One detail seems overlooked in The Quest For The Perfect Safari Hat...

[Corky]

One detail seems overlooked in The Quest For The Perfect Safari Hat.

I have noticed the ongoing discussion about the details that one should look for in the Perfect Safari Hat: model, color, brim width and binding, etc.

But one key detail has yet to be mentioned: the downward curl of the front brim is not centered below the pinch at the front of the crown, but rather tends to be centered over or favoring one eye.

My own Yukon Safari hat can serve as an example.

The pieces of blue tape are on the hat to show the center of the crown pinch and the center of the brim curl.

top view

The example above is restrained, but the off-center brim curl can be exaggerated.

This style of off-center brim curl seems to convey a familiarity with the great outdoors.

The effect can be achieved by an off-center upwards brim curl as well.

The Yukon Safari hat was made to be worn with the Western Sheepskin Jacket which is posted elsewhere on the Lounge.

Best of luck

 

[cybergentleman]

by no means an expert

I am not one to offer an informed opinion on this, but my guess would be that this brim issue has more to do with general hat style than it does to safari hats in particular. If you want to view this as safari specific...maybe for aiming one's rifle?

...Indiana Jones' hat also was off center....

 

[DUKE NUKEM]

I'm looking too.:eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

I am not one to offer an informed opinion on this, but my guess would be that this brim issue has more to do with general hat style than it does to safari hats in particular. If you want to view this as safari specific...maybe for aiming one's rifle?

...Indiana Jones' hat also was off center....

My first thought was that this has to do with one side being higher to facilitate sighting a hunting rifle. Jones' hat was, of course, coincidental. When Harrison Ford was fitted for the Indiana Jones fedora, he still had his long, Han Solo, Empire Strikes Back haircut. However, when he arrived on set to film Raiders, newly shorn and sporting a thirties haircut, the hat was fractionally too big. This was addressed by tightening the band (or the ribbon? my faulty memory) to pull it in a bit. In tun, this altered the shape of the hat, giving the pinch that slightly asymmetric look.

 

[theinterchange]

I am not one to offer an informed opinion on this, but my guess would be that this brim issue has more to do with general hat style than it does to safari hats in particular. If you want to view this as safari specific...maybe for aiming one's rifle?

...Indiana Jones' hat also was off center....

I was going to mention the same thing about Indiana Jones. I slightly turned my latest Akubra Federation very slightly and have thus achieved a brim that's mildly wonky looking, the curve is off center. A look I really like.

Randy

 

[Dinerman]

I suggest the best way to achieve this look is to live in your hat for a couple of weeks- heavy rain, sun, etc. A thin, floppy felt is also a must.

The brim on my adventurebilt started looking very much that way after a year of wearing it as my all day every day hat.

 

[John in Covina]

I think that if your used to tugging your hat down on your head to snug it into place you might do it one handed. Using your natural strong side might lead to a strong side skew.[huh]

 

[Geronimo]

I do this on outdoor hats. Works as a good sun shade and as a rain gutter.

 

[Dewhurst]

A similar effect is produced by a "turned" crown, in popular terminology.

 

[Mav]

If you want to view this as safari specific...maybe for aiming one's rifle?

I don't think this works out practically, but I definitely like it as theory/ mythos. In the highly unlikely occurence of someone asking this in real life, that's the answer I'm going with.

 

[scottyrocks]

My first thought was that this has to do with one side being higher to facilitate sighting a hunting rifle. Jones' hat was, of course, coincidental. When Harrison Ford was fitted for the Indiana Jones fedora, he still had his long, Han Solo, Empire Strikes Back haircut. However, when he arrived on set to film Raiders, newly shorn and sporting a thirties haircut, the hat was fractionally too big. This was addressed by tightening the band (or the ribbon? my faulty memory) to pull it in a bit. In tun, this altered the shape of the hat, giving the pinch that slightly asymmetric look.

Actually, that also helped contribute to its reverse taper, something many of us IJ fans really love. The wonky brim was mainly the result of what is called 'the turn,' as described above, where the whole hat is turned very slightly to the right, and the pinch is adjusted accordingly so that it remains front-and-center.

Sizing differences were also attributed to the differences in European vs American sizing. It seems a European 7 1/4 equals an American 7 3/8. This small difference also accounted for some fitting problems that werent realized until after the hats were delivered. But who knows, really. Even on COW, there are unresolved discussions on the hats, the jackets . . .