Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

The perfect fit

sfend002

Familiar Face
Messages
75
Location
USA
Greetings all,

I am trying to find a hat that fits my face and head. I purchased a fedora but it is soo tall looking on my head that it looks like a pilgram hat. I did a lot of research here and got a "Untouchables" from a shop I found out of town last year or so. Here is a cell phone picture I just took. I was thinking something that was a little shorter maybe? Any help would be appreciated. Sorry for the casual dress, its hot!

PictureAlbum3054-1.jpg
[/IMG]
 

Stoney

Practically Family
Messages
977
Location
Currently on the East Coast
I think the hat style works fine for the shape of your face. The only thing that I would suggest is that maybe you try a larger size. The hat is sitting a bit high on your head. Typically, most men wear their hats just two fingers above the eyebrows and somewhere slightly above the tips of their ears, usually not more than 1/4" above. Having the hat ride as high as it does on your head over emphasizes the height of the hat in relation to your face.
 

bolthead

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,905
Location
Pennsylvania, United States
I agree Stoney...

Stoney said:
I think the hat style works fine for the shape of your face. The only thing that I would suggest is that maybe you try a larger size. The hat is sitting a bit high on your head. Typically, most men wear their hats just two fingers above the eyebrows and somewhere slightly above the tips of their ears, usually not more than 1/4" above. Having the hat ride as high as it does on your head over emphasizes the height of the hat in relation to your face.
Also, you may be talking about the "Taper" of the crown and not so much the height of it.
If the crown didn't have any taper at all, it would look totally different. [huh]
 

sfend002

Familiar Face
Messages
75
Location
USA
bolthead said:
Also, you may be talking about the "Taper" of the crown and not so much the height of it.
If the crown didn't have any taper at all, it would look totally different. [huh]

Can one change the Taper?
 

suitedcboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,348
Location
Fort Worth Texas or thereabouts
The hats looks nice on you as is in my opinion. Before you get too worried, wear it a while. If a fedora is new to you then it will look and feel odd for a time until you become accustomed to wearing it.
I think you would look outstanding in that hat with a nice suit.
Enjoy!
 

sfend002

Familiar Face
Messages
75
Location
USA
Hmmmm...still trying to work this out. Thanks for help so far.

Man, I can't wait for the cool weather.
 

Not-Bogart13

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,501
Location
NE Pennsylvania
I agree with sentiments so far. One size larger will lower it's position on the head, changing the look. I once read a general rule about fedora crown height; it shouldn't be taller in front than the face visible below it. As with all rules, there are exceptions. The biggest is personal taste. If you want a lower crown, get one. If your mainly after a dress hat (rather than a high durability hat), millerhats.com carries several untapered models with lower crowns.
 

suitedcboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,348
Location
Fort Worth Texas or thereabouts
Where a hat is worn on one's head relative the ears is a personal matter. Some face shapes seem to wear a hat higher and others lower. And then there is the whole issue of ears not being uniformly positioned on human heads.
Your (orig poster) face and head shape looks great with the hat worn higher. IF a hat is comfortable there and sits well (isn't too easily blown off by wind) then that may be your hat position. I wear a hat a little lower but not much but I have a ton of western hat wearing pals and some wear them down right on their ears and others high and pushed back at angle. For most of my pals the way they choose to wear their hats looks proper on them.
I usually think a hat worn pulled down and low in the front suggests you have something to hide and too far up and back sort of makes you look like you just jumped off the back of a truck full of produce after a long ride from WAY back in the boonies.
Then there is the whole issue of tilt left or right and what that is meant to convey, if anything.

Hats are a complex issue but worth every moment of thought given and certainly worth every moment of time worn.
 
Messages
10,940
Location
My mother's basement
kabuto said:
I would not worry about the taper. Modern day hats as worn by young people are way more tapered than that. Unless you are into 1930s cosplay, that taper is fine. Taper is a style, not a defect. People like different styles, and tapered hats are more in style now.

While it's true that most (although certainly not all) new hats have more taper than did the prevalent styles of the 1930s through the early to mid '50s, taper may indeed be an indication of, if not an outright "defect," then certainly exposure to the elements (rain, heat, etc.) and the resulting shrinkage. I have owned far too many relatively modern hats that had been straight-sided when new but which tapered quite noticeably after far too little real-world use.
 

jonbuilder

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,563
Location
Grass Valley CA Foothills
You might consider buying a hat stretcher. Go slowly and if don’t like the result, the hat will most likely shrink back. I still new with hats and learning, to date I haven’t notice any harm from using the stretcher. Seems most the hat I acquired fit like the one you are wearing.
 

BobC

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,378
Location
Central IL
suitedcboy said:
Where a hat is worn on one's head relative the ears is a personal matter. Some face shapes seem to wear a hat higher and others lower. And then there is the whole issue of ears not being uniformly positioned on human heads.
Your (orig poster) face and head shape looks great with the hat worn higher. IF a hat is comfortable there and sits well (isn't too easily blown off by wind) then that may be your hat position. I wear a hat a little lower but not much but I have a ton of western hat wearing pals and some wear them down right on their ears and others high and pushed back at angle. For most of my pals the way they choose to wear their hats looks proper on them.
I usually think a hat worn pulled down and low in the front suggests you have something to hide and too far up and back sort of makes you look like you just jumped off the back of a truck full of produce after a long ride from WAY back in the boonies.
Then there is the whole issue of tilt left or right and what that is meant to convey, if anything.

Hats are a complex issue but worth every moment of thought given and certainly worth every moment of time worn.

Very well spoken, Mr. cboy. I couldn't agree more, and I would add only that which hats are worn and how they are worn are a personal matter left solely to the choice and tastes of the wearer. I wear fedoras daily to places where I am surrounded by a sea of baseball caps and/or hatless heads, and I like the contrast of my fedoras and the fact that they say that I am who I am, an individual, not a conformist.
 

RBH

Bartender
BobC said:
Very well spoken, Mr. cboy. I couldn't agree more, and I would add only that which hats are worn and how they are worn are a personal matter left solely to the choice and tastes of the wearer. I wear fedoras daily to places where I am surrounded by a sea of baseball caps and/or hatless heads, and I like the contrast of my fedoras and the fact that they say that I am who I am, an individual, not a conformist.
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
I also think there is a tendency among guys new to fedoras to be too conservative. Even tho I had worn a Stetson Chatham for a couple of years (which I infamously left in a CAB!!!), when I went to Bencraft a couple of years ago to get a "serious" fedora, I would up buying a hat that while very nice, was a lot more conservative than what I'd wear now. And that evolution in my taste happened very quickly.
What I'm getting at is that I think if you stick with that style (maybe a size larger, as suggested, and maybe a different bash) you'll quickly grow to feel very comfortable in it. Trust me. And in no time you'll be thinking about a Stetson Open Road or Stratoliner.
 

daizawaguy

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,661
Location
Tokyo
I think that suits you just fine....different hats create differnt moods, and fit in differently with different clothes. Don`t stick to any one look...try and buy some variety going forward. But if you asking whether that suits you or not...IT LOOKS GREAT!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,318
Messages
3,078,776
Members
54,243
Latest member
seeldoger47
Top