Too Small?? Too big? Just right? or How to wear a hat!

[PastimeSteve]

Thanks gentlemen! Great information. This is a relatively new Jimmy Pierce fedora received in early May. I'm the first and only owner.

I forgot to add that I find that my skin starts sticking to the leather after a while. When I first put the hat on, it's fine and feels nice and comfortable. But, add a little sweat and the leather just sucks my forehead skin into it like a suction cup.

Maybe I should try an antiperspirant bar on my head? lol

I'm going to try Scott's advice and see if that helps, along with wearing it some more, per J.M's note. And, Scott, you're right about my head shape. That isn't helping.

Steve

 

[MattJH]

It really is just a matter of wearing it more. You know how a new pair of leather sneakers will be stiff and sometimes leave you with a sore toe or heel? After several wearings it will start conforming to your foot. It's just the basic properties of leather.

While breaking a hat in is very rewarding in the end, sometimes I really like the fact that my Akubra Casual and Akubra Traveller have elastic sweatbands.

 

[maff2k]

Hi folks,
I've recently decided to start wearing a hat. So I chose an Indiana Jones style fedora as I've always admired the look. I measured my head as the advert said and ordered a medium which was a bit loose. I didn't know about padding behind the sweat band then (hadn't found this treasure trove of this site) so I returned it and got a small, which is a good fit. I have the following questions:

How tight should the hat feel? I can't help but think that mine is a little tight. It sometimes leaves a red mark on my forehead, I'm sure this isn't suffered by all!

I've listed below a link to a couple of fairly ropey photos. Could I have peoples honest opinion as to whether I should get a medium again and pad it or whether the small fits ok? All comments are welcome good and bad, I'm new and I need to learn!

Kind regards

Matthew

http://www.amberinth.org.uk/images/

 

[cooncatbob]

Get yourself a hat stretcher, hats have tendency to shrink over time due to sweat and getting wet so a stretcher comes in handy. I fire up the the Kettle put the stretcher in the hat give it some steam and a bit of a stretch, then leave the stretcher in over night. Bob.

 

[maff2k]

Thank you

What can I say - thank you, the posts you link to are very sound advice that I will be following. Can I just ask whether you thought the hat sat correctly on my head? Did it suit or would you recomend a different style? I'm debating getting a brown fedora in the same style.

 

[Nigel]

Welcome to the forum, from another Yorkshireman, Pocklington to be exact. Whereabouts are you?

 

[MattJH]

What can I say - thank you, the posts you link to are very sound advice that I will be following. Can I just ask whether you thought the hat sat correctly on my head? Did it suit or would you recomend a different style? I'm debating getting a brown fedora in the same style.

While everyone has their own preference, I think the hat sits perfectly. It's at the standard height above the ears (1.5 - 2 fingers) and it sits nice on your forehead. Remember, though -- what's important is that you feel comfortable. Do not adjust the way you wear your hat to meet the status quo. Wear it the way it feels "right" to you. Otherwise, you'll have a nice hat with an uncomfortable posture.

 

[maff2k]

Welcome to the forum, from another Yorkshireman, Pocklington to be exact. Whereabouts are you?

Thanks, I'm not far, just over the way in Driffield, occaisionally work down your way.

 

[Doh!]

It's hard to tell with low-res photos, but it looks small to me. Also, the fact that it's leaving a red mark probably means it could use a good stretching.

If it has a leather band, mine are slightly loose when I first put them on, but in a couple of minutes they tighten up. Not sure why.

 

[maff2k]

It's hard to tell with low-res photos, but it looks small to me. Also, the fact that it's leaving a red mark probably means it could use a good stretching.

If it has a leather band, mine are slightly loose when I first put them on, but in a couple of minutes they tighten up. Not sure why.

mmm, right, I now don't know which is best. I want to get another fedora in brown but as I'm getting it from the States it gets expensive to ship it back. A medium that I want is 55-57cm the small that I have is 54cm.

I did a bit of stretching as described to make the long oval which seems to have given me a better fit.

Would it help if I did some pics of hold the tapemeasure to you guys can advise me if I'm measuring at the right point?

Many thanks for all your help so far.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I think I have an egg-shaped head. I can wear a 7-1/4, a 7-3/8 or a 7-1/2, they just sit slightly higher or lower, but not alarmingly so. 7-3/8 fits best, but some of my very favorites are 7-1/4. Dobbs and Resistols seem to run a little large for their stated size.

 

[feltfan]

I don't have any experience with Akubras.

As for how I like to wear hats, there is no one answer.
I keep some hats deliberately tight, to wear on windy days.
Others are a touch too big and I can't always wear them,
depending on my head (heads aren't always precisely the
same size) and haircut. I don't tend to put padding under
the sweatband, but have been known to put a folded dollar
or two under the band in extreme cases.

Some hats are designed to ride high (e.g., cowboy and
Open Road-type hats) for coolness. Fedoras tend to
ride lower, depending.

Usually I'd say the best fit is the hat you forget you have on.
But that's not always so.

 

[lincoln1965]

And Akubra Fed?

Just got mine. It's a 61 and yes, a bit big on the sides. But I put the sticky foam tape inside the sweat and it's not bothering me much.

Don't look too bad either. Here. See for yourself. Please excuse the morning face.

Nice Hat!!!

 

[Woodfluter]

mmm, right, I now don't know which is best. I want to get another fedora in brown but as I'm getting it from the States it gets expensive to ship it back. A medium that I want is 55-57cm the small that I have is 54cm.

I did a bit of stretching as described to make the long oval which seems to have given me a better fit.

Would it help if I did some pics of hold the tapemeasure to you guys can advise me if I'm measuring at the right point?

Many thanks for all your help so far.

I agree that whatever size feels right is right. But in your case, being new to hats like this, you may not have much of a basis for comparison. It took me many years to discover that I really wasn't a 7-3/8 (US) but rather a 7-1/2. I thought the larger hats were too loose and would blow or fall off, but as others mentioned, if they have a really good sweatband they sort of adjust and fit better in short order, and a larger hat sitting more loosely farther down on my head is much more comfortable than a tighter hat screwed on hard, or perched on the more tapered part of my skull, if you see what I mean.

Take a careful look at old pictures and old movies where men wore hats in the day when they were common. In many or most cases, if the hat is cocked even slightly to one side, the brim was touching the top of the ear on one side or pretty close to that. For an easy to find example, you can search the web and find some stills of Bogart that show this. Or more recently, Harrison Ford. With my hat square on my head, one finger at most. Cocked to one side, it's top of ear and maybe two fingers above the other.

This is my take only, but it looks like the hat in your photos is a tad smallish. You mention medium and large sizes, and that may be part of the problem. Those cover a range, and it is hard enough for me to get the right fit with even a one centimeter circumference differential involved. Does the hat you are considering come in exact sizes? Might you consider a different make that does? You could measure the one you have with a cloth tape and then go one cm larger...just a thought.

Is your hat somewhat stiff? If it is good quality fur felt, don't be afraid to moosh it and beat it up periodically to soften it. It will make it fit better in the long run. Really!

One more little comment, and I know others could have different views, but with the shape of your face and head I think a taller crown would balance that even better. Not a lot taller, just a little. Brim width looks great. You might also experiment with the front dents, making them come a bit more to the front and extend less far to the rear, to give a wider front profile.

Best of luck to you! Many of my ancestors, those that weren't from Denmark, came from Yorkshire. I've visited there a couple of times and love it.

- Bill

 

[bolthead]

Sorry to get OT.....

....but since he started this thread (Dumbjaw).

Has anybody seen him? I haven't heard from him since Football season ended. [huh]

 

[Justdog]

Woody Harrelson

Interesting to notice Woody Harrelson in the film No country for old men.
When he is talking to Josh Brolin in the Mexican hospital he takes his hat off and has a nice red mark right across the forehead.
http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/28/the-perfect-hat-for-your-ugly-mug/

 

[randooch]

Quotable quote:

That would be the words of Cooncat Bob: "I just took calipers to my head . . ."lol

 

[zetwal]

Where should fedoras sit on the head?

I have a question about 'correctly' sizing fedoras and where they 'should' sit.

As best I can tell, the standard way to measure circumference is about a quarter inch above the ears and an inch or so above the eyebrows. But when I see photos of most of the contributors around here sporting your lovely hats they're sitting very far up above your ears (and eyebrows). Is that because you have lots and lots of distance from the top of your ears to the top of the head? Or is something else going on here?

I find that if I wear a hat way up above my ears it's left to perch precariously on the crown of my head without hugging it at all. And so it is that I pull the hat down almost to my ears for it to feel really seated and secure. Is this a case of just not finding the perfect hat for my head?

If you are one of those who does wear your hat very far up above your ears, how do you get away with it? Does it really hug your head and stay in place if you bend down to pick up that lucky penny?

Thanks - Eric

 

[KatintheHat]

I like mine to fit snug down on the top of my ears, so when I do push it up it's floating loose and comfy. Everybody's different.

 

[retro50]

Mine sit about an eighth of an inch above my years and perhaps a quarter of an inch above my eyebrows. They slip on comfortably to that level, and are stable. No amount of wind, and believe me, Calgary is as windy or windier than Chicago, can dislodge them. I do not have to jam them down to survive wind.