What is with this hat?

[avedwards]

IMO, do the following in the listed order:
1. Keep ribbon and brim the way they are.
2. Recrease with the "cross centre crease".
3. Tighten pinch as I feel this would improve the look.
4. Try wearing in warm weather with tan, cream, white, light brown or green suits.
5. Decide whether you can wear it otherwise sell it.

 

[High Pockets]

I agree with the rest of the guys,...re-crease it.
If it were mine, I'd get a pot of steam going, and take about half of that center crease out of it.
That'll spread out the sides a bit and add a little taper to the front and back. Most of the taper appears to be in the sides, not from front to back.
That should also add a little hight to the crown, bringing it a little more into proportion with the brim.

You've got nothing to loose, you can always put it back the way it was.
I'd wear a pair of white gloves while doing it though.

Beautiful hat!

 

[Howard Hughes]

HELLO

VERY nice hat, Sir !

Please do not butcher it.
Sell it on if you don't like it.
I was just reading someone's post about saving linings and sweatbands when they are worn out, then I read that someone is thinking of cutting up an original, good condition hat.
It just shows how differently people think.

I think it would look stunning with a pale suit in summer, it may not suit you due to your colouring, I am dark and pale colours don't seem to suit me.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Toodleoo
HH

 

[Forgotten Man]

What a rare piece! If it don't take yer breath away, then send it on down to someone who will love it for what it is.

You can try different blocking tricks, but do not crease the front of the crown! There is a heavy Indy influence here and that treatment is totally wrong for a fedora of this caliber.

Also, pare it with light colors, you may see it working better for you. Think Gatsby, not Sam Spade on this one... find a nice light cream suit, maybe just cream pants and a matching cream sweater vest... a nice light colored 30s patterned tie with a nice clean white dress shirt... maybe with stripes and toss on some brown and white or even straight white bucks and you'll have a clean summer look!

 

[BellyTank]

This example may not exactly be a "tropical weight" hat but I've seen many a summery fedora, straw or felt, with a lower crown, or proportionatley (to brim width ratio)lower crown.
I would respect it for what it is and keep it as my "lower crowned hat".
It is a nice, older hat after all.
There seems to be, maybe too much of a bias toward "higher/taller" crowns here -and now, after seeing many, many hats, I can see that not all hats of the 1910s-'40s were sky high. Sure, high is a preference of mine, too.

BUT let's see it on, Mr. Anon'.


B
T

 

[ScottF]

I'm gonna be the lone dissenting voice and say that I like it just the way it is. There's a certain pimpishness about it that I find appealing.

Leave as-is. There are people out there who prefer low-crown wide-brim hats, and this is a great one. Mario has a Borso that I believe has a similar look to it, as did I - I didn't realize how hard they are to find, or I would have kept mine.

If that's a 7 1/4 tag I see in there, the best option is probably to trade it to me

 

[ScottF]

Anon and I worked out a trade, so I cleaned the hat and steamed it to work on the brim a little, and start fresh on the bash. Here are the results, and I'm very pleased:

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Scotty, you're wearing a serious look there....

...but I reckon that hat is smilin'!

Great lid...and a great job.

 

[Pat_H]

A couple months ago, I picked up this Mallory at the Portland antique show, for a pretty good price. Figured that it'd do me well to have a white-ish lid for warm weather and all.

But two or three months on, I'm not so sure. I haven't worn the hat out once, because it just doesn't seem "right" with, well, anything.

So I thought I'd solicit some thoughts from the rest of y'all on the matter. My gut feeling is that the crown and brim are out of sorts with one another. Either the crown needs to be higher, or the brim shorter.

So whaddya think? Dare I cut the brim down (or rather, beg someone else to do it)? Or should I just look to sell it and get something else? And while we're at it, if anyone would like to take a stab at dating it, I'm all ears.

Please be honest... if you like the hat, great, but I'm really not that wild about it, and a threadful of "great hats" doesn't help me all that much. Danke! =)

I've had this very experience, with a hat that looked darn near identical, but was a light tan in color. It looked good when I bought it, but it never looked right. Ultimately, I gave it away.

 

[anon`]

Fabulous, Scott!

Looks a lot better on you than me. And that bash is way better than anything I might've come up with! =)

 

[ScottF]

Scotty, you're wearing a serious look there....

...but I reckon that hat is smilin'!

Great lid...and a great job.

Thanks, what's really sad is that I was actually trying to smile.

 

[billysmom]

Scott -

Looks great! Somehow it all came together. Congrats!

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Sue

 

[Garrett]

Good work, Scott :eusa_clap

So lets see what Anon received

 

[ScottF]

Good work, Scott :eusa_clap

So lets see what Anon received

Thanks Sue, Garrett. Here's the green Daitoku I traded anon. This was my favorite unwearable hat (too big) - great craftsmanship and nice, soft felt.

Green Daitoku

 

[tonyb]

... I haven't worn the hat out once, because it just doesn't seem "right" with, well, anything ...

Yeah, I happen to have a couple of very light colored hats that rarely get worn, for the same reason. I'm thinkin' it's because the hats, good-lookin' as they are, make such a strong statement that they tend to overpower most everything else. I've found that they pair up quite well with other "bold" attire, such as a long cashmere overcoat. You know, something to pull the eye down, so it doesn't stay stuck on the hat.

 

[Lefty]

It looks like you both won. Very nice. :eusa_clap

 

[ScottF]

Yeah, I happen to have a couple of very light colored hats that rarely get worn, for the same reason. I'm thinkin' it's because the hats, good-lookin' as they are, make such a strong statement that they tend to overpower most everything else. I've found that they pair up quite well with other "bold" attire, such as a long cashmere overcoat. You know, something to pull the eye down, so it doesn't stay stuck on the hat.

Tony, I've never owned a white or cream hat before, so I became enlightened last night. This was one of the few evening where people were staring at my head - there was simply nothing in my wardrobe that worked with it.

But re-reading your last sentence, I think I have another idea. Anyone willing to bail me out?

 

[tonyb]

How 'bout white bucks? Or light-colored saddle shoes? Or maybe some light-colored, wide-legged pants? That could help balance it out, I'd think.