Looking For a Formal Fedora

[Bungholio]

Rogera:

Pardon my insolence, but what are the options? Imagine you're educating your five-year-old on the issue, since the two of us probably share a similar level of knowledge, when it comes to dress hats.

 

[Bamaboots]

Bungholio, I'm not prone to make assumptions but I'll assume you are a grown man. As such, insolence or rude behavior is inexcusable. If you had ever followed any of Rogers's posts on hats, you couldn't help but notice he has a great deal of knowledge about hats, dress or otherwise. If you are not along to accept the advice given here, troll somewhere else.

 

[jlee562]

A silk finish hat has a certain elegance that a standard finish hat does not. It has a bit of shine, not unlike a top hat. The finish requires extra processing, which means a small uptick in price. I would say this is more formal than a standard finish.

Velours can be formal or not.

 

[JackieMatra]

A hat is a little more than just another piece of clothing!

Isn't it curious that "a little more than" means the precise opposite of "little more than"?

 

[ChiTownScion]

Might I suggest an alternative? A bespoke fedora made to your own specifications by one of the affiliates of the Fedora Lounge, Art Fawcett. I own two, and they are well worth the money and the effort.

http://vintagesilhouettes.com/

 

[JimWagner]

Bungholio, I'm not prone to make assumptions but I'll assume you are a grown man. As such, insolence or rude behavior is inexcusable. If you had ever followed any of Rogers's posts on hats, you couldn't help but notice he has a great deal of knowledge about hats, dress or otherwise. If you are not along to accept the advice given here, troll somewhere else.

I read the OP's comment to be comparing himself to a 5 year old in terms of his knowledge and understanding of hats and asking that replies be explained to him at that level. He wasn't insulting anyone else.

 

[Bungholio]

No...I was saying that I know about as much as a five year old, not Rogera. Sorry for the confusion.

The truth is, I know almost nothing about hats. I was hoping you all could help, and you have...tremendously. Thank you, to every one of you.

 

[Bungholio]

JimWagner under-stands. Thank you.

jlee562, I'm not sure. I like the idea of it being more formal, but it also makes it seem less plain. I think I'd rather have one with-out a finish. I don't want it to stand out. I want it to look great, and all, but I'm not looking for something with personal touches, such as shiny finishes, feathers, super slim/wide brims, an odd crease, or anything like that. I'm looking for plain, above all.

I hope I'm not asking for too much.

Thanks, again.

 

[Bungholio]

Bamaboots, I under-stand how you could have misread my comment. The only thing that puzzles me is your interpretation of what I said would not have made any sense. Why would I ask him for his advice, and then tell him he knows nothing?

I don't mean anything by it. I'm just curious as to how you got to that line of thinking.

Regardless, happy New Year!

 

[Rogera]

Rogera:

Pardon my insolence, but what are the options? Imagine you're educating your five-year-old on the issue, since the two of us probably share a similar level of knowledge, when it comes to dress hats.

With what you are looking for I will say you need an Akubra Federation IV. That'll give you a nice 4.5", straight sided, creased crown, 2.5" x 2.75" dimensional brim in your budget and plenty of color options. Very durable hat as well. Just my $.02.

 

[JimWagner]

Hello.

I'm looking for a very plain/formal fedora (Black, of course.). It will be worn with a three-piece, double-breasted suit, and a [black] double-breasted over-coat. I am 5'10", and I have an average/slim head and an average/slim build. I don't want to spend much over $200 U.S.D.. I'd ideally like to buy it on-line (So, I'm essentially asking for a link.).

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Given your parameters I'd suggest something like this Dobbs Fur Felt Fedora from menshats.com. It had a silk finish and falls within your price range. The pin on the ribbon can be removed easily if you'd prefer not to have it there.

Look through that web site and you'll see other fedoras such as this one that have a narrower brim.

This Biltmore Fur Felt Derby is actually more of a Homburg and given the suit and over-coat you will be wearing possibly even more formal looking. A hat like that is what I personally prefer to wear when wearing a suit and black top-coat to a dressy event where a tux would be overkill. Of course it does have somewhat of a "Godfather" look to it and is not for everyone.

Good hunting.

 

[JimWagner]

As mentioned, the Akubras are excellent hats. I do have a number of those.

 

[Seb Lucas]

jlee562:



Seb Lucas:

That depends. I know nothing about "looks". What look did you imagine, when you read about what I plan on wearing with the fedora?

No this isn't about me. B you've been quite specific about what you want so this is your opportunity to further explain what look you are trying to convey with your black overcoat and matching hat. In such an assemble you could look like an Orthodox Jew, the priest from The Exorcist, a hit man or a distinguished arts connoisseur. It's a look that can appear parodic unless you get the details right. This is where your specific choices come in. Is there someone you saw, in a movie, say, that inspired this choice? You'd like a black fedora but say you know nothing about hats - so why then the black fedora? What informed this choice for someone not into hats? A black fedora can be conveyed in many different forms so I would find it helpful to better understand what you're after.

 

[Bungholio]

Rogera and JimWagner:

Thanks a ton. I'll definitely check those out.

Seb Lucas:

You must be this Forum's comedian.

This may sound ridiculous, but I'm obsessed with "matching". I very meticulous match my leathers, metals, and fabrics, of course, but it goes past that. If I'm wearing a rounded French cuff, I wear a round cuff-link. The same goes for square French cuffs and square cuff-links. I made sure that all my suits have the same button-count, on their sleeves, just so that they would match my over-coat. This is why guys with mild O.C.D. shouldn't be allowed to buy custom clothing. I could go on for hours, by the way.

Any-who, unless I somehow were to find a way to have my over-coat and fedora be created from the EXACT same material as each and every suit I own (Which is totally ridiculous, unless you expect me to begin selling my organs.), I believe the suit should be a separate entity from the outer-wear. Am I making any sense? Because of this, I want my outer-wear to match, to create some sense of uniformity (I guess?). There are four components to my outer-wear; my fedora, my over-coat, my leather gloves, and my galoshes. All of them are black (I chose black since that and grey are the most versatile colors for outer-wear, in my opinion The thing that made black stand out, though, is that it is more formal, and I love formality.).

Sorry...I kind of lost track of where I was going, with all this.

Thank you for bearing through my complete absence of knowledge in this one sartorial department. Hats are the only fashion item that I simply can't grasp.

Ah...and, as for "Why the fedora?". Well, fedoras are awesome. They're so damn manly. All other hats just look funky and "costumy" to me.

 

[Bungholio]

Again: thank you, all. I will make my final decision, some time today or tomorrow.

 

[JackieMatra]

We await, with bated breath, your decision, which we anticipate that you will apprise us of, so that you can then experience the incomparable pleasure of reading our invaluable highly informed and witty criticism of your possible folly.

The betting pool will be open in the usual other forum, gentlemen.

 

[stratcat]

Again: thank you, all. I will make my final decision, some time today or tomorrow.

I may have mis-timed my input. In my experience almost any hat will be viewed as quite formal. The subtleties of the hat having been lost over the years.
I like to match my clothing well and I agree that the match of outerwear is often different from your next layer.
As you tend to favour black then in the first instance you may consider a black hat to be the answer. However a grey hat may be a little more versatile with your wardrobe and a little less severe, a Moonstone FedIV for example. Having said that I find that I tend to wear my tawny FedIV more often, though I tend to favour brown shoes.
I do have a black Fed IV but it does get much less wear than any of my other hats.
Of course the real answer is you need more than one hat!

 

[Seb Lucas]

Rogera and JimWagner:

Thanks a ton. I'll definitely check those out.

Seb Lucas:

You must be this Forum's comedian.

This may sound ridiculous, but I'm obsessed with "matching". I very meticulous match my leathers, metals, and fabrics, of course, but it goes past that. If I'm wearing a rounded French cuff, I wear a round cuff-link. The same goes for square French cuffs and square cuff-links. I made sure that all my suits have the same button-count, on their sleeves, just so that they would match my over-coat. This is why guys with mild O.C.D. shouldn't be allowed to buy custom clothing. I could go on for hours, by the way.

Any-who, unless I somehow were to find a way to have my over-coat and fedora be created from the EXACT same material as each and every suit I own (Which is totally ridiculous, unless you expect me to begin selling my organs.), I believe the suit should be a separate entity from the outer-wear. Am I making any sense? Because of this, I want my outer-wear to match, to create some sense of uniformity (I guess?). There are four components to my outer-wear; my fedora, my over-coat, my leather gloves, and my galoshes. All of them are black (I chose black since that and grey are the most versatile colors for outer-wear, in my opinion The thing that made black stand out, though, is that it is more formal, and I love formality.).

Sorry...I kind of lost track of where I was going, with all this.

Thank you for bearing through my complete absence of knowledge in this one sartorial department. Hats are the only fashion item that I simply can't grasp.

Ah...and, as for "Why the fedora?". Well, fedoras are awesome. They're so damn manly. All other hats just look funky and "costumy" to me.

Since you ask, I don't really follow you - for a start I rarely match anything. At any rate it sounds that all you need is a basic felt fedora style with a 2 - 3 inch brim. Shouldn't be a hard one. Just pick one you like. Show us when you're ready.

 

[Edward]

I may have miss timed my input. In my experience almost any hat will be viewed as quite formal. The subtleties of the hat having been lost over the years.
I like to match my clothing well and I agree that the match of outerwear is often different from your next layer.
As you tend to favour black then in the first instance you may consider a black hat to be the answer. However a grey hat may be a little more versatile with your wardrobe and a little less severe, a Moonstone FedIV for example. Having said that I find that I tend to wear my tawny FedIV more often, though I tend to favour brown shoes.
I do have a black Fed IV but it does get much less wear than any of my other hats.
Of course the real answer is you need more than one hat!

Indeed. For a first fedora in a more "conservative" style (which seems to be what op means by "formal"), the Federation would be perfect. I'm currently toying with buying a black one myself, and giving it that Capone tyle coffee bean bash.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Dark Carbon Grey...?