Stretching a topper?

[Orgetorix]

I just picked up a vintage hard-shell silk top hat on EBAY. It's marked size 7 1/2, but it's quite snug on my normally-7 1/2 head.

Is there any hope of stretching this thing at all? It's snug all around, but I could probably get by with just a bit more length. It doesn't have a leather sweatband, just the interior silk lining. Oddly enough, it seems tightest right around the bottom edge, where the brim meets the crown. Half an inch above that, there's plenty of give.

Am I gonna mess this thing up if I throw it on my hat jack and try to stretch it? Obviously we're not talking about pliable felt here, but a hard, stiff shell. Maybe my best hope is a haircut.

Sorry for the blurry pictures; my camera is acting up.

 

[AlanC]

Haircut and some pomade and it will slide right on.

 

[Orgetorix]

Or I'll just wear it like Fred.

 

[AlanC]

I've come to the considered conclusion that you should sell it to a 7 3/8...

:whistling

 

[Dinerman]

I have a vintage knox opera hat, marked 7-3/8 that fits a bit small on my 7-1/4 head. Could they have been made to fit small?

 

[besdor]

I dont think that a collapseable hat can be streched . They were meant to sit higher on ones head.
Try and resell it on the 'bay. Big sizes go fast .




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Orgetorix]

Strangely enough, despite the way it looks, it isn't collapsible. It's a true hard-shell hat.

 

[Lumelux]

If you look at old photos of men wearing Top Hats, you often see that they wear them quite high above their ears. I have a Topper that fits great but sits like a normal hat would. If it's not that bad I would keep it. As previously stated, wear it like Fred.

 

[DominusTecum]

I can't imagine that stretching it would be good for it, and I really doubt if it'd even stretch, at least, not enough for you to tell a difference.

Make sure that you've visited your barber right before your next eldest-daughters-debutante ball

My 7 3/8 topper is a little snug, but generally fits quite well. I think today if you wore one "high" people would look at you rather funny. It was always the custom for the youth to wear excessively cocked hats, while mature adults wore them straight.

 

[Edward]

I wouldn't risk the stretch either. I have both a vintage opera hat and a modern Christies solid top hat. Both 57s, just like all my Fedoras, but the sit much higher on my head. I have always presumed that this is a deliberate design. And hey, if it worked for Fred Astaire....

 

[Baron Kurtz]

As i understand it, top hats were generally made to conform to a specific person's head, rather than a general size. So it may very well be a 7 1/2 but your head is just the wrong shape. Mine (20s or 30s, long hair beaver - i think - from France) is a bit tight at the front/back, and too loose on the sides. It is still wearable though. original box, too.

But all is not lost. Though inadvisable to stretch, i believe the shape can be re-adjusted to fit your head. So claim some of the London hatters with refurbishement services. I fear you will destroy the thing if you try to do it yourself. Take it to a professional!

bk

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I have a vintage knox opera hat, marked 7-3/8 that fits a bit small on my 7-1/4 head. Could they have been made to fit small?

Most likely - it could be over time, they've shrunk.

Myself, I'd probably try the hat-jack, only going really really slow and easy since it's not as soft and pliable as felt. It sounds like you only have to stretch it a little tiny bit.