Trilby/Fedora?

[Tenorclef]

Here are my two felt hats. Both are Christys, one a 'Epsom' Fedora and the other a 'Chepstow' Trilby. I thought I'd post them up here because quite honestly if I didn't know one was a Fedora I'd assume both were trilbies. Looking at them I really see no difference.

Can the trained eye spot which is which?

 

[Edward]

The terms are fairly interchangeable by this point, IMO. Both "Trilby" and "Fedora" came from plays / names of characters in plays who wore soft-crowned, brimmed felt hats. IMO, the classic, English trilby is a hat with maybe a 2" brim with a pronounced up-swoop at the rear. Think Sinatra in the early fifties - or Flash Harry in St Trinian's (the original, 1950s films). Americans would refer to such a hat as a "stingy brim fedora", I believe. Hats in your photo look almost identical. Unless it's a trick of the angle / light, I'd say the darker one has a *very* slightly lower crown, and perhaps a slightly narrower brim?

 

[Saint-Just]

I may be wrong -newbie alert- but to me a trilby is the English term for a Fedora, although I believe some call "trilby" a stingy brim fedora





must....type....faster

 

[avedwards]

The terms are fairly interchangeable by this point, IMO. Both "Trilby" and "Fedora" came from plays / names of characters in plays who wore soft-crowned, brimmed felt hats. IMO, the classic, English trilby is a hat with maybe a 2" brim with a pronounced up-swoop at the rear.

I think the confusion comes about because the word "trilby" probably first came into use in the 1950s and 60s when most hats were narrow brimmed. Therefore there is no clear rule as to whether "trilby" refers to all brimmed hats or just narrow brimmed ones. Before that all fedora/trilby hats regardless of brim width or crown height were called snap brims.

Fedora has always been an American term but in the last few years it has been used in the UK too. Whilst I'm not a fan of Americanised words (much as I like the Americans on here I will never forgive them off for spelling words like colour wrong ) I use the word fedora rather than trilby simply to avoid confusion.

 

[rlk]

Most of the info on the hat is reasonably correct. Play dates back to 1895 based on 1894 book and is set in 1850's.
http://www.answers.com/topic/trilby

 

[monbla256]

I've always heard the term Trilby used to describe a smaller brimed, shorter tapered crown British style of fedora. Here's a reference as to it's origin back in the 1890's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilby

 

[Tenorclef]

Hats in your photo look almost identical. Unless it's a trick of the angle / light, I'd say the darker one has a *very* slightly lower crown, and perhaps a slightly narrower brim?

Yes the brown one does have a slightly smaller crown other than that they are the same.

 

[Omne]

Can the trained eye spot which is which?

The Trilby is on the left.

 

[Tenorclef]

The Trilby is on the left.

Hello Omne, sorry the trilby is actually on the right. I guess you had a 50/50 of getting it right
The brown hat is the Epsom Fedora and the grey hat the Chepstow Trilby.

 

[HatsEnough]

This is what the word "Trilby" brings to mind for me...

These, on the other hand...

... just make me think stingy brim fedoras. To be sure none of them will ever be in my collection. I'll never again buy any hat with a brim under 2-1/4 inches. I did it once. I won't do it again.

 

[Tenorclef]

... just make me think stingy brim fedoras. To be sure none of them will ever be in my collection. I'll never again buy any hat with a brim under 2-1/4 inches. I did it once. I won't do it again.

Oh dear...[huh]

 

[Rathdown]

This is what the word "Trilby" brings to mind for me...

What we'd refer to as a "pork pie" hat-- the sort of thing worn by dodgy used car salesmen in sheepskin coats...

 

[Omne]

Hello Omne, sorry the trilby is actually on the right. I guess you had a 50/50 of getting it right
The brown hat is the Epsom Fedora and the grey hat the Chepstow Trilby.

Always sound confident even when it's a 50/50 guess....


Another example of the 50/50/90 rule.
If you have a 50/50 chance of getting something correct you will be wrong 90% of the time.....

 

[Lefty]

What we'd refer to as a "pork pie" hat-- the sort of thing worn by dodgy used car salesmen in sheepskin coats...

not a pork pie

 

[Edward]

What we'd refer to as a "pork pie" hat-- the sort of thing worn by dodgy used car salesmen in sheepskin coats...

I wouldn't call that a pork-pie either. What distinguishes a pork-pie is the telescopic crown bash which gives it the appearance of the eponymous food product. The hat in your photo looks to have a centre-dent on the top.

 

[Oldsarge]

Thank you all so much. I, too, have been wondering what the difference between the two styles is and given my size I now know to avoid Trilby's. Any brim less than 2 1/4" would look like a pencil eraser on me.

 

[HatsEnough]

What we'd refer to as a "pork pie" hat-- the sort of thing worn by dodgy used car salesmen in sheepskin coats...

Hmmmm. Can't agree there.

This is a porkpie...

I guess terms are fungible?

 

[danofarlington]

Well, the darker one is a fedora, whereas the lighter one is a fedora.

 

[Tenorclef]

Well, the darker one is a fedora, whereas the lighter one is a fedora.

Ha yes I see your point. I think the Fedora or the Trilby as we call them in England are one and the same. Incidentally the brims on both of these hats are just shy of 2 1/4 ".

 

[Rathdown]

I wouldn't call that a pork-pie either. What distinguishes a pork-pie is the telescopic crown bash which gives it the appearance of the eponymous food product. The hat in your photo looks to have a centre-dent on the top.

I'd agree... on my monitor the crease isn't visible.

Still looks like something a dodgy used car salesman in suede brothel creepers and a sheepskin coat would wear would wear...