The Unpinched Fedora

[Visigoth]

Okay, does anyone here wear their fedoras unpinched? In particular, I just got a lovely Knox Custom, with a Cav edge ("Custom Edge"), and it has a center dent but no pinch. Looks as if this is how it was perhaps designed to be: the ribbon is really tall -- 2 1/8" -- and any pinch is going to taper the ribbon in a bit. It's definitely a Brat Pack stingy: 1 3/4" brim.

So... would you guys pinch this, or not? What do the different looks ("pinched" and "unpinched") connote? I'd heard that unpinched was perhaps dressier?

Did any of the Golden Era guys wear their fedoras unpinched? (I seem to remember that Cagney sometimes did, but maybe those were Homburgs.)

 

[jamespowers]

What you have is a center dent only. They were worn that way back then.
You are right. Putting in two forward dents would not look right with that tall a ribbon. The ribbon floats too much where the dents are.
Center dent only is dressier---think of the homburg. Center dent with the brim up all around would be like a homburg and considered dressier.
A Knox Custom of the age you suggest is a nice felt. If you got it for a nice price then it is even better. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Visigoth]

Ah... Good then: I'll leave it. Yes, the felt is in many ways as nice as my Borsalino from the same period. I now understand what people were saying about the Italian felt being softer; this Knox really doesn't want to change it's shape (although it's not precisely stiff). The long-haired finish, however, is lovely, and very similar to the Borsalino.

 

[Wild Root]

It goes further back...

I've seen many ads from the 20's and 30's of fedoras and homburgs with out the crown dents... it was a clean cut look that we mostly see in catalogs and movies... I've seen photos of men wearing their hats with out the front dents... I'll go “dentless” on a few of my early hats such as this one... 1929-1930 Stetson...

I do wear this hat with dents depending on the mood I'm in. But, all my 40's and early 50's Fedoras have dents. The late 50's and 60's tall ribbon jobs aren't to have dents but, that's been covered already.

=WR=

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Here is a vintage Borsalino of mine without dents:



I feel it looks a bit dressier.

Have you ever noticed that Cary Grant rarely wore hats, but when he did, they usually were undented.

 

[Visigoth]

Yes, I like that look.

Any notion what the beaver content might be on this Knox Custom? It does have a certain number of silverish hairs (in a very dark brown hat); this adds a nice sparkle, but I think I remember reading that it's a sign of using lesser quality beaver?

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Does a lack of dents belong to the definition of homburgs? I think not, and not because mine's pinched.

 

[gekisai29]

I think dentless is a very elegant look & also compliments faces with longer noses or narrow chins

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Unpinched fedora from December, 1932:

 

[jamespowers]

Nice ad. I don't think that brand name would be very popular now.
The style without forward dents and brim up all around was still around during WWII with the Stetson Three Way:

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

I think this might be close to what Visigoth has. 1950s Dobbs Blackl Forest:

Regards,

J

 

[Visigoth]

That's VERY close. This hat has a brown sweatband, which probably places it in the fifties, no? But no plastic liner.

Well... after all this discussion, I actually took out the tea-kettle and put a couple of side dents in, to see how I liked it. (Easy to pop them out again.) I'm embarrassed to say... I think I prefer it. It now looks a lot like a Blues Brothers hat: they wore stingy brims, with huge ribbons, and quite a pinch. It's also now pretty much the same shape as my Borsalino Diamante II, except that the brim on the Knox curls up far more radically in the back.

So I'm breaking a bunch of rules, probably. (Although Sinatra seems to have dented a lot of his hats.) It may just be that I'm not really looking for an ultra-dressy lid.

I found that if I put the pinch in high enough, the ribbon doesn't taper in. If anything, it make the hat LESS tapered.

 

[jamespowers]

That's VERY close. This hat has a brown sweatband, which probably places it in the fifties, no? But no plastic liner.

Well... after all this discussion, I actually took out the tea-kettle and put a couple of side dents in, to see how I liked it. (Easy to pop them out again.) I'm embarrassed to say... I think I prefer it. It now looks a lot like a Blues Brothers hat: they wore stingy brims, with huge ribbons, and quite a pinch. It's also now pretty much the same shape as my Borsalino Diamante II, except that the brim on the Knox curls up far more radically in the back.

So I'm breaking a bunch of rules, probably. (Although Sinatra seems to have dented a lot of his hats.) It may just be that I'm not really looking for an ultra-dressy lid.

I found that if I put the pinch in high enough, the ribbon doesn't taper in. If anything, it make the hat LESS tapered.

It is your hat. Wear it however you like. There really are no rules. Hats kind of take on the personality of the owner by how the owner makes it his.
I am sure you could get the dents small and high enough so the ribbon doesn't float.

Regards,

J

 

[Visigoth]

Well, something I've just discovered (perhaps this is common knowledge), is that now that I've steamed the dents in, I've altered the felt sufficiently that I can pop them out -- and they disappear -- then push them in again, and they're perfect. Interesting. I take it this is a characteristic of only the better hats.

But now I have options!

 

[BellyTank]

Unbashed and Unabashed

Vintage Borsalino Angora- unbashed and unabashed-

B
T

 

[Mr. Rover]

If my face were long enough, I'd definitely love to get a hat like those from the 1920's Knapp Felt ads. I think those are some of the most beautiful hat ads, although I've only seen one Knapp felt hat for sale ever.
It's very similar to one of Art's recent models. Tall crown with a deep center dent, tall ribbon, medium-width raw edge brim.

 

[Visigoth]

BellyTank, what's the model name of that Borsalino angora? And is there a serial number under the sweatband, to determine the year? I love it!

Is "angora" actually made from angora, or is that simply a name for long-haired felt?

As for me, I'm quite bipolar about this hat: today I prefer it unbashed.

 

[jamespowers]

If my face were long enough, I'd definitely love to get a hat like those from the 1920's Knapp Felt ads. I think those are some of the most beautiful hat ads, although I've only seen one Knapp felt hat for sale ever.
It's very similar to one of Art's recent models. Tall crown with a deep center dent, tall ribbon, medium-width raw edge brim.

If you find a Knapp Felt in your size buy it. Even if you never wear it, you need to have one in your collection. The hats are few and far between.
They were sort of the nexus company of things to come. John Cavanagh came from there and thus the Cavanagh Edge. Crofut and Knapp were truly a great company that taught the next generation of hat makers how it is done. Without them there would have been no shoulders to stand on for the coming giants.

Regards,

J

 

[BellyTank]

BellyTank, what's the model name of that Borsalino angora? And is there a serial number under the sweatband, to determine the year? I love it!

Is "angora" actually made from angora, or is that simply a name for long-haired felt?

As for me, I'm quite bipolar about this hat: today I prefer it unbashed.

It's called "The Angora"- who knows what the composition is- maybe it is just a hairy version of a typical blend, or maybe it does have angora rabbit in it.
It has a nice marled colour, greys with a speckling of a blue-ish hue.
Serial is '810M 76718', if that means anything... Going by it's similar, contemorary hats, it's '40s vintage. When I got it, it had the typical and classic Borsalino styling and dents but I have done a little 'creative ironing and hammering' with it- some subtle tweaks and smoothing...

B
T

 

[Visigoth]

Hm... that serial number would seem to indicate 1976, but I'm beginning to think that this numbers game is not very reliable.