A good starter hat....

[Kangfish]

Hi and welcome! I'm new here too. If you still have any of Gramps fedoras you may already have a very good and suitable hat that many of us would envy. - Kangfish

 

[FinalVestige79]

None of them fit me sadly...he had some really really Great Homburgs. I'll post pics if I can dig them up.

 

[MCrider]

Ebay?

I'm looking on ebay as I type this....theres a couple for under $50 in my size (7 3/8). I'm gonna go looking for hatters in OC as well, since Sir Wickets is gone I have no where to go.

Great. Another person I'm going to be trying to outbid :eusa_doh: Actually GranadaGuy, I've picked up several nice hats from ebay and I think it gives you a good chance to see what kind of style you want. Good hunting!

 

[FinalVestige79]

lol i was waiting for someone to bring up outbidding me ! lol I found a nice grey fur felt one. Looks good. For way under $50!!

 

[avedwards]

lol i was waiting for someone to bring up outbidding me ! lol I found a nice grey fur felt one. Looks good. For way under $50!!

A grey hat in 7 3/8? If it was vintage you'll have competition from me as well.

As for a starter, I'd say avoid wool felt hats as they're only good for trying on really. I've had one wool felt which only lasted three days (admittedly it rained heavily for two of those and I was outdoors most of the time). Get a fur felt, even if it's only a cheap one. Akubra and Stetson seem the best there. I don't have an Akubra but I do have a Stetson Chatham (in my avatar) and it is my best and favourite hat at the moment, but the crown is a little bit on the low side I find. Akubras have the advantage of being durable, low priced and open crown (not all are but a lot are) so you can bash them yourself which allows you to change the style to your liking as well as adjust the crown height to a certain extent.

Colourwise, if it is for black or blue pinstripe suits I would always have a grey hat with a black ribbon for that (such as my Chatham). The best light grey colour in Stetsons is called caribou grey and in Akubras moonstone. A black hat will do, but I think light grey is so much more versatile, as you can also comfortably wear it with other suits or casual clothes.

 

[rrog]

Akubra.

http://www.hatsdirect.com/

Price and quality you can't beat. Johnny

Ditto. And for not-much-more than $50, you could buy a new Akubra from a reputable and reliable source... without the worries that sometimes come with shopping on OFAS. In my opinion, an Akubra from hatsdirect or Everything Australian is the way to go.

Good luck and welcome to the lounge.

rrog

 

[rrog]

Oops, I almost forgot. The hat in my avatar is a Sunbody. They make good hats. Depending on which one you choose, you could have a hat paid for and shipped to you for well under $50. They're made from Guatemalan and Mexican palm. I've got two and am impressed with them. There's a thread entitled "Sunbody Association" that will show lots of examples of what these hats look like.

rrog

 

[carldelo]

My first fedora (the one I left in the cab!!!) was a Stetson Chatham. It's a nice fur felt hat, moderately priced (about $70), with a good variety of colors. The more you wear a fedora, the less conservative your tastes will become. In other words you'll feel more comfortable with a bolder style, high crown, wide brim, etc. The Chatham is a nice middle of the road in all dimensions.
You gotta post some pics when you make your choice!

$70! That must have been quite a while ago, my friend, a Chatham goes for almost twice that nowadays.

To the OP, Village Hat Shop is in CA somewhere, maybe within range and you could try on a lot of hats. I started with a Stetson - they're nice hats. Akubra are a great value the only problem is that you can't try them on before buying and sending them back to Oz is not really cost effective. A Stetson from VHS can be returned easily.