Bald guy size questions?.

[babs]

If covered at length my apologies. Maybe not even worth it's own thread, but thought it might be good topic.

Does a new hat possibly loosen up a bit or stretch to a long oval head with a few wears?

I noticed last night wearing the new homburg by the end of the evening the hat was on the top of my ears and appeared to have either broken me in or broken in to my long oval head a bit, though it still had gaps on the sides.

I'm one of those clean types.. I use the "headblade" to clean my dome completely... So without a cushion of some amount of hair, I guess that'll make good sizing a bit more crucial as there's not much wiggle room that hair will allow for a bit more tolerance. Any advice from others that like the feel of a good razor on their noggin?

Like this fella! hehe

 

[tortswon]

It looks to me that the eyebrows would arrest a slide on the guy in the picture. Best, Sam

 

[John in Covina]

Adjustable Hat not head.

Most fedoras have a leather sweat band which may stick to bare skin if you're a little sweaty! Sizing will be a concern, Long Ovals are not seen in regular factory models as much anymore. For a true long oval you may wish to get a custom hat such as Art's Vintage Silhouettes. A lucky search of vintage could put you into the Long Oval of your dreams too.

I have seen the hatter at a local shop grab the hat inside front and back and hand stretch a hat to make for a long oval head, which surprised the heck out of me. It might be posible to get a size and shape a long oval with a Hat Jack and some steam. The other thing is some hats stretch a little and some may shrink a tad as reaction to being worn, the key is the sweat band I think.

You can also get a tad bigger and put material behind the sweat to size it for you also! I think a little bit big is better than a little too small, because of the adjust with felt or paper routine.

 

[babs]

I've made a sizing revelation after receiving an ebay win..
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=831679&postcount=5034

It's sized 7 1/4 (Miller made by Biltmore). Nice nice quality hat I think (but I'm not yet an officianado). It's pretty snug.. If it were a "smidgen" smaller, I would have to give it up, but I think I can make do possibly with some wear.. If it shrinks, I'm toast, and would have to let it go.

The Bailey I bought was size ordered "Large" which by scale is 7 1/4 - 7 3/8 actually on the charts.. And from memory without it infront of me I think that's how it's labeled. It fits as such.. Large on my head but not a problem, very wearable.

So I believe I'm probably just a wee bit larger than a 7 1/4 but not a 7 3/8 noggin.. With no wiggle room provided by hair, I have to be right on with sizing.

So for hat's sized "Large" I can have possibly a bit more confidence than one sized specifically 7 1/4. Might have to try on some 7 3/8 hats and hats sized "Large" ie between 7 1/4-7 1/8 for comparisons.

I sure wish I could find a shop with good selection, or any shop with felt dress fedora's etc here in Asheville.

 

[JJWord]

I also keep my head..."neat". I used to razor shave it weekly, but that became a chore so now I only use the clippers with no guard every-other week.

I imagine sizing our heads isn't much different than sizing anyone elses. Where the headband would sit, most guys keep their hair fairly short and managed.

Moreso the issues I have are the leather band sticking all around my head (not just to my forehead), making removing the hat akin to pulling a plunger off my head. Also, per recommendation, the liner in my hat has a plastic oval on the crown:

I can't remember the exact name for the kind of liner it is, but its specifically for guys like us who don't have a layer of hair to keep sweat/grease/oil off the inside of the crown.

 

[babs]

hehehe! Yeah I've discovered that with the hat above. An air-tight fit around a slick noggin makes for an interesting tug-of-war dismount for sure.

On the hat above, the "geometry" of the oval shape appears perfect so there's no gaps on the sides or anywhere.

I'm currently winning bidder on a hat stretcher which will have to be used, otherwise I'll have to give up the hat I'm afraid. I certainly can't cram it down on my noggin and say it fits. Hoped it'd loosen up a bit, but it's not gonna happen.

I'm gonna remeasure.. Second-guessing the circumference.

 

[JJWord]

Definately don't just cram it on your head. Pushes the crown out funny, tweaks the plane of the brim due to the stress along the band, etc. Plus you'd need the jaws of life to get it off.

 

[PeeWee]

I'm a daily head shaver, and I have found that sizing up from my normal 58 to 59 gives me a better fit considering the sticking factor Most of my hats seem to snug up a tad anyway after a few years.

 

[babs]

Yeah for hats sized exact, 7 1/4 or 7 3/8 rather than "Large", I'm thinking it better to opt for the 7 3/8 and play it safe. A hat a bit too large can possibly shrink up over time, but too small and it's got to be stretched.

 

[warmentrout]

Harbor Freight has a hat stretcher for about $6.00 that works well for me, I am between 7 3/8 and 7 1/2 and am a long oval. The stretcher is tapered some so it minimizes the funny little bulge you can get in the crown when you stretch just the sweatband and not the whole crown. I have had good luck by putting the stretcher in and just snugging it up, I dont' want to stretch the hat, just reshape it a little. I then give the brim a good steaming. I actually use a steam iron with a t shirt covering the felt so the iron doesn't harm the felt. This seems to reshape the brim which helps the hat to keep the long oval shape. If you use an iron you will iron out the curl in the brim which you will want to put back in. I do that by lifting the hat and ironing the brim at an angle and pulling the brim out from under the iron while lifting the hat up. It is much the same idea as putting a curl in ribbon with the edge of a knife, like you would do on a birthday present. I have only done this on fedoras, never a homburg or derby, I have stretched a derby but I didn't have to do anything to the brim. Having said all that I also am of the opinion that it is better to buy a big hat and put paper or felt behind the sweatband to snug it up until the sweatband shrinks than to buy a small hat and try to stretch it. If you do stretch go slow , be patient, use only as much heat as necessary and you won't ruin anything. Fur felt is pretty tough stuff. You may need to make several attempts before you get the result you want but it is rather gratifying when you do. Good luck


Also, I was in Asheville NC this Summer for vacation. I'm assuming that's the Asheville you are refering to. In the "historical" section of downtown where all the little artsy crafty shops are I found several nice vintage hats but they were too small for me. If you live close it might be worth a Sat. afternoon to go hat hunting every once in awhile

 

[babs]

Yep, that's the Asheville.. Born and raised here. I'd love to know where you found those vintage hats here.. Possibly Biltmore Village? Near the entrance to the Biltmore house? Or maybe somewhere downtown.. Lexington Ave maybe, below the Civic Center?

I'll ask around. ... edit: Found a few actually.. as I guessed it on Wallnut and Lexington both. I'll have to drop off a card and put 'em on the hunt to call me when they find some gems.

Thanks on the hat stretching tips. I figured the one thing I wouldn't have would be the Lexol that folks mention using on the sweat band to soften it up.. I do have some other creamy leather conditioner I could try though. I do have one of those floor-standing little steam iron jobs though for clothes that looks like the trick.. Steam up the hat good and let it dry in cool room conditions with the stretcher going. That hat is close enough I can tell if I got somewhere between it's 7 1/4 size and 7 3/8 it'd be a winner.

 

[babs]

Arrggghh! Got into a last second bid war and stuck to my budget guns. Wow, those old vintage stretchers are like hot cakes I guess. I got a last-second beat down by someone that wanted it more than I did I guess. Oh well.

Harbor Freight, here I come. Unless someone's got a full-circumference stretcher like those old ones they wanna get rid of or other recommendation to consider. Eh, for that price on that the one at HF, why not. Thanks for the tip.