Recommend me a fedora, please

[tandmark]

Hi 'spike and welcome to the Fedora Lounge!

With a hat size of 8 (or higher), your chances of finding a vintage fedora that fits you are pretty close to zero.

A lot of folks here have been urging you to look at Akubras. I own a couple of them; they're great hats. You've already seen mention of Hats Direct in Sydney and David Morgan in the Seattle area. A Melbourne Akubra outlet with prices slightly lower than Hats Direct might be worth a look as well: Everything Australian.

Which Akubras will be in your size? I dunno. Maybe you ought to consider emailing these three hat shops for info about a special order.

You might reconsider Borsalino or Stetson, despite all the flak these brands sometimes get here at the Lounge. Most of the criticism seems to be of the "not as good as they used to be" flavor, so your mileage might vary. For sure, since there aren't a lot of real fur felt hats made in your size, it doesn't seem wise to rule out any brand completely.

Borsalinos will tend to be pretty pricey, though. And you mention the Borsalino Como, which felt like a lightweight to me when I tried one on at Bernie Utz Hats here in Seattle.

I'm pretty convinced of the quality of Beaver Brand and Biltmore hats. They might not be offered in your size though.

Some hat shops with online catalogs you could look at include: The Fedora Store, Miller Hats, Mike the Hatter, Meyer the Hatter, Hats Plus, and Bencraft Hatters. Their owners will also answer email queries about larger-sized hats and winter-weight felts for you, I'm pretty sure. Perhaps a size 8 could even be special-ordered.

Mike the Hatter has a special page for large men's hats, but I don't really like any of the eight or nine items they offer.

If it's an Indy Jones hat you want, you've already read some fine recommendations in earlier posts to this thread. And finally, if you want to up your price cap & go for a custom/bespoke hat that's going to fit perfectly, you've already read the top names in earlier posts, like Art Fawcett, Jimmy Pierce, Mike Moore, Optimo in Chicago, and the like.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Rick Blaine]

Here are a few ideas...Hats in the Belfry.

See also: size 8? am I stuck with custom?

And: Noggintops Large Sizes
I am also sure that any of the fine retailers who support TFL could accommodate you, don't give up!

 

[animator]

Hi 'spike,

It seems like you are looking for the same sort of hat I was. If you raised your price cap just a little you could have a custom hat made.

You pick the color, style, ribbon color and the hat is made to fit your head! There are at least a few people who will do this great service for you at around $300-350 dollars. The hat I got is pure beaver felt that feels soft as butter and the quality is fantastic. I couldn't be happier.

You can look at the hat made for me " The "Dad" by Art Fawcett " which is a light colored classic fedora with a navy ribbon to go with most anything. I don't wear suits either.

I can highly recommend Art Fawcett, but I'm sure the other people recommended on this forum would do great work also.

Just a thought. I don't know very much about hat quality and there aren't many hat stores in Atlanta, so custom was the perfect way to go for a starter hat.

Good luck!

 

['spike]

Interesting that the Como is a lightweight hat; a store in the northeast told me it's a winter weight.

How do Stetson compare to Borsalino, not bang for the buck wise, but simply bang wise? If they're better, maybe a Stetson Plaza?

Though...now that I look at more hats, maybe I've changed what I want. Now I'm thinking a fedora with a snap brim and a teardrop bash, ribbon and no feather is what I want. I get the feeling hats are like motorcycles - they'd sell more if they had less variety.

I don't think I can stretch for a custom hat, $250 is sorta an unpleasant upper cap that I am willing to go to if it gets me quality.

 

[Rooster]

I have an Akubra Squatter I wear year round. In Iowa it goes to 100+ to -20. I must admit I put the fedoras away at -20 and go for a fur hat.
Can't go wrong with an Akubra in your price range.

 

['spike]

I have an Akubra Squatter I wear year round. In Iowa it goes to 100+ to -20. I must admit I put the fedoras away at -20 and go for a fur hat.
Can't go wrong with an Akubra in your price range.

So maybe then I don't need as winter weight a hat as I thought? Winter here means highs in the low 40s, lows in the mid 20s (but I don't spend much time outside at 3am so the lows that I'll be in won't be that low).

Is a Akubra Sydney warm enough for that? Also, I see David Morgan doesn't have an option to pre-bash the hats. Does anybody who sells Akubra have that option?

 

[Rooster]

Do you work outside for a living? If not, any fur felt hat is fine for winter since these days we just go from house to car to destination with no real outdoor time..

 

['spike]

Do you work outside for a living? If not, any fur felt hat is fine for winter since these days we just go from house to car to destination with no real outdoor time..

I don't work outside for a living, but on a typical day I do spend about 1.5hrs outside (otherwise I wouldn't even buy a hat since I wouldn't be spending enough time outside to need to be warmer).

 

['spike]

It looks like there are hats I like and hats that are my size, but none that do both. So, I guess I'll go without for now and one day in the future get one of the custom ones (law student = broke as a joke). Are they each known for having some unique style, or are they all more or less the same? The Syndey still kinda intrigues me, but it specifies light weight, plus I don't care to make my own crease when I don't know if once creased it will be too short, and yet I won't be able to return it post creasing.

 

[Spats McGee]

I also started a thread not long ago called "Starter Hats," in which I got some other great recommendations. You might consider perusing that thread for more ideas.

 

[mingoslim]

If you are willing to spend $250.00

Find an extra $50 or so and get a custom by Art Fawcett . . .
I promise, you will not be disappointed.

I hear great things about Camptown, and AB, and will, no doubt, have to order one of each for myself, eventually . . . Perhaps I will take back all the junk I get for Christmas, and take the pluntge!

But I own three VS hats by Mr. Fawcett . . . and they have spoiled me. That good . . . Guaranteed!

 

[jpdesign]

I go up to an 8 1/8 on my customs. Rabbit felts run $150, beaver is $300.


Jimmy

 

[tm3]

[QUOTE='spike]I don't work outside for a living, but on a typical day I do spend about 1.5hrs outside (otherwise I wouldn't even buy a hat since I wouldn't be spending enough time outside to need to be warmer).[/QUOTE]

we just got our first cold snap and my akubra banjo sure felt good on my head with the wind blowing and the sleet coming down. but if i wanted to maximize warmth i'd get something that covered my ears.

fit involves correct size, and also correct shape. are you sure that you are not a long oval or extra long oval? regular shape hats have to be sized larger to fit non regular shaped heads, but if you get the correct size shaped correctly -- bingo. hatsdirect and david morgan both do shaping.

akubras sure get a lot of good feedback and strong recommendations.

 

['spike]

I go up to an 8 1/8 on my customs. Rabbit felts run $150, beaver is $300.


Jimmy

That Rabbit felt is an attractive price. Do you send out a conformateur to the customer? I've measured myself as a 64.5, but I can't be certain that is the correct size since I can't actually try on a hat large enough to fit. Also, is Rabbit fur still fairly water resistant? I've decided what I would want is a fedora with a teardrop bash, front dents, snap brim 2.5", a 1" ribbon in a color similar to the hat, and the hat color to be something that goes well with both grey and shades of brown (maybe like a dark taupe of some sort?).

 

['spike]

I just had a thought. This is COLONIAL Williamsburg after all...any custom hatmakers in this area?