New Grey Akubra Federation

[Atomic Glee]

That's right - now, a nice shiny new (well, not *shiny* new) Carbon Grey Federation has joined my collection. Here are a few pics, right out of the box. The first was with the flash - the second and third are closer to the actual color:

The first thing I've noticed is that the Carbon Grey Fed is much softer than the Mid Brown model I also have. I'm assuming that Akubra uses less stiffener in the grey bodies - it's really noticeable compared to the Mid Brown. Very nice. It seems like it will hold a bash nicely without steam or water.

Now, to style it. Any suggestions, chaps?

 

[Rick Blaine]

Bee-ootiful

...pristine & lovely! Quite the contrast to this beater I just won;

an old grey squatter (funny, that's what Mrs. Blaine calls me...:eusa_doh: )
I got my first modern production fedora, a brown Federation from hatsdirect about this time last year & I am amazed by the degree to which it has softened up... these really are super hats

 

[ideaguy]

Love that new Federation, color is one I'm not finding anywhere else; where
can I look at these/buy one? And if you don't mind me prying into personals,
about how much $$should I plan on spending for the Heritage -oh,just like
yours? Thanks, great hat, was going to stop buying. Really. I was. M

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Great hat, Glee. I wish you much luck with it.

I want to reach into that screen and style it for you.

 

[Atomic Glee]

Forgive the quickie, low-quality pics, but I have ended up giving it a shape for now in a nice teardrop. I shaped it - and it's holding - with the use of absolutely no steam or water. Completely dry-shaped. This grey felt of Akubra's really is a lot less stiff than the brown is at first (my brown is softening up nicely now though).

No, it doesn't look lavender in real life.

 

[Atomic Glee]

Love that new Federation, color is one I'm not finding anywhere else; where
can I look at these/buy one? And if you don't mind me prying into personals,
about how much $$should I plan on spending for the Heritage -oh,just like
yours? Thanks, great hat, was going to stop buying. Really. I was. M

The Hattery in Katoomba, Australia - hatsdirect.com. Though I believe the Carbon Grey is only available in the standard Federation, which is Imperial quality. The Heritage Quality is on the Fed Deluxe, which only comes in Loden. The Imperial quality is a nice felt, and the grey Imperial is, like I said, a lot softer out of the box than the brown (which does soften up nicely eventually) - at least in my case.

http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi/products.cgi?view=58&returncat=Fedora+Hats&returnpage=0

The Federation is $77.42 at hatsdirect.com right now.

I know most folks around here prefer vintage, and I love the vintage stuff too - but finding it in sizes big enough to fit my head is extremely difficult (my grey Fed is a 62, and my brown a 63). So, the Akubras make a great modern hat that's affordable, good looking, well made, and tough.

I also have to say that The Hattery has some of the best customer service I've come across in a long time. I placed an order for a size 63 Carbon Grey, and got a reply from Deb - they were out of 63s in grey, and it would be 2 months to get one. They had a 62, however, and after discussing sizing it was decided that a 62 would probably fit me well also, so I had them go ahead and send the 62 - and it fits fine.

 

[ideaguy]

Thanks Kevin-just emailed Downunder. Have you seen the Loden color Fed.
hat? It's a toss-up between your carbon grey & the loden-the only color the
Deluxe comes in, but no photo of same. Thanks again! M

 

[Spatterdash]

Another Carbon Gray for the archives of the Lounge! Well done!

 

[Dalexs]

I've been wanting a decent gray hat, and with winter around the corner, i may jus thave to go ahead and get one of those. I 've always liked the Feds as a tough as nails everyday wearer.

Thanks for the photos!

Dalexs

 

[Atomic Glee]

...pristine & lovely! Quite the contrast to this beater I just won;

an old grey squatter (funny, that's what Mrs. Blaine calls me...:eusa_doh: )
I got my first modern production fedora, a brown Federation from hatsdirect about this time last year & I am amazed by the degree to which it has softened up... these really are super hats

Heh - I like that old grey Squatter! It's got heaps of personality.

My brown Fed has started to soften up nicely as well - I think the Akubras are one of the best "bang for the buck" modern hats you can buy, especially when you take advantage of the current Australian dollar conversion rate.

 

[besdor]

How big is the brim on the hat ? It looks fairly large from the picture .



Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Feraud]

That is a great looking hat! I need a grey lid and am very happy with my Federation Deluxe.

 

[Atomic Glee]

How big is the brim on the hat ? It looks fairly large from the picture .



Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

The Feds have a dimensional brim that's 70mm x 73mm, so that's around 2.75 x 2.87 inches according to my converter.

 

[Kaleponi Craig]

Wow, that's a nice lid. Like has been said previously, winter is approaching and it's time to buy a grey hat...KC

 

[besdor]

Akubra Hats

It's interesting that one of the most popular brands here on the FL is the hardest to get in the USA . Everyone I see orders the hats from someone overseas . It's realy a shame that the selection in the USA stinks . I'd love to carry a nice selction of the hats but Akubra signed a contract with someone here who jacked up the price and has very little in stock .




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[matei]

I recently sold a grey Akubra Federation. It was a great hat, but a wee bit too large for me. Even putting isolation tape in the band (the tape actually came with the hat) it was still too large.

It did soften up in the time I had it, mostly from fiddling with the shape. It is much, much stiffer than a vintage hat. My Borsalino literally feels like tissue paper next to it.

That being said, you can't beat the quality for the price.

Now I'm in the market for another grey hat... I think I'm going to have to go to our resident hatters here for this one!

 

[geo]

Are the Federations usually made larger than the stated size? If I order one, should I go 1 size smaller for the hat to fit normally? I wonder, because Atomic Glee sais that a 62 fit him, even though he normally wears 63.

 

[Atomic Glee]

Are the Federations usually made larger than the stated size? If I order one, should I go 1 size smaller for the hat to fit normally? I wonder, because Atomic Glee sais that a 62 fit him, even though he normally wears 63.

Well, I think my head just falls between sizes a bit. My head measures between 24 1/2 and almost 25 inches around, depending on exact positioning of the tape measure, the time of day, the temperature, the location of the asteroid Pallas in relation to my refrigerator, etc. According to hatsdirect.com's Akubra size chart, a 62 is sized for a head that's around 24 1/2 inches around, while a 63 is sized for a head 24 7/8 inches around. I just think my head straddles those two sizes. The 62 does feel a little different, but still fits well - and has yet to conform to my head as much as my brown 63 has, since the grey is brand new.

The staff at hatsdirect.com advised me to order the bigger size of Akubra if my head straddles two sizes, at least until I could get one and see how their hats fit me. I think I can wear either size perfectly well.

That head, incidentally, is the reason why I have yet to buy vintage. Finding one that fits me is hard enough, and if I do see one on everybody's favorite auction site, it usually ends up being hideously expensive.

 

[Damon Falzone]

Federation fit

I ordered a Federation Deluxe a while back in my normal size 58, as "hatsdirect" suggested. The size 58 that arrived was way too big. It was huge. No amount of stuffing the sweatband would have made that hat fit right. So I sent it back. I think I would order one size down.

 

[J.S.Udontknowme]

I'd order one size smaller too. Most of my hats are size 7 1/2. I have an Akubra Stylemaster size 7 3/8-59 that I ordered several months ago and it's a perfect fit.