Lamentations of the Large-headed!

[gtdean48]

Call Oscar at South Street in Philly to see what he has =
http://www.southstreethats.com/

These folks have DC area stores as well = http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/

 

[RBH]

Welcome!
Give Mike Moore a holler, I believe he made a gent a size 8 1/4 this past summer.

 

[Joshbru3]

I think Art may have an 8 1/8 block... Give him a call as well. You can't go wrong with Mike or Art, they are incredible craftsman, but more importantly they are incredible people.

 

[danofarlington]

I'm in the mid atlantic, and I'd be okay with a day trip here or there if anyone knows of a destination hat store that would maybe have a few hats I could try on so I can get an idea of what works with my face/frame and what size and shape are comfortable for me. Baltimore? Philly? Richmond? Washington DC? Atlantic City? If anyone knows of any place, I'd appreciate it.


Jeff

You might try Hats by Haber in Silver Spring. Instead of being a regular store, it's in a house in a residential neighborhood, but I went there once and the lady had a good selection of nice Borsalinos and others. Bought one there myself. There are other stores in Georgetown, but last time I went they had fewer "men's dress hats" than Haber. So far as I know, Haber is the best store in the area. I have not kept up with recent retail developments though, as I've mostly bought on line for the past six years.

 

[besdor]

We carry a Biltmore in size 8 1/4. We had them make us a few last year .The style is a basic 2 1/4" brim similar to the Stetson Temple. There is no regular production company in the world that carries over an 8. We have had requests over the years for them but no one has the block . I wish Biltmore was still around to make us more.

 

[Johnny J]

Jeff, what about a nice 8 dart vintage style 1920s cap in your size?

thecapmaker@yahoo.com

 

[JonnyO]

There is a hatter in Baltimore that a friend of mine goes to, not sure of the sizes they have though. Hippodrome Hatters at 318 W. Baltimore Street.

 

[scottyrocks]

A good hatter will not make you a 'size 8 1/4' hat or what-have-you. He will have you measure your head, or in Art's case, send you a conformer and have you set the size and shape of your head into it. You return it to him, and he makes you a hat that fits.

Good hatters who don't use conformers will take your head measurement, in inches or cm, and make you a hat that fits. The 'size' mean very little in a custom hat..

 

[tonyb]

There is a little trick for effectively enlarging a hat block, and anyone who has read the Ermatinger book, or anyone who hasn't but is blessed with at least a drop or two of imagination, knows that trick.

There is very little demand for hats larger than 7 7/8, and not a heckuva lot for 7 3/4. So blocks and flanges in sizes larger than that are few and far between. And I doubt that the large majority of bricks-and-mortar hat retailers carry more than a few finished hats in sizes larger than 7 7/8. Hard to fault 'em for that, seeing how successful businesses rarely devote capital and shelf space to inventory that isn't likely to sell. I can see them wanting to have a few on hand, to accommodate as many customers as they reasonably can and thereby maintain their reputations as "go-to" sellers, but you aren't likely to find much variety in those super-large sizes.

I'd take the advice of those who live in your neighborhood and visit the sellers they've mentioned, just to see what they have. Trying on hats a size or two small might still give you a sense of what styles work for you. And then, should those stores have nothing that suits you (let alone fits), contact Art Fawcett or Mike Moore or another reputable custom hatter and see what he might do for you.

 

[jmak]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I've talked at length with a Art and I think thats the way I'm going to go. The next question is "to stingy, or not to stingy", but that is for another thread if it hasn't been written already (though I'm sure it has).

Jeff

 

[gtdean48]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I've talked at length with a Art and I think thats the way I'm going to go. The next question is "to stingy, or not to stingy", but that is for another thread if it hasn't been written already (though I'm sure it has).

Jeff

Stingy is a very casual style, IMHO. When getting a quality custom, getting a range of use is key to me. A brim from 2 3/8 to 2 5/8 can be both casual & dressy. Ribbon width would be the next consideration....Have Fun Jeff!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

If one has a large head a stingy will not look that great. To me you need to balance the size of one's head and body to the hat brim.
Choose hat based on your face shape

 

[Johnny J]

Ed is right. If you have Art make you a wider brim fedora you can always have it cut down later if you don't like it.

 

[Jacksondel]

Lamood big hats is the only place I have found that carry big sizes. its only an online company with no stores to try the hats on but they do carry big hats for big heads. I have a size 8 and got a linen fedora there, however I do not see it on the link below but they have a couple to choose from

http://www.lamoodbighats.com/dress-golf-big-hats/fedora-big-hats-1.html

 

[frussell]

Jeff - I've got a 7 7/8 normally, but have found a few 8's that fit over the years, so I feel your pain being outside the mainstream of hat sizes. I love the stingy brims, but on such a large melon, I find everything under 2 3/4" in brim ends up making me look like the old cartoon character Magilla Gorilla.



The advice on getting a wide brim first is sound advice. You can always have it cut down, but it's pretty hard to add brim on to a hat that is too stingy. Art is a master, but don't overlook the gentleman who has posted some wise words on this thread. I have a hat from tonyb's Tumwater Hats Co. that is one of my two very favorite hats that I own (one of Art's being the other of the two). Ordering anything at your size from a retailer sight unseen is dicey at best. Good luck to you. Frank

 

[Alex_H]

First off, I'm new here, Hi everybody!
Second, as you may have guessed, I have a large head, near as I've been able to measure, 65cm or the upper-range of 8 1/8th.. after being disappointed for YEARS at being unable to wear anything I see on store shelves, I finally started looking on the internet:

Being Canadian, I ended up getting a pair of Tilleys for summer and winter, and while I love them both (even though the summer one is smaller than the winter even though they're supposed to both be the same 8+ 66.5cm) along with a nice newsboy type cap from Hanna in Ireland which *just* fits.

Anyways, I realize that the Tilleys are just a step or two above super nice bucket hats, and while newsboys & driving caps are nice as well, none of these are a proper wide-brim fedora (and not a poor downtrodden trilby) which I hadn't been able to wear since I was a kid and occasionally allowed to wear one of my fathers..

Long rambling story short, I'm looking for resources for nice larger sized fedoras and other hats of the like, and just googling "big hats" pretty much only takes me to one of two sites which really only have driving-type hats that I'm not sure will fit and the one that advertises a Scala without calling it one that I'm pretty sure WON'T fit.. there's a third if I wanted a ball cap, but I don't.
Unfortunately the most recent thread on here relating to larger-size hats seems to be five years old, so it appears many of the sources have either closed or moved on from what I can tell.. so I'm hoping there might be some more current resources out there for an ol' big-'ead like me?. particularly in Canada if they're out there as shipping can just be nasty, particularly from the US.

I think if I had the money and the know-how I'd start my own company, seems an under-served market.

Sorry for the rambling, I haven't posted on any sort of forum in a LONG time.

 

[Frunobulax]

You may want to go custom. We have several custom hatters that are affiliated with the forum, but I think many may find you a challenge. Some of the newer guys may have limited equipment and may not be able to serve your needs. However, if you contacted an old line established hatter, you might have a good shot. Off the top of my head,

Peters Bros in Ft. Worth, TX, has been in business for a couple of generations
Gus Miller at Batsakes in Cincinnati has been making hats since the 1950s, and Batsakes has been in business since, like 1909 or something
JW Hats in Salt Lake City has been in business for some time
Optimo in Chicago could perhaps address your needs

As far as the commercial market, again, I'd think the older and more established the better. Perhaps they could help in getting you a mass market hat to satisfy your needs. Places like Bencraft or JJ Hat Center in NYC, Del Monico in CT, perhaps Henry the Hatter in Detroit, or Meyer in New Orleans.

Welcome to the Lounge, Alex. I hope you can find what you're looking for and join in the fun.

 

[Uhu]

I'd recommend custom, too. There's three ways to get a hat: vintage, mass produced current, or custom. I've personally ruled out modern mass produced hats, as in my experience they just don't compare to vintage in style or quality. Vintage limits your size and style to chance, and being on the edge of the bell curve decreases those chances. But if you order a custom hat you can get a high quality hat that suits and fits you. Costs about the same as vintage, maybe a little more but totally worth it. You'll get a quality hat for a lifetime, plus you'll have the hat you wanted, so you'll actually wear it.

By the way, I totally relate to your struggle, but with suits. I rarely find anything on the rack that fits, so I'm more or less forced to go to a tailor. "Forced" makes it sound like a bad thing, but a tailor made suit can't be beat.

 

[FedOregon]

I believe Bob Jesse just posted on his FB page that he can make hats from size 6-3/4 up to size 8-1/2. Check with the others, too... Vintage Silhouettes, Penman, Gannon, NW Hats... These are just the hatters I've used so far. There are more hatters who post here and/or have threads here in the FL.

https://www.facebook.com/3868330766...86833076678/10155730092866679/?type=3&theater

 

[hatsRme]

Panama Hats Direct.com also can fit you with a nice summer lid, too. I bookmarked a size 8-1/4 (65 cm!)