Need hat advice

[camhabib]

Seriously the bags Art uses in his packaging are perfect for traveling with hats.

Trip is in the next few days unfortunately, so I was preferably looking for something I could pick up locally or even with overnight Amazon shipping.

 

[DJH]

I suspect they are sold as clear plastic garbage bags.

 

[gtdean48]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've been trying to find a clear plastic bag to put my hat into for security but haven't really been able to find a good one. Anyone have some links or recommendations as to where I can pick one up?

I'd go with the bag my suits come back from the dry cleaners in.
You can probably stop by any dry cleaner & ask for one to cut down....JMHO

 

[suitedcboy]

I wear a felt hat when traveling and I will not let them pass it through X ray machine bare. They will hand check it or they come up with a bag. They get testy but I haven't been arrested yet. There is huge inconsistency in whether I get through with it on my head or they are adamant it goes through machine.

 

[Ranbro]

I recently flew back to DC from Amarillo, TX and the TSA agent there saw my hat that I had placed into a bin and he angled another bin across the top to prevent any damage. I thanked him and he replied many travelers wore hats through his airport and he didn't like to see them damaged. They also had boot jacks at the benches located near the screening lines to help fellow Texan boot wearers remove them easily. Have you ever tried removing a well fitting pair while standing in a crowed line?

 

[Nyah]

Just got my first felt hat. What're these marks on it?

After exchanging for the next size up, the retailer sent me a hat with these marks on the front part of the brim. Maybe the edge of the cardboard holder, that wraps around the crown during shipping, has abrasively rubbed the brim. The dots remind me of moth bites. How do you deal with these problems? This is supposed to be a brand new hat. I want it to look flawless.

 

[mayserwegener]

I would return if you are not happy with it. I can't see the dots clearly and the scuff looks like it would brush out with some steam.

 

[unfmba]

I picked up the same, or at lease very similar lid. It's my first decent hat also. I live in FL and I'm heading out on a cruise this weekend. I can't wait to sport that hat with my linen suit - I look like capone. HAHA.

 

[Nyah]

That's the second person I've noticed today, associating fedoras with gangsters. I associate fedoras with the good guys. Maigret, Detective De Luca, Chief Inspector Japp and the like. Martin Luther King sported fedoras.


As for the topic of my previous post:
The scuff marks have greatly diminished on their own, probably from just my handling of the brim. The biggest dot is close to the ribbon bow so, I'm hoping that it won't be too noticeable to people not looking for it.

Now my biggest worry is that I didn't give enough time with this hat in the smaller size, that I initially ordered but returned. On the next size larger one, I have the felt shim strips on each side. Sometimes it feels somewhat secure on my head. Other times, I can grasp it on one side of the brim, shake my hand up/down and cause the whole hat to rock side to side. I was hoping that this first purchase would allow me to know exactly which size I'd need for future hats but, I'm still unsure.

 

[lordwinters]

What to get!?

Hi everybody!
I'm Richard Johansson from Sweden, and I've been browsing the lounge for quite some time now and finally decided to go and become a member myself! I have always loved everything (pretty much) from the early 1900's up to the 50's, including hats! I purchased my first fedora whilst I was in Italy a few years back, a brown crushable hat which I enjoy, but is sadly not snap brim, plus it's not really that dressy.
So I have recently started looking for a new fedora, but it's kind of hard to know where to look, so basically I am asking for help.

What I'm looking for really is a snapbrim and widebrim fedora, prefferably high crown in either tan/light brown or light grey (other colours aren't out of the question though.) basically I want a sort of older look fedora that can be worn with suits. I have looked around a bit, the federation IV looks to be about what I'm looking for, but the price including shipping is a bit over what I'd like to pay, at around a 100$.
/
S.Richard.J

 

[DougC]

How wide of a brim do you consider wide? Take a look at the Akubra Campdraft. That hat might fit your needs.

 

[fedoralover]

You will have to pay a little more than $100, the Campdraft right now is $115.00 not including shipping. But would fit most of your needs. You can get a custom rabbit fur fedora made to your specs for about $125 from
http://www.northwesthats.com/Pricing.html

You would have more color options and you can pick exactly how wide you want the brim and how high the crown.

fedoralover

 

[TheDane]

[...] but the price including shipping is a bit over what I'd like to pay, at around a 100$.

Tjenare, Richard. Welcome to The Lounge

Be aware, that if your customs are as officious as the Danish, they may add quite a bit. Nearly everything from US is checked here, and for hats I pay 30% in customs and VAT. That is of price plus shipping. We don't pay customs from countries within the Union, and VAT should be payed in the sending country. A hat from a European eBay rarely gets checked, so I won't pay any VAT, but in my mind, it's a lot easier to find hats on the American eBay. Unfortunately, there are not many custom hatters in EU, either [huh]

 

[lordwinters]

Hi everybody and thanks for all the replies. Well a search in google for wide brim fedora's won't render much more than women's hats and hats I'd call quite narrow brim, so it's hard to get a picture of the kind of brim I'm after, but The akubra campdraft looks pretty good, in width an all, but I could go even wider. But I'm a bit worried about bashing a hat myself, seeing as I haven't ever done it before. But then again I suppose that means you can make it look more like you want it to. I want a pretty sharp angle on my for-brim (or whatever you call it), you know that shields the eyes and make you look all shady.

But how would you say the campdraft compares to the federation IV, apart from the obvious differences in looks (the federation looks more dressy imo, but I guess that can be changed by switching the band)?
Thanks!
/Richard

 

[jlee562]

Well, Akubras are made in either Imperial, or Heritage grade felt. The latter contains a wild hare fur, which is more resilient than the regular rabbit felt. They also come with nicer sweatbands. Both the Imperial and Heritage grade felts are well made hats.

If you peruse through the lounge, you'll find individual threads on both these hats with more information than you can shake a stick at. But basically: the Campdraft is Akubra's version of the Stetson Open Road, which was previously produced under license in Australia. When the license on the "Open Road" name and Stetson branding ran out, Akubra made it the Campdraft. It's considered a sort of crossover dress/western hat.

The Federation IV uses a vintage Akubra block, chosen for its resemblance to the block used by Steve Delk of the Adventurebilt Hat company for the fourth Indiana Jones movie. Although the dimensionally cut brim was not super common in vintage hats.

 

[ManofKent]

Richard - welcome to the forum.

You might want to look at the Akubra Squatter as well - dressier than the Campdraft, but still with a bound brim. You can order it open-crowned if you don't like crease. It's around $80 USD, so with shipping (and fair wind regarding customs) would probably be around the $100 mark if you ordered it from everythingaustralia and don't minfd their 3 month lead time: http://www.everythingaustralian.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=20 Hatsdirect also stock it if you want one earlier, but they're a little dearer.

The Akubra Fedora is another possibility if you're happy with a more modest 2 1/2" brim.

Look at the classifieds on here too...

 

[lordwinters]

Richard - welcome to the forum.

You might want to look at the Akubra Squatter as well - dressier than the Campdraft, but still with a bound brim. You can order it open-crowned if you don't like crease. It's around $80 USD, so with shipping (and fair wind regarding customs) would probably be around the $100 mark if you ordered it from everythingaustralia and don't minfd their 3 month lead time: http://www.everythingaustralian.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=20 Hatsdirect also stock it if you want one earlier, but they're a little dearer.

The Akubra Fedora is another possibility if you're happy with a more modest 2 1/2" brim.

Look at the classifieds on here too...

I have eyed the squatter as well, but I'm not sure I can wait 3 months . And on hats direct it's the same price as the federation again. On a sidenote, there is a swedish website that sells jaxon hats, anybody heard of them? Some of their hats looked reasonably much like what I'm after, at heavily lower shipping cost.

 

[Annixter]

A hat from a European eBay rarely gets checked, so I won't pay any VAT, but in my mind, it's a lot easier to find hats on the American eBay. Unfortunately, there are not many custom hatters in EU, either [huh]

Richard, welcome to the Lounge. TheDane makes a great point about customs if you are within a $100 budget. Depending on Sweden's customs, I think eBay, the Fedora Lounge classifieds, or another private purchase might be the best way to save on taxes. I caution you to read around the lounge about purchasing used hats so that you get something in the condition you desire instead of overpaying for something soon to fall apart.

Depending on your hat size, you might look for a vintage fedora from the manufacturers Champ, Marathon, Mallory, or Dobbs. If you take a hat size in the 6-3/4 to 7-1/8 range, brown and dark gray fedoras by these manufacturers often times can be found within a $100 budget, in my experience. Light grays and other colors will usually cost more than dark browns and dark grays. I once picked up a 1940's Champ in blue that fits the description of what you are interested in for $25, so I wouldn't rule out vintage from your search.

Check out the important sticky thread HERE for a bunch of threads with pictures of fedoras for your reference.

 

[lordwinters]

Richard, welcome to the Lounge. TheDane makes a great point about customs if you are within a $100 budget. Depending on Sweden's customs, I think eBay, the Fedora Lounge classifieds, or another private purchase might be the best way to save on taxes. I caution you to read around the lounge about purchasing used hats so that you get something in the condition you desire instead of overpaying for something soon to fall apart.

Depending on your hat size, you might look for a vintage fedora from the manufacturers Champ, Marathon, Mallory, or Dobbs. If you take a hat size in the 6-3/4 to 7-1/8 range, brown and dark gray fedoras by these manufacturers often times can be found within a $100 budget, in my experience. Light grays and other colors will usually cost more than dark browns and dark grays. I once picked up a 1940's Champ in blue that fits the description of what you are interested in for $25, so I wouldn't rule out vintage from your search.

Check out the important sticky thread HERE for a bunch of threads with pictures of fedoras for your reference.

Thanks for the tips, yeah customs to Sweden would be about the same, and I have no problem with vintage so I'll definetly check that out. I've been thinking of going to antique shops here in sweden and hopefully finding something good (I mean we wore hats just as much as the rest of the world back in the day) so finding a vintage fedora shouldn't be impossible. The only problem is my rather large head, not sure what it is in inches but I usually wear 60-62 in cm.

 

[TheDane]

My experiences from Denmark is, that close to all eBay hats from US get checked by customs - and from outside EU you get billed. It's next to impossible to find any vintage hats in Denmark, even if we too wore hats a couple of generations ago. I know of one shop in Copenhagen, that sells vintage hats - all bought from a recycling company somewhere in Central Europe - and all in very small sizes. Size 60-62 cm is hard to find - best case very expensive - even on eBay.