What to do with the snap brim on my Fedora

[Stratoholic]

Being completely new to the fur felt Fedora world, I'm wondering if I could gather a little advice from the community.

I just purchased a new black Stetson Temple Fedora from the Stetson Outlet Store in St. Joseph, MO. In my amateur opinion, it's a great hat (especially for the price at the outlet store - got it for $75 brand new and got to pick the one I wanted). Luckily, I live in Liberty, MO, which is only about a 35 minute drive from the store!

My question is what to do with my snap brim. I have it snapped down in front, but when I put the hat back in the hat box, the lid fits down on the box flush. The problem is, my brim (when in the snapped position) sticks up over the top edge of the box by about 1/8". This is not too much, but when the lid is put on the box, it pushes down on the brim slightly.

Should I just not worry about it and put the lid on the box anyway, "un-snap" the brim when putting it in the box, or just forget the whole box thing and hang it on a hat rack (wasn't sure if this option would make the sweat band stretch out a little weird and therefore not fit quite right)? Thought about just un-snapping it every time I put it in the box, but wasn't sure if that will cause the fur to eventually lose its inegrity - don't want a floppy brim!

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Feraud]

You can snap it up to fit correctly in the box.

 

[MikeS]

That's the beauty of a snap brim. When you want to set the hat down, perhaps on a countertop, just snap the brim up. Before putting the hat back on, just snap it back down.

When storing the hat in your box, snap it up if it's hitting the box.

I keep all my hats (3) on a coat/hat tree. They do well as long as they are placed on it without something else pushing against the brim/crown. I would not worry about a hat hook distorting the fit.

 

[Dinerman]

You'd be surprised how much hats can take, I wear some that are a good 80 years old, and they're still going strong. Snapping and unsnapping the brim won't do a thing. Hanging it on a hatrack shouldn't either,

 

[BobC]

I always snap my brims up for storage.

 

[Jerekson]

Even if the brim is custom shaped (as all mine are), as long as it retains evena slight snap to it, you can put it up and set it down without any worries. Just snap it down again and it will return to the exact same shape as before.

 

[indycop]

If you always leave it snapped down it will lose the snap and stay snapped down so it's good to put it back up at times.

 

[ScionPI2005]

If you always leave it snapped down it will lose the snap and stay snapped down so it's good to put it back up at times.

I've heard that the "snapped up position" of a brim is actually its natural, relaxed position. Is this the case? Maybe that's why its good to return them to that position every now and then.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I've heard that the "snapped up position" of a brim is actually its natural, relaxed position. Is this the case? Maybe that's why its good to return them to that position every now and then.

That makes some sense. If you've seen hat block and flange combos you'd get that when they do the brim it's actually 'snapped' down all around. Then they invert that - up all around. Then we snap the front down for style. Having the brim in the same direction - up - all around must put less stress on it, but Dinerman's right. You really don't need to baby a good fur felt hat.

 

[indycop]

I've heard that the "snapped up position" of a brim is actually its natural, relaxed position. Is this the case? Maybe that's why its good to return them to that position every now and then.

I think I remember Art saying to store his hats in the box with the brim snapped back up.

 

[Stratoholic]

Thanks for all the replies! Sounds like snapping it back and forth won't do any real damage to it and might even be a good thing (to let the brim back to its natural position from time to time).

I'm sure I'm just being paranoid as it's my first real felt fur hat - I'm sure the "new" will wear off soon and I'll be able to quit babying it. Thanks again everybody!

 

[MattJH]

Anybody else leave their brims snapped down when they're stored? Is there any other damage caused to the hat by storing it with the brim snapped down other than the risk of losing the snap itself? If so, I never, ever wear my brims snapped up while wearing my hats, so I'm assuming this wouldn't be an issue for me. Confirm / deny?

 

[gtdean48]

I do & have always stored my hats snapped up, in boxes or on the hat rack. The only time they are really snapped down, either in front or all around, is when they are on my head...

 

[CRH]

...My question is what to do with my snap brim. ....

Try wearing it snapped up now and then and see if you dig it .