Need some sizing help

[aoriii]

I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of weeks now, and I've got to say that I love some of the discussions. I find it a shame that hats (not caps) have gone out of the public fashion. Although, I must admit, I've not worn a hat regularly for serveral years myself. Over the last few years my hat wear has been reduced to a couple of leather Minnetonka cowboy hats that I'm comfortable wearing, but don't wear well on Sunday's or to my office (kinda out of place with the wardrobe on those days). Anyway, I've finally got the lust for another fedora: something that's a good middle ground between 'all dressed up' and comfortable when I run to the store. I've decided on an Akubra Federation, but for my somewhat meager budget, that's a BIG step. Spending over $100 for a hat that I'll have to get shipped from down under is something I'll have to ease into.

This leads me to my current dilema: In an effort to get a 'hold-me-over', I bought a wool-felt non-branded hat (yes, I know: caveat emptor and shame on me for being cheap) from someone on ebay. The hat arrived today, and is in fine shape, but it is a size 'LARGE', I took a gamble on the fit, and I lost. The hat is too large for my head. It's got a little more that a finger width gap between my head and the sweatband (more than can be fixed with pads/folded dollar bills). The hat is unlined, and the sweatband appears to be plastic/leatherette/some similar material.

Now after reading all the mistakes I've probably made in my initial selection: Can anyone suggest a method for shrinking the hat in a careful and controlled manner? Or am I just plain out of luck???


Thanks for any input.

Trey

 

[riccardo]

Good evening and welcome,
you could use some felt pad inside the sweatband, it might work well.
I know that Akubra encluse these felt pad with every hat.
However, i'm sure that there are here a lot of member that could advice you how to do it better than me.
Regards.
Riccardo.

 

[jamespowers]

Now after reading all the mistakes I've probably made in my initial selection: Can anyone suggest a method for shrinking the hat in a careful and controlled manner? Or am I just plain out of luck???

Now mind you I have not had a wool hat in quite a while but if I remember right, I got it good and wet in a down pour and it shrunk up pretty good when I put it near the heater to dry. Perhaps you can try a substitute method for your hat. The problem I foresee is that it might lose its shape in the process.
I did reblock one of my cowboy hats by getting it moist and then shaping and drying it on my head with a hair dryer. Talk about a custom fit.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Andykev]

Go to the measure

Blunt? OK. Hi, and welcome to the Lounge! Toss it. Go to a hat store in your town and try on a hat WITH SIZES. If none exist, whip out the old tape measure (seamstress cloth) and measure your melon.

Divide by Pi (3.1415929.......) and you get the decemil in INCHES.

Then you KNOW YOUR SIZE.

I think it's best to go to hat shop, please.

Wet the wool, and dry it NEAR HEAT SOURCE, ie. Heater. It will shrink like a dog.
Then your next post will be "how do I stretch a wool hat?" :cheers1:

 

[aoriii]

I've been torn with what to do with this hat. I considered working on it and try to get it passable/presentable, or whether I should cut my losses and try to re-ebay it (re-bay it, so to speak)


James: I had thought about pushing the hat out to an open crown and then dunking my head in water and letting it dry on my head (with some heat asistance if needed to cause the adequate shrinkage. I was hoping this would allow for the mentioned 'controlled shrinkage'.

Andykev: Blunt - HATSTORE?!?! That's a laughable idea in my area, but the input is appreciated. I was afraid what I'd gotten my hands on was a piece of junk. As far as the hat size, I've got my metric hat size (58), but like I said in the post: I gambled on size and I lost.

I think that based on the feedback I've gotten so far, that I need to cut my losses. I'm afraid that shrinking the hat may be catastrophic given the amount of slack I'd have to take up. I've really got a zen for the Akubra, and I guess I'll just need to start rolling pennies, and deal with the heavy leather for the time being.

If anyone else has any further thoughts, please do so.

Trey

 

[besdor]

I dont know what you paid for the hat but Andykev is right , throw it out . New , this hat is 35.00 . If you realy like it and dont want to toss it , get some foam tape and insert it under the sweat band . It should reduce the size a little .
Sorry , you had to learn the hard way!!

 

[varga49]

So what IS your size??

...maybe one of us here has one that will fit your noggin!

 

[riccardo]

Hi,
besdor is right!
Put some piece of anything inside the sweatband and wear it.
In second time with humid rain and sunny day it might shrink how you want.
I?ve put some piece of material , that i dont know how is in english called..., on a straw hat, it work very well.
And then let's buy another fedora in correct size!
Enjoy it.
Riccardo.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Don't chuck it!

Tray! As an amateur hat buyer, I can say with confidence that most people have no clue about hats. Re-ebay it before you do any damage to it. I just saw a piece of junk wool felt selling for $50 in the mall! I doubt you'll get that much, but if you get the shipping charges right, getting anything you can for the hat isn't a crime.

Then find yourself a hat size chart. If you know you've got a metric 58, try Noggintops or Hatsdirect for a conversion. Best thing (with no hat shop around) is to measure your head and find a sizing chart on line for the brand of hat you're looking for. And to be honest, if you're on ebay, you might as well have the patience for a fur felt that doesn't bid too high. I have wool felts, but they were much cheaper when I bought them... and better quality (if you can beleive it).