Don't Know About Stingy Brims Anymore...

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Well I'm having a hat transitional period. I've been selling off a lot of the old/ugly/too big hats I don't wear, and I'm only down to a couple that fit and I like. Unfortunately, I realize they're all stingy brims. For some reason, I don't like how they look on me anymore, and therefore haven't been wearing hats lately. I know, shame on me. Here are a couple examples.

This is a few year old pic, but it is a brown Portis I wear occasionally.

This is my usual hat, a 60's Stetson.

I have had one wide brim that I used to wear, but I sold it because it was slightly too big for me. It's a vintage Borsalino.

Now, I promise this isn't going to turn into a "make me over" thread, but I'm just curious. Should I stick with stingy brims? I've been told they fit me better, but I really prefer the wider brims. I don't want to look odd or out of place in one though. Is there a specific crown height or style I should be leaning towards? The stingy brims are fine, but I'm trying to go for an earlier look, and they just scream 60's, and I while I like the Rat Pack look and all, it's not what I want.

I've been thinking of an Akubra Federation, or, just saving up for a custom (finally, I've been saying I will for years). I've looked online at a chart that says what type of hat goes with that type of face, but it's hard for me to pick what correlates best to me. Weird face, I guess.

Any input from fellow hat wearers would be greatly appreciated.

 

[thunderw21]

Why only do one style? While I prefer wide brims I also venture into the stingies. Do both according to how you feel on any given day. Also, if you want a narrower brim but not a stingy go for an early 1930s fedora, they often only had a 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" brim.

Cheers!

 

[MDphoto]

Why only do one style? While I prefer wide brims I also venture into the stingies. Do both according to how you feel on any given day.

I agree with you Thunder.

 

[ScionPI2005]

I've been told I look good in both wider brims and stingy brims, so I work with this as best I can.

It seems like the one big Golden rule here on the Lounge is to wear what you like. Just stick with it. Others will see that confidence and it will continue to work for you.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

There was a thread some time ago here about this very subject. With some vintage guidelines and recommendations that took into consideration an individual's build, face shape, etc. It included pictures and diagrams and everything. How to find it again though is anyone's guess. [huh]
However, if you feel that you look best in a hat with a narrower brim, you are probably correct. Your intuition will never fail you. No one knows better than you do as to what sort of hat looks best on you. Maybe something in between? A compromise.

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

I do have this 30's Stetson, but I don't like to give it much mileage, due to the age.

I like the look of the wide brims, but I'm just not sure how I feel about how they look on me. I know I should just wear what I want to, but I still feel paranoid about looking ridiculous with my face shape. I really want something with a very wide brim, about the size of an Open Road brim. I'm thinking a wide brim with a low crown would keep my face from looking too long, while adding the width I want. I just like the mystique of a wide brim hat. Maybe I should just go eccentric and wear a big coat, wide hat, and sunglasses. I'm starting to feel like I look like a cartoon character in my stingy hats.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Hello "Mr" -

Here's my personal take: You seem like a man of slight build (as am I) and your face is narrow-ish. For me, those features always make me feel like the smaller brimmed hats make me look too serious and, well, old.

I've gravitated to 2-1/2" brims or more and have a few (size 7) hats with tapered crowns and smaller brims that I don't wear any more and plan to offer in the classifieds here.

I just prefer the flashier look of a big brim on top of my slender self. (Fig. 1)

One exception is one of my Borsolinos. (Fig. 2) It has only a 2-1/8" brim but the crown is so full and boxy that it has an actual reverse taper to it. Something about this lid and it's proportions just makes it the only one I can take with a smaller brim any more. And still, not exactly my 'go to' hat.

(Fig. 1)

(Fig. 2)

 

[Sefton]

Well,for what it's worth (2 cents + inflation) I think that the "stingy" brims look quite right on you. I put "stingy" in quotation marks because one man's stingy is another mans full size (unless we're talking 1" and then that's just plain tiny!). Also, I'm wondering why you think that a stingy makes you look like an old man and a wide brim doesn't? To me it seems that the wider brims have more of an 'old timer' look whereas the narrow brims still seem like a youthful look. Either way, you have to go with what feels right because you're the guy who's going to wearing it. Oh, I think that your "usual" hat looks sharp.

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Gene,
You're right, I am pretty slim, and that's part of the reason I was wondering if as wide brim would be right. However, yours seems to work well, so I think I'll be OK.

I think a wide brim projects a very "I mean business" look, rather than being youthful or old timer-ish. I associate a stingy brim more with musicians and going out on the town. Both have their merits, of course. I guess I was just apprehensive about taking the plunge for an expensive wide brim hat. I think I need to quit worrying so much.

Sefton, thanks for the input. My Stetson looks about the same color and style as the hat in your avatar.

 

[DanielJones]

Mr. M.: Well, here is my two cents worth. Wear what fits your proportions. It appears that with your slender build the stingy seems to fit the proportions of your face and shoulders best drawing the viewers eye to your face as intended.

As you can see from HPG's photo the wider shoulders of his suit and his longer face lend well to the wider brim. If he went with a more sloped or narrow shoulder in his suit it would have drawn attention to his shoulders and away from his face.

Best bet is to try a variety of combinations and see what suits you best, drawing the attention to your face and nowhere else. Not all of us can pull off the tall crown & wide brim. As for me I own one stingy, and it only works for the summer look with bowling shirts. beyond that I look like I'm wearing a clown hat. So, like I said, try a variety of combinations and see what works best for you.

The blue pinstripe suit you're wearing needs the wider brim to compliment the suit to be able to draw the viewers eye to your face first. As is, my eye is drawn to the hat and then the tie and then the shoulders. If you were wearing the hat that HPG is wearing it would tie it all together perfectly and we would see your face first which is the whole point. Frame the face.

I'm just looking at it from an artists eye towards composition and style. Looks at how some contemporary people like Johnny Depp wear their hats & clothes as a whole package and how it all seems to work together. Also, look to the men like Cary Grant, Bing Crosby & Humphry Bogart, maybe even Fred MacMurray, Joseph Cotton & especially Fred Astaire. They all knew how to dress to fit their individual frames & face shapes. Bing could pull off either a wide brim or a stingy according to what he was wearing. A broad shouldered suit would have gotten a wide Whippet, while a shirt & cardigan on the golf course would have gotten a stingy. They were all artists in their own right and used their artists eye to dress themselves to perfection.

Take it for what it is worth, probably two cents anyway. The artists eye isn't always perfect, but we try.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Thanks Dan, that's very sound advice. I'll be sure to give it some thought. I would just have to coordinate my clothes with whichever brim I decide on. I'll have to get an inexpensive wide brim hat to experiment with. Anyway, when I do decide to go for a custom hat, I'm sure the hatter will be able to give excellent advice on what sort of hat would fit me best.

 

[metropd]

Its all how the hat fits you. I am 5 9" 122 pounds and this is a fedora that has a 2 5/8 brim. Here is the hat from many angles, I think a hat like this would work for you.

 

[Yohanes]

Mr. M, I guess there's nothing wrong with stingy brim. Your Stetson is also a stingy, right? I think the brim is not more than 2". And it looks fine on you.

In my personal opinion, a slender / thin person looks much better on stingy brim. But that's just general. Some exceptions do exist, of course. Metropd certainly can wear wide brim excellently despite his slender figure and head.

Me myself, I think would look better in stingy 1 7/8 brim. 2 1/4 would be max. Wider than that, I will likely be eaten by the hat.

 

[toobacat]

Just judging from your pictures, I think stingy brims work for you.

 

[RBH]

I think you look good in both.
I myself just cant do the stingy, just not enought brim for me.
Get yourself a Campdraft and put a diamond or c-crown in it... I believe that that will be the ticket.

 

[Beowulf67]

I was going to mention MetroPD as an example of how a slimmer guy can pull off the wider brim look but he beat me too it.:eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

I find myself in agreeance with those who say you can get away with both. Might be worth thinking about what you're wearing them with too; in isolation, I prefer a wider brimmed hat (brim approaching as near 3" as possible), but with some clothing, notably cropped leather jackets and the like that stop on or around the waist, I tend to the view that a 2" brim can work better. That's what works for me, anyhow....

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Thanks, gents! I feel confident about either brim style.

RBH, the Campdraft was actually one that I was considering. Thanks for the tip.

Metropd, you pull off that brim really well, and you have about the same facial shape, and slope in the shoulders as I do. That's a perfect example. Nice suit, too.

 

[bolthead]

Good advice Gene....

Something about this lid and it's proportions just makes it the only one I can take with a smaller brim any more. And still, not exactly my 'go to' hat.

.....and when you're ready to let this one go, you be sure to let me know.....aight?