Non-suit wearers, lend me your ears!

[Alon]

To those of you who don't wear a suit or sports jacket every day, what do you wear with your fedora? As a student, I not only have occasion but also no desire to wear a suit on a daily basis. I occasionally wear a sports jacket and even then rarely do I wear it with a tie. And yet, I never feel comfortable wearing a fedora with anything less formal.

How do you pull it off?

 

[CharlesB]

I wear fedoras and polo shirts a lot

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

Back in the 80's we used to wear vintage fedoras with Levis jeans jackets. Not something I personally could pull off today, but it has a certain college student flair to it. I have also seen fedoras with leather biker jackets.

 

[PenMan]

No sports jacket? No suit? You mean you go out of the house like that?!

 

[Charlie Noodles]

I think they work okay with any kind of a jacket and plenty of sweaters.

I don't much like them with just a shirt. But I'm kind of a beanpole too.

 

[DeaconKC]

Suit/sport coat only to Church or special occasion, but I usually have a flat cap.

 

[Edward]

Caps are more flexible, I find, with casual wear. If you want to go the fedora route, though, try something with a narrower brim - 2", 50s style.... I have a couple of those and I find they tend to look better to my eye with a shorter jacket (think Brando, Adventurer, A2 type jackets) than would a hat with a wider brim, unless you're specifically going for the Dr Jones look.

 

[David Conwill]

I wear sportcoats, sweaters and slacks a lot with my fedoras. I rarely have call to wear a tie, but sometimes I do anyway.

However, on the occasions when I do wear jeans with a fedora, I'm usually still wearing a collared shirt along with a cardigan. I think of it as my 1940s-yardmaster look, given that I've seen lots of pictures of railroad men from the era wearing denims, sweaters or work jackets, and old fedoras.

I even wear hawaiian shirts and bermuda shorts with my Shantung, but once I switch to a t-shirt, the ball caps come out. Likewise, I just can't bring myself to wear a polo shirt with a brimmed hat, it seems too "mixed" to me.

-Dave

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Back in the 80's we used to wear vintage fedoras with Levis jeans jackets. Not something I personally could pull off today, but it has a certain college student flair to it. I have also seen fedoras with leather biker jackets.

I have a gray Stetson stingy brim that really compliments my Levi's jacket. Full cut khaki pants, a white or off white button up collared shirt, boots, and maybe some suspenders. Sort of a "just-got-off-workwear".

I don't wear suits daily, so it's hard for me to incorporate the fedora as well. I'm working on my wardrobe piece by piece, very slowly (budget constraints), so I don't have a lot to pick from.

The above posters are right on with the sweaters/cardigans, with or without a collared shirt underneath. I don't necessarily agree that a wider or thinner brim go better with casual wear, that would just depend on your face style and hat preference.

During the summer it's a lot harder. I just picked up some safari style shirts and lightweight trousers. A Panama or light colored fedora would work best with this combo.

 

[mwelch8404]

Two year old Fed Dlx (this replaced others that came before.)
I wear it when ever I walk out the front door, regardless of what else I'm wearing.

Maybe it's a carry over from all those years in the military.

The three general exceptions - church, where I just go and come straight home (no hats in buildings, especially a church - I'm not Jewish.) I trade the Fed for an older cut and re-bashed Stetson if it will get cruddy - working on cars, etc. And, finally, if, like tomorrow, I need to spend the whole day out in the sun at 104, I have a straw Stetson I wear.

 

[Selentino]

Summer straws are no problem I wear them with loose Cuban style button shirts. My company is a blue collar operation but I've found a few solid color sport-coats that go with polo's and button-ups and almost all pants. I wear my proper fedoras with them. I'm usually only worried about the shoes. If they don't throw off the outfit I'm good to go.

 

[Herr Hitman]

Back in the 80's we used to wear vintage fedoras with Levis jeans jackets. Not something I personally could pull off today, but it has a certain college student flair to it. I have also seen fedoras with leather biker jackets.

The 80's are responsible for alot of bad fashion.

 

[resortes805]

Fedoras look nice with flap pocket gabardine, or wool pendelton shirts.

 

[freebird]

Hawaiian shirts or polo's and khaki's

 

[Selentino]

I'm not a fan of the sport coat with short sleeve shirt, I's just wrong. But I've been known to throw a everyday black sportscast over a logo work polo ( I feel like a heathen whenever I do)lol instead of a leather jacket sometimes but just like a coat I take it off at work and hang it up. When weather permits I wear the long sleeve polo's

 

[Duck]

Polos and khakis are a combo I wear a lot. This is about the norm at work and I wear a fedora or Panama every day. See my avatar

 

[KeyGrip]

I wear my fedora as often as I can and without regard to my other clothing.

 

[John in Covina]

Men wore hats!

Just remember that in the good old days, "Men wore hats!"

The idea that in order to wear a fedora you would have to wear a suit and tie to mow the lawn is pushing it.

Men wore hats. They wore them with the clothes they were wearing to do what they were going to do.

Fedoras don't have to be formal, or semi-formal, they just beg to be worn.

I pop on my head either my Akubra Bushman or Squatter most often, and I can be wearing shorts and a t-shirt to mow the lawn. Or shorts and a bush shirt. or a polo shirt and khakis. It is sun protection with some flair.

When it is dress up time I usually reach for a better fedora.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Rule of thumb about fedora wearing. Wear it with a collar. Be it your shirt (any shirt) or your jacket, doesn't matter. The collar just helps clean up the look.
If I am only wearing a tee shirt, I usually wear a cowboy/outback hat. they are a little more forgiving, and casual.
Then again I rarely only wear a tee shirt. For me they are undershirts for winter insulation or for working out at the gym.
My two cents worth.

Johnny

 

[jgilbert]

No sports jacket? No suit? You mean you go out of the house like that?!

Well they are a student