Return of the Broad Brimmed Hat

[Zombie_61]

I find it odd they mention Adjustment Bureau in reference to wide brimmed hats. It looked to me like they were all stingies or borderline stingies.

Not only the mention, but the photo as well. Those hats may not technically be stingy brims, but they're far from being broad-brimmed; a poor choice of visual example for those who don't know the difference.

 

[The Good]

Not only the mention, but the photo as well. Those hats may not technically be stingy brims, but they're far from being broad-brimmed; a poor choice of visual example for those who don't know the difference.

Yeah, I think those are more of moderate brims, maybe 2 to 2 1/4 inches width on the wider ones? I don't really have a problem with the stingy-brim, or tapered hats though. Any sort of felt fedora being featured on film is cool with me. I do think that for a bit of variety, they could have had some of the men wearing less tapered hats, as they all seem almost exactly the same in that regard.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Agreed, those would be FAR from a broad-brim. I think broad brim and I'm thinking at the very narrowest 2 1/4".

 

[Zombie_61]

I don't really have a problem with the stingy-brim, or tapered hats though. Any sort of felt fedora being featured on film is cool with me. I do think that for a bit of variety, they could have had some of the men wearing less tapered hats, as they all seem almost exactly the same in that regard.

I don't have a problem with them either; they're not for me, but they look quite good on a lot of men and women. But to feature them in an article about broad-brimmed hats? Uhhh...no.

 

[kaosharper1]

Just to be clear, while the on-line version of the article featured the Adjustment Bureau photo, the print version didn't. I'm not sure why the discrepency, but the print article did show a Goorin hat with a 2 1/4" brim and some photos from fashion shows which showed quite odd (of course!) flat brimmed fedoras which were definitely in the 2 1/2" range.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

If there were only stingy brims, I'd still be wearing a stocking cap...

Later

 

[John in Covina]

This brings to mind a thread some time back where the discussion was about how the typical fedora sold a few years ago had a specific look that became solidified in maybe the later 60's or early 70's. Medium brim, lower crown probably with some taper. The thing is that up until about 3 or 4 years ago the main names in hats all seemed to have that style as their most popular offering. So the basic men's hat went unchanged for maybe 30-35 years. From 1900 through to the early 60's we saw a progression of fashion changes for the main style of hat. Then a style was the prevaling one for a period and that changed over time. So we get the iconic look for a variety of eras. In the 30's the type James Cagney wore with medium brim, high crown and no taper seemed to be popular, wider brims as time moved on.

Still there were lots of other styles available and men chose what they liked. Later the sense of individuality made for a spread of choices across a field of different styles of hats for men made for a less focused look. But in a fashion sense men's hats had stalled with the one main look as offered by the big names in the US.

The excitement is the fact that even if the youth are picking up on a trend, they are making a change in hat buying sentiment which can lead to other hats and other choices as a period of growth in mens hats.

 

[jkingrph]

The article calls 2" "normal" and 2 1/4" as wide if I remember right.

I call than narrow, I like mine to start about 2 7/8 and go wider, more like 3 1/8-3-1/4

 

[skyvue]

With that said isn't it funny that in New York hats are being called into question, well in LA they are all the rage. In one world they are on the rise, in the other they get no respect. This is getting very confusing.

That article about NYC attitudes toward hats was totally bogus. If you count the stingy-brimmed one models can purchase on the street and in low-priced boutiques, NYC probably has more fedora wearers than any city in the country, and if you limit it to the sort of higher-end hats most of us prefer, I would say the same holds true.

And I've never gotten a negative remark from a stranger about my hat in NYC. Not once.

 

[Rat Pack]

(A stingy brim or a "shorty" is generally considered a brim 11/2 inches wide or smaller, 2 inches is standard and anything above 21/4 inches in width is a broad brim.)

I guess I never considered anything over 2 1/4 to be broad brimmed. 2 1/2 seems normal to me. 2 3/4 and up seems broad.

 

[Espee]

But are these newly-hip broad-brimmed hats going to be worn with three-day beard and shirt tail out?

 

[Chinaski]

But are these newly-hip broad-brimmed hats going to be worn with three-day beard and shirt tail out?

Yes. And also with pierced eyebrows, and tattoos, and with t-shirts, and flip-flops, etc., etc...

 

[Pompidou]

Yes. And also with pierced eyebrows, and tattoos, and with t-shirts, and flip-flops, etc., etc...

Not a bad thing really, I think - having repurposed a symbol of conformity into a symbol of individuality. We always say, "Wear the hat. Don't let the hat wear you." They'll be taking the hat and making it their own - something I think everyone strives to do in their own way. Mine will be without piercings and flip-flops, but I've worn mine with t-shirts, usually with a nicer shirt over it in place of a coat, shirt-tail out, and I can see at least one tattoo definitely in my future.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I don't care for the look that will be worn along with the fedoras, as they come back into style, but any publicity is good publicity. It'd be nice to go into the Wal-Mart and see people wearing fedoras at other times of the week besides Sundays right after church.

 

[Zombie_61]

I don't care for the look that will be worn along with the fedoras, as they come back into style, but any publicity is good publicity. It'd be nice to go into the Wal-Mart and see people wearing fedoras at other times of the week besides Sundays right after church.

In my observation it seems the high-school-age and college-age young men I've seen wearing the "modern" version of a fedora consider them to be a casual-wear hat like a flat cap or baseball cap, and see nothing wrong with wearing one with a tee shirt and jeans. But then, most of them are wearing wool felt hats (or whatever the hats are made of that are sold at Wal-Mart/Target/Burlington Coat Factory) rather than mid- to high-end fur felt hats, so that might have something to do with it.

 

[easportsracer13]

The low cost fedoras are a stepping stone to nicer ones. Like any trend with my gen it starts cheap then everyone buys better becuase it becomes a status symbol. The walmart fedoras are a start to a trend. People buy and see what they look like. After awhile theyll get nicer. Like prada purses, Ed Hardy clothes, and such.

 

[ejbhats]

The low cost fedoras are a stepping stone to nicer ones. Like any trend with my gen it starts cheap then everyone buys better becuase it becomes a status symbol. The walmart fedoras are a start to a trend. People buy and see what they look like. After awhile theyll get nicer. Like prada purses, Ed Hardy clothes, and such.

We should promote the wearing of a hat by encouraging those who buy a lid to "feel the felt" and increase their own access to finer felts or wider brims by telling them where to look for a "real" or finer hat.
For me anything less than 2 1/4 inches gets a bit... narrow. I used the line before in a different thread that a stingy brim makes me look like a hippo with a parasol! And I am by no means a Diva!

 

[RioGrandeHatters]

Just MHO, being a custom hatter, I believe that we need to change with the times and fashions of current days. I love to see a individual wear a hat and not conform to what a hat has to or "should" be. Yes I love the old western and vintage fedora styles but when it boils down to it, if you wear the hat then it needs to be a individual choice in fashion.

I will make what ever style a individual feels comfortable with. The bottom line, if we would like to see hats come back strong as part of men's fashion the the hat needs to go beyond traditional or business dress. The more hats I can make the happier I am...

 

[danofarlington]

I like the last quote, "The wider the brim the more confidence the individual has."

I like that too.

 

[bowlerman]

I like that too.

yeah-- how many insecure people do you find wearing ten gallons, for instance?


IMHO, a stingy works best with a taller, fuller crown. Perhaps those folks in the Adjustment Bureau would get away with those brims if the crowns were taller. Those crowns are probably fine with wider brims, but in the trailers for that film I thought they all looked like they were wearing some kind of modified Alpine hat and it looked a little silly. Haven't seen the movie, so it may be different in context.