Need some feedback on wearing fedoras

[singlechange]

The Reddington character in The Blacklist looks like he wears fedoras with short brim, maybe in 2 inches wide at the most. A whole lot of short brim fedoras show up for sale everywhere, way more than the 2 1/2 inch or wider brims (more expensive), so you will easily find your hat and they will be really within the budget of a twenty something fedora newbie. A lot of us here browse a lot looking, so let us know what size you are. We can alert you to a Good Deal or even a Big Deal.

 

[neuron]

Good day gents,

Some of you may be familiar with the show, The Blacklist. If not and you enjoy crime, I highly suggest it. Well, the main character (Raymond Reddington) wears fedoras and the first time I saw one I immediately fell in love.

I actually managed to find the man who made the hats for the show, Mr. John Penman (penmanhats.com) and would love to purchase one for myself one day, once I have a little more money set aside

My predicament however, is I'm not the best dressed man out there and, I'm not really a man yet either. Firstly, I'm only 20 and a lot of what I've seen/read makes me think fedoras are more of an older man thing. Is 20 too young to be able to enjoy these fantastic hats?

Secondly, I tend to dress pretty casually. Some clean jeans and a nice t-shirt or button down. Again, a lot of what I have seen/read indicates that fedoras are more of a "fancy" piece of head wear. Would wearing one in a more casual way be acceptable or do I need to try and find another type of hat to fit my style?

Thanks!

 

[neuron]

This is back to original topic. When I bought my first serious hat (1976--a Borsalino fedora in "midnight blue"), I lived in NYC: I wore it everywhere. And I took a lot of sh*t from everyone. I was called a lot of things, most politely, "the Cat in the Hat." Some people asked whether i was "religious". One young woman, whom I dated at the time, said I looked like Arlo Guthrie. That might have been the comment that convinced me to stop wearing it.

Today, I live near San Francisco and people are quiet with anything negative, so I usually just get smiles from women who might say, "I like it that you care enough about your appearance to wear that instead of the ball cap that everyone else is sporting," and if no one else is within earshot : "I really like that hat."

Some men, however, wink and say, "Say, is that a Montecristi/Borsallno? Thought so: nice hat." True, the hair that sticks out is grey now, and the smile makes lot more lines. So, I "carry it" better.

People think that I know something, or someone who does.

 

[GHT]

I tend to dress pretty casually. Some clean jeans and a nice t-shirt or button down. Again, a lot of what I have seen/read indicates that fedoras are more of a "fancy" piece of head wear. Would wearing one in a more casual way be acceptable or do I need to try and find another type of hat to fit my style?


Thanks!

Welcome Red, it's good to have you on The Lounge. You might, one day, when you are a tad bored, look up this thread. https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/how-do-folks-react-to-your-hat-wearing.73283/page-172 It currently stands at 172 pages, more or less positive reaction.

You write: "A lot of what I have seen/read indicates that fedoras are more of a "fancy" piece of head wear." My guess from that you are thinking along the lines of:

Not exactly in keeping with your other comment: "I tend to dress pretty casually. Some clean jeans and a nice t-shirt." Others have been succinct in encouraging you to wear what you like. My advice would be the same, wear whatever you like and if that takes you out of the mainstream, so what?

This guy looks comfortable to me. No suit, no collar & tie, just a tee shirt and the most flamboyant fedora hat you will ever see.

Now you could argue that his red hat is some sort of defiant pastiche and is more of mocking image than an actual everyday fedora hat. I would have to disagree.

I am probably three times the age of the guy in the photo, but he certainly gets my admiration.

No apologies for wearing a tie, it suits the blazer.

 

[Insinity]

I'm posting here simply to say that last night my wife and I were looking for a new show to watch. I recalled reading input on "The Blacklist" in this thread so we decided to give it a shot. It's quite a great show. Thank you for mentioning it. We ended up watching the first four episodes back to back!

 

[Edward]

Lots of great advice on here. No much for me to add, other than that if you wear the hat often enough, it''ll become second nature and you won't feel self conscious at all. I started wearing a hat a lot at university - a fisherman's cap then as it had a Dylanesque vibe, I thought. It also kept the rain off as Belfast was too windy much of the year for an umbrella, and I didn't like wearing a hooded coat. That led to a brimmed hat, boonie caps originally, in the Summer to keep the sun off my neck. By the time I'd been living in London just under a decade, I moved into fedoras and the rest, and wore a hat daily. Now I feel naked if I don't - I could count on one had the number of times I've left the house without a hat since 2006, and could probably still do so if I'd offended the mafia. It helped I think that I was already very used to hats before I switched it up to a more unusual style of hat.

for these, though, just go for it. As others have noted, look at a lot of the photos on here, it's a great resource, If you want to wear a hat and otherwise dress like it's 2024, go for it - nobody can say it's wrong. If you get into a more period look (I'm unfamiliar with the show referenced, is it set in the past?) then have a look at period photos. People dressed casually back in the day too. The proportions of a narrower brim like that can really work with a shorter jacket too: think like Sinatra in a Harrington.

 

[GLewis]

I enjoyed watching the Black List! Even though I thought Ray Redington was nattily dressed, his fedoras seemed like they needed more brim. I have found that as I’ve worn my fedoras my style in clothes has increased. Maybe you’ll find this to be the case.

 

[DeaconKC]

If I can throw my 2 cents in, I might suggest an inexpensive wool crusher from Bass Pro or a farm supply store. They will have a slightly wider brim than the fedoras mentioned above, but it will allow you to try out the style while still remaining in a budget. I grew used to wearing mine before I retired as I was out in all sorts of weather with a job that could be rough on attire. Best of luck to you in your search!

 

[DocCasualty]

I usually just get smiles from women who might say, "I like it that you care enough about your appearance to wear that instead of the ball cap that everyone else is sporting," and if no one else is within earshot : "I really like that hat."

Just ran across your post. Funny you mentioned that because I received a similar comment last winter.

Amongst my hats I have a Scala crushable wool felt Aussie style hat which I’ve had for years and it shows it. Still a comfy hat that I wear often in cooler weather. I showed up for a hair cut with my “stylist” and the owner of the shop, which mostly caters to a female clientele, commented about it being a nice hat and not just another camo b-ball cap that all the guys seem to show up with.

I received a similar compliment from a woman at the local market about my Akubra Snowy River last week. She even dragged her husband over to see it. Go figure…

 

[One Drop]

Be yourself, for sure. My personal opinion is that most Fedoras look better when worn with at least a button up shirt or a shirt of some kind with a vest or a jacket, there's something lopsided and jarring to me to see a more formal hat worn only with a T-shirt, for example.

Western Fedoras are a bit more casual and go well with a wide variety of clothing, but just look out of sync to me when worn only with a T-shirt and shorts, for example, when a straw might do much better. Just my preferences but I do think you should give the overall look of any outfit a thought and not just focus on one article of clothing, whose suitabulty and look will change radically depending on what it's worn with, and when it's worn, as well.

 

[DeaconKC]

Following up One Drop's comment, it is a valid point. A t-shirt will fit better with a straw hat or ball cap usually. Plus, it gives you an incentive to dress a touch nicer. You will be amazed at how differently you are treated when being nicer dressed.

 

[jlee562]

Counterpoint: t shirts and hats work fine. Not everybody wants to dress formally all the time (or at all).

 

[moehawk]

I personally draw the line at wearing a Homburg with a tank top. But that's because I don't wear tank tops.