Long oval/xtra long oval

[PhilS]

I just heard from Art Fawcett that I am between a long oval and an extra long oval. As a practical matter, what does that mean when looking at vintage hats? If a hat is not an LO or XLO, will it not fit? Will it look wrong? Can a hat be reshaped?

One thing is pretty clear to me -- if I want a hat to look really right, have it made.

 

[jamespowers]

I just heard from Art Fawcett that I am between a long oval and an extra long oval. As a practical matter, what does that mean when looking at vintage hats? If a hat is not an LO or XLO, will it not fit? Will it look wrong? Can a hat be reshaped?

One thing is pretty clear to me -- if I want a hat to look really right, have it made.

That's sort of a hard question to answer but I will relate my experiences as an extra long oval.
For me I can get by with a 7 1/2 Extra Long Oval but good luck finding one. I usually settle for a 7 5/8 in vintage if I can find one.
What a 7 1/2 regular oval means to me is a hat that fits fine side to side but not front to back. That is where the long oval helps---front to back. I suppose you could stretch the hat to fit and I have.
What the next size up usually means is that you have extra room on either side of the hat. It will fit fine front to back but there will be space on either side of the hat. Sometimes they conform with wear and other times they just won't.
Where you cannot stretch to fit is in the stiff felt hats like top hats, bowlers and some homburgs. These hats have to be the correct size or one size up to fit right because there is no give to conform to your head. Don't forget this with boaters as well.
I hope that helps and yes, custom hats fit much better---especially his.

regards,

J

 

[Stoney]

You can also re-block a hat in the correct size(circumference) using a LO block.
If you are in between a LO and ELO, reblocking on LO with the sweatband still in will probably work for you. I am a 6 3/4 LO to 6 7/8 and re-blocking on 6 3/4 with sweatband in works for me. If you can't find a block on e-Bay , check with Jimmy Pierce, who has some for sale. It's always an option.

 

[cooncatbob]

Round oval is 5/8 inch longer than it is wide
Regular oval is 1 3/8 inches longer than it is wide
Long oval is 2 1/8 inches longer than it is wide
X-Long oval is 2 7/8 inches longer than it is wide
XX-Long oval is 3 5/8 inches longer than it is wide
XXX-Long oval is 4 3/8 inches longer than it is wide

 

[scotrace]

It means vintage hats are unlikely, my friend.

 

[blade runner]

The problem with getting a vintage hat or something "off the rack" when you have a long oval head is that the hat will not fit quite right. If it is "your size", it will be a little short from front to back and a little wider than your head (prettty obvious, if you think about it). When you put one of those on your head, it stretches the hat from front to back and that causes the brim to turn up on the sides. If it fits front and back, you will have a little extra space on the side. The best way to avoid this problem is to have it custom made by someone like Art (which is in my plans for the near future). Otherwise, you can try to stretch one to fit, but I have had mixed results in my few attempts at that. Unfortunately, it is like being left-handed. There is no one out there catering to our particular physical requirements.

Ned Flanders opened the Leftorium. When will someone do the equivalent for the LO?

 

[RBH]

It means vintage hats are unlikely, my friend.

I agree!

 

[PhilS]

Oh geez

I agree!

So the Panama Bob, the Akubra Campdraft, and the Borsalino that i have on order are basically wasted dough?

 

[RBH]

So the Panama Bob, the Akubra Campdraft, and the Borsalino that i have on order are basically wasted dough?

Not what I meant by agreeing!
I meant its is hard to find some larger sizes in LO much less Extra LO in a vintage hat.
The Akubra usally form fits very well to the wearers head. If you need to, a hat jack can be very handy in getting a hat to 'long' up a bit.

 

[MississippiLong]

I usually settle for a 7 5/8 in vintage if I can find one.

umm...this has probably been covered somewhere around here, but I wear a 7 5/8 why can't I find anything vintage in this size? Everything is WAY too small.

fftopic:

 

[Mike in Seattle]

umm...this has probably been covered somewhere around here, but I wear a 7 5/8 why can't I find anything vintage in this size? Everything is WAY too small.

People were smaller in general and had smaller heads in specific terms.

 

[MississippiLong]

People were smaller in general and had smaller heads in specific terms.

........no way. I'm a small guy, but my head is huge!

 

[Stoney]

I think Mike is referring to the general notion that the average size of a persons head is larger today than it was say 50 years ago. Some say that this is an evolutionary step, while other site a communist conspiracy to sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids through the use of fluoride in the tap water. I tend to agree with the fluoride theory as we've seen the following results within two generations:

Larger craniums.

Longer lasting teeth.

Diminished common sense.

 

[Levallois]

People were smaller in general and had smaller heads in specific terms.

If you look at old Sears Robuck or Monty Ward catalogs from the late 1890s to the 1930s, the largest size they list for hats is 7 1/2. I would think that hat shops around this same time period would carry the same range of sizes in retail hats. So 7 5/8 inch was not even available way back then and anyone with a melon this large would need to have one custom made.

John

 

[indycop]

So the Panama Bob, the Akubra Campdraft, and the Borsalino that i have on order are basically wasted dough?

I got a hat from Panama Bob and I am an XLO. True it will look all wavy because the brim distorts but mine is at Art's getting shaped so it will wear correctly, so it's not a waste if you get it shaped.

 

[jamespowers]

umm...this has probably been covered somewhere around here, but I wear a 7 5/8 why can't I find anything vintage in this size? Everything is WAY too small.

fftopic:

You can't find them because I have them all.
I know 7 5/8 hats existed long ago because I have found them. They made them. You probably had to order them or some such thing but every major manufacturer made hats in that size. I have bowlers from that era in 7 5/8 and even a strange early fuzzy Stetson in that size---from the factory. You just have to look. Or beg someone to sell you one that you know has them. Not me by the way.

 

[ideaguy]

Yeah, but if you know a guy with a Jiffy Steamer & a stretcher that works pretty well, I would get in touch with him and have him do work fer nuttin. I think he might, knowing that you're a not bad mug who could use a hand.

On the other hand (?) sending the best hats over to Graham at Optimo would be the best advice I could give- not much $$ for a consummate pro to stretch your hat. Have the guy you know stretch the "lesser" hats.

 

[feltfan]

Keep an eye on the classifieds section of this site...

 

[jamespowers]

Keep an eye on the classifieds section of this site...

Or you could just send them over to me. I am like the planet Jupiter. Large hats seem to gravitate to me. lol

 

[ideaguy]

I'm a 7 3/8 LO; and have grown my hair out to unheard of lengths for a mug of my age, but hey,man, I'm a biker & and artist (not that kind, wise guys...)
I've had to stretch almost every hat that I've bought in the last 2 years- some just a little, some.... use a Jiffy Steamer & an aluminum stretcher- the 2-half dome kind; put a lot of tissue in the crown, feed the sweatband, and really take my time doing it. Takes a few days to really set it right.
Then the brim; because I don't have the equip., my company, AD HOC, goes to work; steam the brim really deeply top and bottom, and then place a number of pretty heavy weights all around the brim while lying on a flat surface ( the hat, not me. sheesh. not a grammarian, and get killed around here)
by weighting the brim, the waves are taken out; steam and move the weights a few times, so as to get an even pressing, and then the brim should be pretty flat, and ready for da business in front and back. Poor man's way of doing it, but it works very well. If the brim is really wavy, steam the bejeezus out of it and give it a good tug, all the way around-pull that felt until either you or the felt makes a sound, then stop quick, sit down, and then put it on the flattening table.
Try it- it works. And- Jiffy still makes steamers, lookem' up; worth it if you have a lot of hats, the little monster really throws steam out.
good luck, and Stoney- you're right about the conspiracy to melt our minds....