Larger Head Fedora Crown Proportions

[RickIndy78]

Hi,

Great to be here with fellow hat fans.

I am finding ordering a taller crown Raiders of the Lost Ark Fedora in 62cm difficult to match my head/face size proportions - the crown looks too short and small. I waited a year to receive one from a well known Indy hat maker and it was disappointing upon receiving, especially since I sent photos and measurements etc. I see that Herbert Johnson advertises straight sided and graduated blocks that seems like it would remedy this. Should I contact the hat maker and formally complain? Do most fedora makers not cater to this issue with larger hat sizes?

 

[Who?]

You can only get so much hat out of a blank.

In order to put it into the crown, you have to take it from somewhere, and that somewhere is the brim.

I hope this is right, if not, I’ll remove it.

 

[belfastboy]

Hi,

Great to be here with fellow hat fans.

I am finding ordering a taller crown Raiders of the Lost Ark Fedora in 62cm difficult to match my head/face size proportions - the crown looks too short and small. I waited a year to receive one from a well known Indy hat maker and it was disappointing upon receiving, especially since I sent photos and measurements etc. I see that Herbert Johnson advertises straight sided and graduated blocks that seems like it would remedy this. Should I contact the hat maker and formally complain? Do most fedora makers not cater to this issue with larger hat sizes?

If you ordered a custom hat, gave the hatter the dimensions you wanted...height of crown, profile of crown, width of brim and you did not receive a hat that matched your spec then yes you have cause to send it back. I am a custom hatter and to me that is a baseline commitment......meeting the customers desired spec.
Note though, a straight sided crown (no taper) will visually appear larger than a tapered crown. So two crowns at 6" open, a full squared crown will appear larger than the same 6" tapered.

 

[RickIndy78]

You can only get so much hat out of a blank.

In order to put it into the crown, you have to take it from somewhere, and that somewhere is the brim.

I hope this is right, if not, I’ll remove it.

I figured this was the case and probably would need a larger blank to compensate. It is frustrating because the Raiders brim can’t afford to lose felt and there needs to be enough up top for a deep center crease/bash.

The search continues…

 

[RickIndy78]

If you ordered a custom hat, gave the hatter the dimensions you wanted...height of crown, profile of crown, width of brim and you did not receive a hat that matched your spec then yes you have cause to send it back. I am a custom hatter and to me that is a baseline commitment......meeting the customers desired spec.
Note though, a straight sided crown (no taper) will visually appear larger than a tapered crown. So two crowns at 6" open, a full squared crown will appear larger than the same 6" tapered.

Thank you for the information! Very interesting.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

You can only get so much hat out of a blank.

In order to put it into the crown, you have to take it from somewhere, and that somewhere is the brim.

I hope this is right, if not, I’ll remove it.

I figured this was the case and probably would need a larger blank to compensate. It is frustrating because the Raiders brim can’t afford to lose felt and there needs to be enough up top for a deep center crease/bash.

The search continues…

A lot depends on the hat body the hatter starts with. Sometimes I can get dress felt that works great with my preferred tall crowns and wide brims. Sometimes it’s a matter of deciding if I want to compromise on crown height or brim width…these days I’m compromising less and just not going with a hat that isn’t what I want.

One of the reasons I’ve ordered so many hats made from Sunrise’s nutria felt is they usually start as larger hat bodies than Winchester’s yellow string (XL) beaver hat bodies. Even at sizes 61.5 to 62cm with an open minimal tapered crown of 6” or more I can usually get 3 ¼” or more from the brims. I also have a hatter who looks out for oversized hat bodies for me so I can often get Winchester’s beaver felt to work for my dimensions.

If the hat does not have the specifications you requested I'd send it back.

 

[jlee562]

Point of information: when you say you sent measurements, did you request a specific crown height, or did you send the hatter your height and leave the hat's final specs to their discretion?

 

[RickIndy78]

Point of information: when you say you sent measurements, did you request a specific crown height, or did you send the hatter your height and leave the hat's final specs to their discretion?

Nothing specific regarding crown measurements. Just photos wearing a brim hat and general description of head size and body type. I figured they would make sure the crown proportions were scaled properly. I won’t make this mistake again.

 

[belfastboy]

Nothing specific regarding crown measurements. Just photos wearing a brim hat and general description of head size and body type. I figured they would make sure the crown proportions were scaled properly. I won’t make this mistake again.

That is hard because that which you refer to is a very very subjective choice. One man's acceptable crown height is another man's horror show. I make custom hats and in my experience there is NO standard for proportions....it is largely in the eye of the beholder. I spend a lot of time with clients, especially new hat wearers, coaxing them into slightly taller crowns and slightly wider brims. Sometimes I win, sometimes my efforts are in vain.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

That is hard because that which you refer to is a very very subjective choice. One man's acceptable crown height is another man's horror show. I make custom hats and in my experience there is NO standard for proportions....it is largely in the eye of the beholder. I spend a lot of time with clients, especially new hat wearers, coaxing them into slightly taller crowns and slightly wider brims. Sometimes I win, sometimes my efforts are in vain.

And sometimes his customer keeps wanting taller and wider and the felt can only stretch so far!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Nothing specific regarding crown measurements. Just photos wearing a brim hat and general description of head size and body type. I figured they would make sure the crown proportions were scaled properly. I won’t make this mistake again.

Ahhh, that does change things. It’s hard to complain that the hatter didn’t get it right when no specifics were provided. I suspect the original Indy hats were close to your 5 ½” open crown height. I understand the disappointment. It this might just be an expensive learning experience. I’ll also echo Robert’s comments on how differently we see hats as far as what looks best. One of the great things about working with the same hatters is they get to know your style and preferences.

 

[Who?]

It’s hard to fault a hatter for not being able to see into your mind.

 

[Rmccamey]

It’s hard to fault a hatter for not being able to see into your mind.

Whaaaaaaa....my wife does that to me all the time!