Fedora brim width???

[Hanover Fiste]

On my umpteenth viewing of CASABLANCA yesterday, I once again became aware of something that has gnawed at my mind for a while.

Rick Blain's classic fedora... I can't seem to find one like it that has the same panache and style.

Examining it closely, I first thought the missing factor was that wide grosgrain band. Nope... that's PART of it, but it's not EVERYTHING.

Crown height? it's pretty high, but there are high crown fedoras out there that don't have the same film noire feel.

I think I've finally figured it out... How wide is the brim on Bogie's hat???

Modern fedoras seem to be pretty stingy in the brim; my Akubras and Stratoliners are, in comparison, almost trilbies... and IMHO, 90% of the folks who wear a trilby look like morons. The trilby is a satirical version of the classic fedora; they're only suitable wear by Frank Sinatra or B. B. King... I don't sing worth a damn, and my guitar work is more Country - Western than Delta blues.

Does anybody know just HOW wide that generous, lush brim is on Bogie's fedoras? And where can one that wide be found?

I'm thirsting for that Sam Spade look...


Mr. T.

 

[jlee562]

Doesn't really look much wider than the 2.5" of a stratoliner brim, maybe 2 3/4". The Strat has a deeper flange which may make it seem shorter.

Penman make a a version:
http://www.penmanhats.com/pop-culture.html

 

[belfastboy]

Doesn't really look much wider than the 2.5" of a stratoliner brim, maybe 2 3/4". The Strat has a deeper flange which may make it seem shorter.

Penman make a a version:
http://www.penmanhats.com/pop-culture.html

Yes, I concur. Not an overly tall crown, average brim width perhaps 2 5/8" but you are right no wider than 2 3/4". I am wondering how much Bogart's small stature affects the look of the hat. He was a little guy, short, slight build. With that, any hat would loom larger in his presentation than on say a 6'1", 225 pounder.

 

[belfastboy]

On my umpteenth viewing of CASABLANCA yesterday, I once again became aware of something that has gnawed at my mind for a while.

Rick Blain's classic fedora... I can't seem to find one like it that has the same panache and style.

Examining it closely, I first thought the missing factor was that wide grosgrain band. Nope... that's PART of it, but it's not EVERYTHING.

Crown height? it's pretty high, but there are high crown fedoras out there that don't have the same film noire feel.

I think I've finally figured it out... How wide is the brim on Bogie's hat???

Modern fedoras seem to be pretty stingy in the brim; my Akubras and Stratoliners are, in comparison, almost trilbies... and IMHO, 90% of the folks who wear a trilby look like morons. The trilby is a satirical version of the classic fedora; they're only suitable wear by Frank Sinatra or B. B. King... I don't sing worth a damn, and my guitar work is more Country - Western than Delta blues.

Does anybody know just HOW wide that generous, lush brim is on Bogie's fedoras? And where can one that wide be found?

I'm thirsting for that Sam Spade look...


Mr. T.

Oh, and I liked the look of a Trilby on Tom Landry and Bear Bryant. Looked good and certainly defined an era. Hell JFK looked pretty good in his as well.

 

[quikrick]

IMHO, 90% of the folks who wear a trilby look like morons.
Mr. T.

Great way to make friends!
Welcome to the lounge.

 

[jlee562]

Oh, and I liked the look of a Trilby on Tom Landry and Bear Bryant. Looked good and certainly defined an era. Hell JFK looked pretty good in his as well.

 

[Hanover Fiste]

Oh, and I liked the look of a Trilby on Tom Landry and Bear Bryant. Looked good and certainly defined an era. Hell JFK looked pretty good in his as well.

Yes, I concur. Not an overly tall crown, average brim width perhaps 2 5/8" but you are right no wider than 2 3/4". I am wondering how much Bogart's small stature affects the look of the hat. He was a little guy, short, slight build. With that, any hat would loom larger in his presentation than on say a 6'1", 225 pounder.

Good point... Bogie WAS infamously short and slight. It was an open secret in Hollywood that in most of his movies he wore lifts in his shoes!

Re. JFK... I don't think I ever saw a picture of him wearing ANY hat. He was known for disliking them. Sometime before his trip to the Trade Mart in Dallas, just before his assassination, he was presented with a Stetson Open Road by local political bigwigs. He thanked them, but declined to put it on, saying that if they wanted to see him wearing it, they'd have to visit him in the White House.

But as far as brim width is concerned... it occurs to me that the effect I'm looking for might be to have one made with an oversized brim, perhaps 3" or so, and perhaps an inch of extra crown.

Re. trilbys... being from Chicago, I tend to associate them mainly with the garb of Sam Giancana's "soldiers" in the 1950s, along with a bulge in the breast of a high end off the rack suit jacket!!!

But that's just me...

 

[belfastboy]

Hank Stram too!

 

[belfastboy]

Good point... Bogie WAS infamously short and slight. It was an open secret in Hollywood that in most of his movies he wore lifts in his shoes!

Re. JFK... I don't think I ever saw a picture of him wearing ANY hat. He was known for disliking them. At the Trade Mart in Dallas, just before his assassination, he was presented with a Stetson Open Road by local political bigwigs. He thanked them, but declined to put it on, saying that if they wanted to see him wearing it, they'd have to visit him in the White House.

But as far as brim width is concerned... it occurs to me that the effect I'm looking for might be to have one made with an oversized brim, perhaps 3" or so, and perhaps an inch of extra crown.

Re. trilbys... being from Chicago, I tend to associate them mainly with the garb of Sam Giancana's "soldiers" in the 1950s, along with a bulge in the breast of a high end off the rack suit jacket!!!

But that's just me...

If you want a custom fedora to your specifications shoot me a PM.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Good point... Bogie WAS infamously short and slight. It was an open secret in Hollywood that in most of his movies he wore lifts in his shoes!

Re. JFK... I don't think I ever saw a picture of him wearing ANY hat. He was known for disliking them. At the Trade Mart in Dallas, just before his assassination, he was presented with a Stetson Open Road by local political bigwigs. He thanked them, but declined to put it on, saying that if they wanted to see him wearing it, they'd have to visit him in the White House.

But as far as brim width is concerned... it occurs to me that the effect I'm looking for might be to have one made with an oversized brim, perhaps 3" or so, and perhaps an inch of extra crown.

Re. trilbys... being from Chicago, I tend to associate them mainly with the garb of Sam Giancana's "soldiers" in the 1950s, along with a bulge in the breast of a high end off the rack suit jacket!!!

But that's just me...

JFK wore hats. His not wearing hats has been debunked repeatedly and is easy to disprove by anyone who can use Google.

You can not like a style (trilbies) without disparaging those who do.

The Stratoliner has had the same brim width since the 1940s and its definitely not a stingy brim. I like wider brims too, but 2 1/2” is in the range for a standard full brim width fedora.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Bogart as a slight Hunan being with short stature 5’-8” and a hat size of 7 (smaller then your average modern man.
https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/dimensions-of-bogarts-hat.30121/
In this thread Art Fawcett identifies the hat has 5 3/4 crown and 2 3/8 brim. But that brim will look different on someone that is 6’-0” with a 7 1/2 hat size and heavier set. If it was me I would trust a full custom hatter to make one that would suit you and give you the look you want.
My two cents worth
Johnny

 

[BobHufford]

Anyone know what this hat is? It reminds me of my Grandma's bath mat.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Rick's hat had a stingy brim, 2" at the most.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Rick's hat had a stingy brim, 2" at the most.

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If his hat size is 7, plus or minus one size, I’d agree that it looks to be around two inches wide.

 

[belfastboy]

If his hat size is 7, plus or minus one size, I’d agree that it looks to be around two inches wide.

I will venture a minority opinion that it could stretch to 2 1/4"....but that is still in trilby territory. I want to make her hat but the block costs a fortune!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I will venture a minority opinion that it could stretch to 2 1/4"....but that is still in trilby territory. I want to make her hat but the block costs a fortune!

What’s a quarter of an inch among friends?

 

[belfastboy]

What’s a quarter of an inch among friends?

Never give an inch.......but 1/4" is negotiable!

 

[Hanover Fiste]

JFK wore hats. His not wearing hats has been debunked repeatedly and is easy to disprove by anyone who can use Google.

You can not like a style (trilbies) without disparaging those who do.

The Stratoliner has had the same brim width since the 1940s and its definitely not a stingy brim. I like wider brims too, but 2 1/2” is in the range for a standard full brim width fedora.


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I stand corrected !!!

Now that I think about it harder, I have seen him in the inauguration topper ( IMHO he looks a bit uncomfortable in it... and it also looks like it's too small!), and in the hats that are part of his Navy dress uniform.

The other pictures are new to me. Thanks !!!

 

[Hanover Fiste]

BTW, I think we've hit on something else here... the look is a matter of proportions.

It's been pointed out that brim widths are more or less standardized... REGARDLESS of hat size.

As it happens, I wear a 7 3/4, and if I can find one, 7 7/8 or 8 . A 2.5" brim is going to look very different on that than it will on a size 6 3/8 !!!

That naturally implies that discarding standard brim dimensions and scaling brim width to hat size might be something hat makers should consider.

 

[1961MJS]

Now that I think about it harder, I have seen him in the inauguration topper ( IMHO he looks a bit uncomfortable in it... and it also looks like it's too small!), and in the hats that are part of his Navy dress uniform.

Hi
I agree, he looks like he hates the topper and it's setting way high compared to what I usually wear. I'm dead against Stingy Brim hats, to me 3 inches is Stingy... Bogie looks good in his somehow, and he ain't known for being cute. I think part of it is the higher crown and the front / back flip.

I looked up JFK Navy images and he wore those hats way higher than I would also. Maybe he was comfortable with the hat up that high, I wouldn't know, I was like 2 when he passed.
Later