cm Campdraft's to get them to fit better.

Vintage will never happen here.

Shout out to my brother big heads hatsRme and tropicalbob...

 

[tropicalbob]

Try 8 1/4.

Interesting that I haven't checked the forum for several months, and spotted this new post. I was just about to spend an hour or so steaming/stretching/cleaning my stable of 64 cm Campdraft's to get them to fit better.

Vintage will never happen here.

Shout out to my brother big heads hatsRme and tropicalbob...

When I was in high school I read a book called "Odd John" by Olaf Stapledon that explained everything for me. It's about a boy who's born with a large head who slowly comes to discover that he's one of the first of the next generation of human-kind. I find evidence for this theory every time I turn on my car radio.

 

[viclip]

We had some HUGE Samoans on base when I was in the USAF in the mid 1970s.

Take a tour of any 18th century warship still on display and you get a whole new perspective on how small everyone was back then. My forehead hitting bulkheads is a testament to this.

Clothing outfits as well as armor collections (including helmets) that I've seen in museums look like they were sized for young teenagers, but of course those items formerly belonged to adults who were far smaller than the average North American these days.

 

[tropicalbob]

Diet undoubtedly has a great deal to do with it, but so also does genetics. My grandfather, father, and brother all had the same hat size as me, and I've long thought it's also an ethnic thing. In fact, I remember having this discussion with several people in a pub in Dublin one time, and it was asserted that the Irish had the largest heads. This could be true: I think of Debbie Harry and Liam Gallagher, both with great noggins.

 

[hatsRme]

Diet undoubtedly has a great deal to do with it, but so also does genetics. My grandfather, father, and brother all had the same hat size as me, and I've long thought it's also an ethnic thing. In fact, I remember having this discussion with several people in a pub in Dublin one time, and it was asserted that the Irish had the largest heads. This could be true: I think of Debbie Harry and Liam Gallagher, both with great noggins.

Wow, Bob! That never dawned on me, but now that you mention it, the two guys I know around here with a US size 8 are both of Emerald Isle descent. While our town is rooted in Irish ancestry, the diversity here is now unrivaled even by a large city (somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty (60) languages spoken here). We need to start taking and compiling dome measurements...



And a shout out right back atcha, @89quattro! I was hoping you'd catch this one...

 

[Moviehats]

I think all those vintage hats belonged to kids or young adults who out grew them. That is why I don't take orders on vintage hats. Too hard to find the size and color the client wants.

 

[Dan Allen]

I find the comment about the WW2 soldiers being on the small side interesting. I read an article some time back written by a French journalists who spent time with a U.S. military unit in Iraq. He wrote that though he was above average height and weight for an average Frenchman he was dwarfed by virtually every American GI in the unit. It makes you wonder if the increase in head size in not across the board...I know the over all weight in not.

Just ran across the article mentioned if anyone would be interested in reading it

https://www.warriorlodge.com/veterans/french-soldiers-view-us-soldiers-afghanistan/

 

[Feraud]

I always assumed the more average sized were used more into adulthood and wore out. Interesting question..

 

[fabiovenhorst]

A vintage head on which to hang your vintage hats!


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

Mine is a 7¹/4 a slightly big vintage head

 

[LuvMyMan]

That, and the proliferation of "junk" foods in recent decades. I know they existed long before the terms "junk food" and "empty calories" were coined, but the amounts in which they're produced these days are staggering. Sometimes it seems half of the people in the U.S. are making a sincere effort to eat healthier and get more exercise in an effort to live forever, and the other half are eating themselves into early graves.

Semi-related to this thread, a few months ago I read an online article which stated the results of a study that had been performed to determine whether or not humans are or are not actually larger than we used to be. As in real estate, their results showed "Location, location, location!" appeared to play a large role. For example, they determined people in North America are, on average, definitely larger than their ancestors, while in some areas of South America and the southern Pacific the people either showed no measurable growth or were smaller. The article included no conclusions or possible reasons for these results, so make of it what you will.

Well that does it...proof!!! Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars...(location, location, location)....LOL!

 

[GHT]

We had some HUGE Samoans on base when I was in the USAF in the mid 1970s.

Of course you did. Samoa is fertile ground for breeding battleship Rugby players. It's 50 years since I went up against them, I can still remember the bruises.