The snap brim homburg

[univibe88]

I find it funny that the snap brim homburg is being linked with the "university" set and "informal wear."

Even back then the kids were causing elders grief and dressing more casually!

 

[Dinerman]

Modern homburgs, epecially cheaper ones or wool felt ones, don't get the proper curl to the brim, just as modern derbies are entirely wrong as far as the curl goes. The cheap modern homburg curls more to a bowl.

 

[Topper]

Ultimately there is no written rules as to what defined it, the homburg was based on the hunting hats from Germany.

http://www.bad-homburg.de/sc/Tourism_Leisure/Sightseeing/Gothic_House/1872186.asp IS good backgrounder

Eventually the "most common" design in the last centuray is probably of a straight crease, without side indentations, and a pencil curled brim edge.


Saying this the Homburg produced by some suppliers now has the edge created moreso like a bowler/topper with more flattened sides curled sides and very small curled front and rear. Whis is more like the traditional homburg models.

Some of the fist homburg hats "DID" have very small side indentation like a trilby! But maintained a straight centre crease. And non uniform brim curl


One of the best photos showing this is taken when Edward was at Homburg

http://pohledy-ml.wz.cz/velke/edward06.jpg

Typically it comes down to the "crown" being the primary descriptive of a hat, followed sometime by the brim....

E.g. A Trilby and Fedora are the same as far as crown styles, only the size of the brim distinuishes them.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

That second link, the group shot, shows hats with a pronounced downward 'swoop' to the front of the brims. I like that. The problem I've always had with most Homburg hat offerings I've seen in my lifetime is that the brims are so level or even slightly opposite of the downward swoop. Makes them look like clown hats to me - or ON me I should say.

 

[Dinerman]

I have an early '30s (I think) Mallory with a brim flanged like that, and a whopping 6-1/2 inch crown with a super-deep crease, and shallow side dents. It's a 7-3/8, but with some period repairwork to the unreeded sweat, it now fits a 7-1/4. A real oddball hat, especially with the purple liner. Only one I've run across with this kind of brim treatment.

But I do agree about the crown blocking making a hat what it is-
like this early '40s Bergen custom, while it has a homburg- type brim, the crown blocking makes it something entirely different. What, though, other than bizarre, I can't tell you.

 

[Jerekson]

Here is my own 40s Stetson snap:

Whoa, if I had $500 right now I would buy that hat from you.

Seriously, that is so my style it's not even funny. I need to look into getting a good homburg...

 

[Topper]

Can not see the centre crease very well- at first glance woud say it was a shallow "pork -pie".

 

[Dinerman]

fftopic: Yeah, it's an odd one- no center crease- Nearly a flat topped crown but with just enough curve, and very little transition from the curve to the flat sides of the block, so it gets a bit of a porkpie thing going on. They come up every now and again from the same custom hatter, and all in bizarre colors. The felt is very nice, at least on mine, so it's not a costume piece or anything like that, like it looks.
The other colors show the crown treatment better.

 

[Topper]

Toppers are strictly flat, though i have seen some with slight bulges in versions ( though very infrequent)

So if 99% flat then I would classify the above red/black/yellow ones as Short-crowned Toppers.
The bowler is more curved, and whilst a cambridge bowler is more flattened , it still has very curved edges. Your hats square ( Square=crown top edge) appear quite tight as per most felt toppers.

The White one initially looked like a pork pie initially - but guess that is trick of the light in photo.

 

[Dinerman]

The White one initially looked like a pork pie initially - but guess that is trick of the light in photo.

combination of the light, and there is a dip to the top of the crown from the fur felt being of the thin vintage variety and having very little stiffener in it, causing it to dip down when there's not a head in it. It's a pretty awful looking hat when worn.

 

[thunderw21]

Cavanagh "Lord's Hat" AKA "snap brim homburg".

Two hats in one!

I like how the snapped down brim is extreme.

I didn't know this brim could be snapped down until a few days ago. It's gone from one of my lower hats in the hierarchy to near the top. If you don't have one of these, you need to get one.

 

[reetpleat]

first of all, i see many hats from the seventies that seem to be nice quality with a sharp curl in the back and snap down in the front. They are also doing them today in cheap fabrics for the kids. Could these be what has become of the snap brim homburg? Or is this a trilby?

http://www.mydivascloset.com/ourbefehatev.html


Also, I am going to disagree as to the crown style making a hat what it is. It is kind of semantic and philisophical. Yes, a pork pie crown is now a pork pie, but are you saying that if I was wearing a homburg and you came up to me and pinched the crown in the front, I would suddenly not be wearing a homburg. Ridiculous. What is it then.

the homburg is characterized by the brim curl. the fact that it was typically creased down the middle does not make it so. back in teh early part of the 20th century, they were often pinched on the side and no as often, pinched in the front.

 

[Dinerman]

Take a look at this

 

[Lefty]

I really like that hat, but to me, it just doesn't look like it's meant to be snapped down. It's kind of like collars. I could flip mine up, but then I'd have to kill myself. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Cavanagh "Lord's Hat" AKA "snap brim homburg".
I didn't know this brim could be snapped down until a few days ago. It's gone from one of my lower hats in the hierarchy to near the top. If you don't have one of these, you need to get one.

 

[thunderw21]

Take a look at this

1922 Mont. Ward hats. Check out the hat on the left.

 

[Jerekson]

I like the one on the RIGHT!!! Holy cow!

 

[Lefty]

It looks a lot like this one, which I've got dated to no later than 1913, when I pop the bash out.

 

[reetpleat]

It looks a lot like this one, which I've got dated to no later than 1913, when I pop the bash out.

There will be blood.

That old in that size, what a prize.

 

[Jerekson]

That's the one!

Have you ever tried snapping the brim down?

 

[Dinerman]

Have you ever tried snapping the brim down?

Why would you? It's not meant to be.