If you could only wear one hat, what color would be ideal?

[Fastuni]

The most versatile of all is light grey with a slightly brownish (more towards the reddish end, not green) hue... there probably are many ways to describe variations of this (taupe grey, clay grey, cinereous, copper grey etc.).

Fills the function of any grey or brown hat. I recommend it with a medium ribbon (3 cm).

 

[Gromulus]

The most versatile of all is light grey with a slightly brownish (more towards the reddish end, not green) hue... there probably are many ways to describe variations of this (taupe grey, clay grey, cinereous, copper grey etc.).

Fills the function of any grey or brown hat. I recommend it with a medium ribbon (3 cm).

I concur. I have several dress and casual fedoras and while Silverbelly surely makes for a versatile thin ribbon, I also vote for a warm gray for an all around dress /business casual fedora. I had Art make me such a hat with a 5 1/2" open crown, 2 1/2" brim, and 1.5" black ribbon in granite gray. This hat goes with more of my clothing choices than any other.

 

[OddHatter]

Yes brown or grey, but if only one then grey, oh hang on...no brown, no grey, definitely grey, oh...I can't decide, but definitely one of them, oh hang on what about silverbelly...!

I think I see now why I have so many hats!

LOL - I love this response as it very quickly summarizes what I so long-windedly (is that a word?) said in my original post!

Gentlemen, thanks for all the insight. It looks like grey is trumping brown about 3:1, so that gives me a pretty good feel on which way to go. Again, thanks for taking the time to share your experience with me. As I'm only about a 4 hour drive from Chicago, maybe I'll take a drive some saturday and check out Optimo, if they're open, to get a feel for what they have and what they can do. I can't seem to get their website to work on my browser (mozilla) so...

But that Adventurbilt still looks good...

Thanks again, all!

Dan

 

[LuvMyMan]

"Silver Belly" (all the way)!

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Hard to choose one...

 

[Seb Lucas]

I choose mid brown, wide brim. The whole thing depends on what you wear. I wear mainly black and never suits and rarely anything but jeans, so the fact my hat doesn't match doesn't bother me. I like the look of brown with black.

 

[VetPsychWars]

I see two alternatives, ignoring "buy more than one hat".

Seeing as you are going to be wearing a lot of different colors, I pick either light grey (which might be "silver belly", depending on who made the hat) or a Stetson Premiere Stratoliner in Cornhill. This color is fabulous and matches almost everything. The only thing in my wardrobe I wouldn't wear it with is my seal-brown A-2 flight jacket... and even then I could get away with it. The Cornhill is the ultimate neutral non-color. But the light grey won't fight with tans and browns either.

Tom

 

[wine65]

I'm with the grey fans. Personally I have an Optimo Silverbelly and wear it all the time. You can't go wrong with Optimo for a great fitting hat made with superior materials and workmanship.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

I see two alternatives, ignoring "buy more than one hat".

And you'll end owning 50 hats and still be undecided what to wear

 

[Bad Co]

Silverbelly is my choice if your only going to have one hat . But the theory of only having one, now that the bug has bitten you is not reality

 

[Zombie_61]

For me it would depend on how/where/why you're going to wear it. What I mean is, to me gray fedoras generally look more like a "dress" hat, while brown fedoras generally look more "casual". I have no idea why I think this way, it's just an opinion I've formed over the years that I couldn't possibly justify.

 

[alanfgag]

As with most articles of clothing, the most versatile color for a hat is black.

 

[skydog757]

I own quite a few hats, but I wear my light grey/black band most often. But I do agree with Zombie_61; a light brown works better in a knockaround type of context.

 

[Feraud]

Tough call but I tend to grab this cream colored denim cap from Johnny J.

 

[Mystic]

If I could only wear one hat......

I would most likely be to bored and depressed to care much what hat I was wearing.....shakeshead

 

[Brother cavefish]

For me it would depend on how/where/why you're going to wear it. What I mean is, to me gray fedoras generally look more like a "dress" hat, while brown fedoras generally look more "casual". I have no idea why I think this way, it's just an opinion I've formed over the years that I couldn't possibly justify.

+1

 

[KingAndrew]

Anything you get at Optimo will be beautiful, although you will pay for it. I generally feel like a light gray is the most versatile color (although I prefer ribbons in colors other than black). However, you might want to take a look at Optimo's "oxblood" color, the color Johnny Depp wore in the movie Public Enemies. It has personality and strong hints of purple and red, yet I find it goes with pretty much everything I wear. Their silverbelly is also special, since it is the undyed belly hairs of the beaver and unbelievably soft.

To me the casual vs. dressy thing isn't so much about color. It has much more to do with crease (porkpie always seems more casual), ribbon width (wide is generally dressier and thinner is more casual), brim finish (raw edge is less dressy than welted or bound), and the proportions of crown/brim/your face. Try on lots of different styles at Optimo and you will begin to see how high and how tapered you like your crowns and how wide a brim looks right on you.

 

[gqmagic]

SilverBelly seems the most versatile to me, followed by Dove Grey.

 

[1mach1]

+1 on the silverbelly

 

[Monte]

SilverBelly seems the most versatile to me, followed by Dove Grey.

I thought my Stetson 25 OR was silver belly in the shop—but I realized it was light gray or dove gray, with no undertones of any other color, which I generally like to give some interest or added dimension. It just seems to make the overall color richer to me. I've sold small ones with feelings of loss because they seem harder to come by.

To answer the quintessential color question. I really like my blue gray royal, but I'm easily swayed by a new hat. Any "rich" gray with undertones of another color would be great.