Measuring the crown

[57plymouth]

I look goofy with a very tall crown. That's life, I work with what I've got. I'm looking at several hats on the interwebs right now, and I'm not sure exactly how to measure the fedoras I have to see if the heights are similar. Where is the crown measured? At the highest point? At the very front? What's the standard for measuring?

Thank you in advance!

 

[zetwal]

Other more knowledgeable than myself will tell you how to measure. But note that you can usually reshape a crown to taste using a little steam or water. With some hats you don't even need that.

 

[Dinerman]

The standard is open crown, at the highest point of the dome.
This isn't always the case on hats with blocked in creases.

 

[zetwal]

And as a followup to Dinerman, the height of the open crown is not the same thing as the height of the crease. You can take a hat with a given crown height and crease it in such a way that it appears only a little lower than the open crown or much lower as you prefer.

 

[57plymouth]

I think I'm more confused. So it's the height to the center of the hat, regardless of how high the sides are? I'm not sure I have my head around open crown and crease yet.

 

[Feraud]

Measure the crown at the highest point. This may be the rear, front or where ever. Use this to compare heights.

See here for various hat discussions.
http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=28658

 

[Mr E Train]

Don't overthink it. The height of the crown is the height of the crown.

 

[rlk]

 

[57plymouth]

Got it now!

Thanks for the drawing.

 

[jwalls]

When giving crown height for a hat which I have made I give the height of the block used. The height of a creased crown should be measured at the tallest point. Not gospel, just the way I do it.:eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

 

[StetsonHomburg]

Perfect, thanks!

 

[barracudamagoo]

I look goofy with a very tall crown. That's life, I work with what I've got

I've got the same problem. I have a round face with a heavy jaw, and the tall crown just doesn't look right.

 

[bolthead]

Nice drawering Robert. :eusa_clap

 

[guillaumeb]

How to measure the height of the crown ?

Are there any specific process to measure the height of a crown in case I wish to have custom hat ? Or to get a better idea when browsing specific hat websites

Thank you very much

 

[Kuki]

The lateral measurement betweet the tip of the ears is an important one, as it turns out there's not (generally) much variation between big and small heads (30-32cm), but if you fall outside of the average you might find it difficult to get a good fit. Also important is the relative position of your ears in relation with your eyebrows. My hubby's ears are higher than his eyebrows, almost all hats "collide" with his ears, and he is better off wearing his hat slightly tipped to the back.
A lot can be fixed with some steam and hand bashing the hat (not the head...).
The best thing to do is to try out several hats/brands before moving into custom unless your hatter lives nearby, just to make sure (if you're new to hats) that you don't have a "weird" head...
Just my 5cts as I've been giving it some thought for a while.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hat Dandy]

In my case, my head is a little mishappen. I find that if the hat is directly forward, it can warp the brim even if slightly. I generally keep it slightly off to the right. As for properly measuring your crown, I'm not sure of any standard. I know that Art Fawcett of Vintage Silhouettes has a contraption that does that sort of thing.

 

[guillaumeb]

I meant that trilbies usually have smaller crowns than fedoras. I want to be able to explain that I am looking for a mix between the two, that is a short-brim, short-crown fedora-style hat

Are there any standard words for describing "short","medium" or "high" crown for instance ?

 

[T Jones]

I've always measured from the foot to the top of the open crown.

My Resistol Stagecoaches have tall open crowns at 6 1/2 inches. I guess, open crowns at 5 1/4 - 5 1/2 inches tall could possibly be considered, medium height, for a fedora. A more knowledgeable hat collector could answer that better than I can.

 

[Rabbit]

I meant that trilbies usually have smaller crowns than fedoras. I want to be able to explain that I am looking for a mix between the two, that is a short-brim, short-crown fedora-style hat

Are there any standard words for describing "short","medium" or "high" crown for instance ?

1) Measure the inside of the crown from the center of the roof to the height of the reed where the sweatband is sewn in.

2) Standards are heavily dependent on the timeframe you're referring to. Describing a hat crown as being high or low without reference to a decade will result in misunderstandings.

As for the visual effect of crown height, note that so many factors come into play that it's difficult to view them isolated. Block shape, brim flange, brim width, hatband width, they all affect the overall appearance.

Block shape (that's the crown un-creased):
The approximate block shape (not just the height) is partly given by the timeframe you're aiming at. Pre-war US hats of the late 20s to late 30s were quite full and straight, with rather flat crown roofs (I'm talking about the block shape exclusively, not the creased crown). These 52-type blocks were very popular. The norm for open crown height was 5.5", with many hats as high as 5 5/8", 5.75" and some 6" open crown. The extra-high crowns were worn with deeper creases, resulting in a similar overall appearance to the 5.5" hats once creased.

In Europe, blocks tended to be a little more tapered even at that time, although this is a simplification and there were certainly straighter block in use, too.
If you have a 5.5" block with a rounded shoulder (more taper, and a roof which is not flat), then only the very center of the roof will be 5.5" high. Once creased, such a hat will have a lower crown height!


5.25" open crown is already a lower crown no matter what the block shape is, and 5" is pretty much as low as it gets. 5" open crown is found on some 1940s-50s pocket hats (foldable hats, like the Nokabout, Gadabout models etc. etc.); aside from that, you'll find such low crowns mostly on later hats (1960s).

 

[navarre]

Place a phone call to the custom hat maker or hat shop you wish to work with. As it turns out, phones still work for talking and it is amazing how little gets lost in translation when talking one on one.