How do you keep a brim snapped down that wants to stay up?

[Donato]

I won a vintage Stetson Sovereign on eBay recently and the hat is in excellent condition - appears unworn - but the brim is up all around - front, sides and back. I'd like to keep the front brim snap down but it keeps popping back up. Will I need to use steam to do that or are some hats just made like that? Thanks.

 

[RBH]

Spray it down and wear it til it is dry.
Or better yet be the cool one and have a good looking fedora on during the next rain.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Can you post pictures (front, side, top)?

 

[KObalto]

Art Fawcett

recommends steam and curling it down ariund a Pringle's can or rolling pin. Works great.

 

[jake_fink]

Post a pic. It might be a homburg.


Hey, just guessing.

 

[Donato]

Can you post pictures (front, side, top)?

OK, thanks guys. I'll take some shots tomorrow in the light and post them. It doesn't look like a Homburg but then I probably would not recognize one if I saw one. If it is a Homburg, it might go back to OFAS.

 

[reetpleat]

I can't say I have ever fixed this problem, but I do know this. What keeps a hat snapped down is tension, not being steamed in place or anything like that.

I recently had a hat that I tried to iron the brim on. I can't even remember why. But when I did that I realized it had flattened out the bowl of the brim. I would assume it stretched the outer edge a little to create more of a tortilla than a bowl.

I was bummed as I thought it was ruined. So with nothing to lose, I wet the brim down, being careful not to get it on the crown or sweatband or ribbon. I just put water on my hand and smoothed it in till it was all uniformly wet. I then left it flipped up all the way around and left it to dry overnight.

When I did that, it shrunk a little and regained it's bowl shape. And voila, sharp snap down on the brim.

I think that would work for you. Check to see if your problem is that there is not enough bowl to the brim and if so, try this method.

 

[Donato]

Photos of the Stetson Sovereign

Here are some photos of the Stetson with the brim that likes to stay up, although today I noticed that after I manually snapped the brim down last night - without water or steam - it stayed down today. Do you think it's a Homburg?

Snapped down: (sort of)

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Your hat appears to be a Homburg, not a snap brim.

 

[Donato]

Your hat appears to be a Homburg, not a snap brim.

Which means that the brim is meant to stay up all the time, right? I don't like these kinds of hats, i.e., I do not look good in them.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Soak the brim. Work it from about the middle of the crown outwards, snapping it with your fingers until it gets to an acceptable shape. It'll never truly hit fedora status, but it can be pretty cool.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

The Homburg is not a style that i feel comfortable with either. That is why I tweaked mine.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Bud, That "tweak" is fabulous!!! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

The top one is a Resistol "10" and is mine. The grey one is a Stetson that belongs to a good friend. He saw mine and ask me to do the same to them. He calls it "THE TEXAS TREATMENT" Here are a couple more of his that have the Texas Treatment.
Beaver Brand

Stetson

 

[jimmy the lid]

Cool look, Bud. Kind of a gambler Homburg.

Cheers,
JtL

 

[Donato]

Soak the brim. Work it from about the middle of the crown outwards, snapping it with your fingers until it gets to an acceptable shape. It'll never truly hit fedora status, but it can be pretty cool.

OK, I guess I can try that, or just put it up for sale in the Classified section here and buy a real grey fedora.

 

[Marty M.]

The Homburg is not a style that i feel comfortable with either. That is why I tweaked mine.

Bud, that's absolutly fantastic. Great job :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap .
Marty Mathis

 

[tuco1963]

hi
i know this is an old post but how did you shape the brim to look so good

 

[John Galt]

Thanks for bumping this thread. I like the Texas treatment! Tuco, it's explained above. Get yourself a spray bottle, spray the hat down uniformly, and tweak it. The felt will be like clay when it's damp but not wet, and it will remember the shape. Wear it till it's dry for the best fit. A little steam will help the felt tighten up to the new shape. I always use both.


"Faint hat never won fair lady."