Finally ready for first hat-fedora! :)

[The Thinker]

Hello everyone,

I have finally plucked up the courage to just go with my heart and get my first fedora...

I was going to get this, it am sure it is a fedora it is nice and it is cheap

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-MENS-GREY-COLOUR-WOOL-RACING-TRILBY-FEDORA-HAT-MF-/250928640654?pt=Men_s_Accessories_UK&var=&hash=item801204030e#ht_540wt_905

Is this a nice fedora, as it is cheap, is there anything incredibly wrong you can see with it? lol, The description at the bottom says it is a Trilby, but it really does not look like one!

Also, if I was going to get one of those they come in many colours so I can be very piccy... - I have a Navy pinstripe suit

You lot know better than me, I have had NO hats before... If I should get this one, what colour would you say I should choose?

- Black (May only work with a black tie?, lighter ties like red etc. may make the black out of place)
- Grey (Best bet?, Grey as in the link above seems like it would compliment the suit and still go with any colour tie - Grey is good with anything!?)
- Navy http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-MENS-...015&category=52367&cmd=ViewItem#ht_500wt_1180 ---- Navy could go with the whole suit, but might it look a bit standard and a bit dull? Plus the hat has no pinstripe in it, does that matter for looks?)

- Brown (Unlikely to me, brown seems like one to big a contrast, two I do not think I really suit it that much, and brown only goes with very specific things)

My choice at this point would be Grey? What do you experts think, to go with Navy pinstripe? :d

Cheers,

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Buy the gray one

and be prepared that it will shrink if you get it really wet. Wool will do that.

 

[Blackthorn]

It's a nice looking hat, maybe the best wool hat I've ever seen.

 

[DJH]

Yep - get the grey one.

As Blackthorn says, it is a good looking hat. The price is such that if you end up not liking it (or it falls apart), you've not lost much.

 

[O2BSwank]

Nice looking hat! I'd say go with the grey one it's a little more versatile. Surprisingly, brown will also work with lots of outfits, especially jeans and such. Brown doesn't seem so formal and strictly dressy. When you get it start wearing it around the house and then on short errands so you can get used to wearing it. Getting used to others (especially friends) opinions will take a little longer. Remember you wear it, it doesn't wear you. It will take awhile until you "own it!" I think that wearing a hat is like growing a moustasche, just keep wearing it until your friends stop teasing you about it!

 

[pjt113]

That is a very nice looking hat! I'd go gray or brown

 

[cybergentleman]

Go gray. start with the conservative style then branch out as you grow comfortable.

these look similar to the christy's or that other brand ..olney....probably a good starter hat for you.

 

[randooch]

I say skip the pain of buying a wool hat and being disappointed with it (a probability).

Take your time on Ebay and elsewhere, find a real fur vintage hat in your size (which is?). You'll be glad you bought a quality hat, and it may not cost you any more than that woolie.

Just my tuppence.

 

[cybergentleman]

reasonable suggestion too...on second thought it is actually the best investment here since it will let him try out both hats and the vintage block on the same purchase- good call.

 

[BR Gordon]

I say skip the pain of buying a wool hat and being disappointed with it (a probability).

Take your time on Ebay and elsewhere, find a real fur vintage hat in your size (which is?). You'll be glad you bought a quality hat, and it may not cost you any more than that woolie.

Just my tuppence.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[scottyrocks]

The gray one just looks like a better hat. For that price, you will at least be able to see if you like this type of hat on your head. Vintage is, though, a better idea if you can get one for a decent price, which is not easy these days. Fur felt beats wool felt hands down.

 

[jlee562]

If you can find a vintage hat in your size, go vintage. But if you're going to get that wool hat, get gray. It's not necessary to be too "matchy" with colors. A gray hat with a navy suit would look dapper.

 

[The Thinker]

I think I shall go with the grey hat in that link I put in... budget is a bit tight and vintage is hard to find, let alone this being my first hat

Thanks guys, but to make sure with the hat's actual look and sizes etc. Although it isnt fur felt, it still is actually a fedora with the right measurements, like what would have been seen back in the 30's/40's etc. right? because I dont want something that isnt actually a fedora and just a modern hybrid hat or something...

 

[jlee562]

I think I shall go with the grey hat in that link I put in... budget is a bit tight and vintage is hard to find, let alone this being my first hat

Thanks guys, but to make sure with the hat's actual look and sizes etc. Although it isnt fur felt, it still is actually a fedora with the right measurements, like what would have been seen back in the 30's/40's etc. right? because I dont want something that isnt actually a fedora and just a modern hybrid hat or something...

Well, I guess that all depends on how much you want to nit pick.

The first major difference (other than it being wool of course) is that all the hats back then were sold "open crown" and shaped by the wearer (or haberdasher). This hat is blocked with the crease in it, which makes it distinctly modern.

The proportions I would say do not really match the 30's styled hats. Chiefly, the crown is just too short. It's hard to tell given that there is only one picture, but I'd be willing to bet the crown has substantially more taper than a 30's hat. It's closer to a 40's hat with a wider brim. Although given the overall dimensions of the hat, it seems to have more in common with 50's/60's hats.

Take a look at this excellent primer:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?61698-Vintage-Fedoras-by-Decade

 

[danofarlington]

For the navy pinstripe suit specifically, gray is better. Black may be too dramatic, but your results may vary with face. Brown could work. Actually I get good matching with dark brown hats with my blue blazer; a blue suit is a little more restrictive it seems to me, but the brown hat-blue coat notion is generally a good one. In the old movies, people would wear brown hats with everything and it looked OK then. Brown is more versatile than gray overall in my opinion though--I have gray hats and find I have to match them up with blue or something on the maroon-pink spectrum of shirts.

BTW, the hat in that photo does not appear wool to me, it looks like the normal fur felt of fedoras. A lot of sellers don 't seem to know the "fur felt" material and thus call fedoras wool, like a suit of clothes is. So they mislabel the material of hats frequently. Wool appears thicker and usually has a seam around the outer edge of the brim. A thin material in a photo probably means fur felt.

 

[The Thinker]

Ahh yes, when I say realistic I mean, it can pass as a 30s/40s era vaguely without massive inspection if you get me.. doesn't look to dramatically different..

I think, for a first hat, the price etc. I will go with that grey one...

''THIS HAT IS A REALLY GREAT AND STYLISH MEN'S TRILBY HAT. THE HAT IS A CLASSIC STYLE TRILBY IN A CLASSIC GREY COLOUR. THE BRIM IS 6CM WIDE ALL THE WAY AROUND. THE HAT HAS A TRADITIONAL SHAPE CROWN THAT HAS A 4CM RIBBON BAND AND BOW AROUND THE BOTTOM OF THE CROWN. THE HAT IS FITTED WITH A BLACK LEATHER SWEATBAND AND ALSO HAS A MATCHING BLACK SATIN LINING INSIDE THE HAT GIVING A REALLY CLASSY LOOK. THIS HAT IS REALLY GOOD QUALITY AND WOULD BE GREAT FOR YOURSELF,A PRESENT. DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT HAT!''

That is the description... the seller does not know that much, he calls it a trilby hat even though it is a fedora but it gives measurements to a degree..

 

[The Thinker]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-MENS-...ies_UK&var=&hash=item8266738ac0#ht_500wt_1180

Also, that hat is buy the same seller for roughly the same price and looks almost the same but a different style...

EDIT: So concerning crown size etc. all I want for this first hat is it to look basically like all the average fedora's you see people wearing in all those films/pictures etc. in the 30's or 40s... I dont want to be really really selective about the exact measurements, just going by looks I think is what I mean..

Say for example the first hat I posted about, the original grey one... would it look like this on the head, as in the picture link below? shape/structure wise not colour ovs.
http://celebrity-gossip.net/gangster-squad/ryan-gosling-gangster-guy-548501

(I know it is on some stupid celeb site, but the image was good for the hat look I wanted roughly and it came up on google images so.. lol)

 

[scottyrocks]

Well, in that case, if you buy that gray hat, you will be getting a fedora that does vaguely resemble those hats from the GE. The crown will most likely be shorter and more tapered than the real thing, but that's okay.

If you get more into hats as time passes, your tastes may change or be honed into more precise ideas of exactly what you like in a hat. A first hat is a first hat and, as with almost everything in life, most buyers initial experiences will lead to a learning curve that may or may not make you more discerning about what you want.

Please post some pictures of you in your new lid when you can.

 

[The Thinker]

I am so stuck between the two grey one's...

 

[The Thinker]

Actually guys

was just browsing through the fine collection of threads on here, and I happened to find this website mentioned in one...

Found this brilliant hat, perfect colours and a GA looking one...

http://hornetskensington.myshopify.com/collections/hats/products/the-kempton-grey - Its called the Kempton grey

Looks like the best out of all of them by far to me, wouldnt you agree!? (It has a 1 inch band, but that does not matter right? - Do you think I could actually email them and ask if I could have a 2inch black band instead of that 1 inch one, or is the process complicated so they would just refuse? Its just I think a 1 inch brim doesn't actually look like they had it back then, and it seems it will make the crown look to big?))