Which Christy fedora?

[tom78]

I'm looking for a smart "wear with suit in London" fedora and wonder which of the Christy hats comes closest to the Bailey Gangster, my current cheaper fedora? Any advice? I think the Adventurer may be a bit rugged/outdoorsy.

The Gangster is a 4in crown and 2.5in brim but I'm most interested in shape. Does any Christy-wearer have advice?

 

[avedwards]

I don't have a Christys but I have read a lot. Just because the adventurer sounds rugged, I don't think it actually is that rugged. It's open crown so you can decide on the shape and height of the bash. As for the brim, if you ask I have heard that Christys will cut it down for you and even optionally add a brim binding.

 

[AEH]

Here is a recent thread about Christys Adventurer:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=37940

and my post in this thread:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=725629&postcount=22

I do not see my Adventurer as a rugged hat, in my opinion it will look good with suit and tie.

Hope this help.

 

[carldelo]

I looked at the Bailey Gangster at VHS and the Christy's at Hornets Hats. To my eye, the Christy's that comes closest is the Knightsbridge - it also has a 2-1/2" brim and wide-ish 1-1/2" ribbon, like the Bailey. There's no need to have an Adventurer brim cut down, it would wind up looking just like a Knightsbridge.

I have a Marlborough, which appears to be the same hat as the Knightsbridge, but with a 1" ribbon and a brim binding. It's a nice hat, the brim binding makes it seem fairly dressy. It has more taper to the crown than my Stetsons, and it looks to have more taper than the Bailey too, if that matters.

Personally I like the look of the Epsom as well - the short brim and narrow ribbon match well. I think the smaller proportions would work well with the dense and somewhat thin felt of the Christy's. It was 50/50 for me, so I opted for the one with the bound brim as I was getting a navy hat to go with my dress overcoat.

 

[JacobSwan]

Personally I like the look of the Epsom as well - the short brim and narrow ribbon match well. I think the smaller proportions would work well with the dense and somewhat thin felt of the Christy's. It was 50/50 for me, so I opted for the one with the bound brim as I was getting a navy hat to go with my dress overcoat.

I have a couple of Epsoms. One in navy and one in wine. The wine one always attracts comments. Including a saleswoman from Agent Provocateur coming up me to say 'nice hat' while I was waiting for the tube!

 

[metropd]

I looked at the Bailey Gangster at VHS and the Christy's at Hornets Hats. To my eye, the Christy's that comes closest is the Knightsbridge - it also has a 2-1/2" brim and wide-ish 1-1/2" ribbon, like the Bailey. There's no need to have an Adventurer brim cut down, it would wind up looking just like a Knightsbridge.

I have a Marlborough, which appears to be the same hat as the Knightsbridge, but with a 1" ribbon and a brim binding. It's a nice hat, the brim binding makes it seem fairly dressy. It has more taper to the crown than my Stetsons, and it looks to have more taper than the Bailey too, if that matters.

Personally I like the look of the Epsom as well - the short brim and narrow ribbon match well. I think the smaller proportions would work well with the dense and somewhat thin felt of the Christy's. It was 50/50 for me, so I opted for the one with the bound brim as I was getting a navy hat to go with my dress overcoat.

I respectfully disagree. The Adventurer can be blocked in to a teardrop with very little taper while the Knightsbridge will have a lot of taper If you want a c-crown. I would suggest the adventurer with the brim cut to you specs.

 

[carldelo]

I respectfully disagree. The Adventurer can be blocked in to a teardrop with very little taper while the Knightsbridge will have a lot of taper If you want a c-crown. I would suggest the adventurer with the brim cut to your specs.

Looking at the Hornets Hats detail photos more closely I tend to agree (they should really provide better product photos, actually all vendors should). Although we should point out that the Bailey Gangster has more of a center dent crown, rather than a teardrop. In any case, it does appear to have fairly little taper and the OP can therefore put whatever bash he likes in the Adventurer.

 

[tom78]

Looking at the Hornets Hats detail photos more closely I tend to agree (they should really provide better product photos, actually all vendors should). Although we should point out that the Bailey Gangster has more of a center dent crown, rather than a teardrop. In any case, it does appear to have fairly little taper and the OP can therefore put whatever bash he likes in the Adventurer.

Many thanks for your input, gentlemen.


I ended up plumping for the Knightsbridge, and bought one in navy and one in light grey with a black ribbon. I already have two brown fedoras so will wait a few weeks to get an Adventurer for comparison!

Beautifully made, they do have a slight tendency to taper but I can live with that! I have a fairly square face, so a slightly lower crown isn't so much of a problem.

I'll post some pics shortly.