I am in need

[Peter]

Good day to you all gentlemen, and ladies.

I am new to the lounge and this is my first post, so I should like, if I may, to greet you all cordially and introduce myself briefly, before my question.

My name is Peter, as you will have seen, and by profession I am a graphic designer, yet I am also an artist on commission, and writer, resident in Hampshire, member of the NewSheridan Club,and now, this esteemed gathering of discerning fellows.

Enough about me. My question:

I require advice on how to procure a fedora (colour as yet undecided) of 1930s style, with the taller crown and narrower brim.

I throw this open to the forum, and look forward to suchassistance as you may be able to offer.

Best wishes

Peter

 

[Hereward]

Hallo Peter from a Hampshire man born and bred for many generations now in exile in Middlesex.

There are many answers to your quesion and I am not best suited to give you all of them. However, I did manage to get exactly such a fedora from Ebay a couple of months ago from Guernsey that cost me 18 quid including postage. It was in very good nick, and I only had to reattach the sweatband inside and give it a good brushing.

http://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx67/Hereward_photos/Black1940/Blk40.jpg

 

[The Lark]

Hello Peter and welcome to the lounge. Some of the members here are hat sellers, hat makers and hat collectors with a serious appreciation for the vintage lid.

I am merely an amateur at the beginnings of my fur felt addiction, and as such can offer you the perspective of a fellow freshman.

The first thing I would do is get familiar with the different brands of hat and what sort of models they offer. Then you can find a nearby location that sells said hats and try them on, or simply order them online. The Stetson website allows you to pinpoint where your nearest Stetson selling outlet can be found.

One of the best sites for browsing is here - http://www.thefedorastore.com/

As you can see, fedoras come in a variety of price ranges based on the quality of the material, the popularity of the color and the dimensions of the hat. Beaver fur is the most expensive, followed by grades of fur felt, then wool felt and so on. There is also ebay and other auction websites where you can get amazing deals on older hats with rarer colors (if you're lucky) and save dough, but new factory made models usually cost over $120.

Since this is your first hat, I would imagine you'd be happier with a budget of $120-170 or thereabouts, Beaver fur can come later when you are more sure of the models you like.

As for the dimensions you are interested in, you should be aware that between the standard wide brim and small brim fedora (also known as a 'stingy') is the trilby, which sits at a kind of happy medium between the two.

As far as I can tell, taller than average crowns generally come with wider brims so you might need to do a bit of searching there.

Also, take look your wardrobe and note which colors you tend to favor in you jackets and pants. You want a hat that compliments these. Also, take note of the weather in the coming seasons and what colors you will be wearing then. Gray is a very versatile color and the darker shades seem to sell better so you are more likely to find something like that in most hat selections, although there is usually tawny, brown and black on offer as well.

The various hat brands each use a selection of different color tones in their general palette, so sometimes it is hard to find the exact shade you want without looking elsewhere or paying extra.

I'm sure the other members will be able to help you more.

 

[elvisroe]

Welcome!

Welcome Peter!
My question on the hat you're looking for would be - how tall and how narrow a brim?

I also joined the lounge after a long hard search for an older style of hat. You'll no doubt see a lot of support around here for 2 old style Aussie fedoras - the Akubra Federation IV and the Campdraft which was once the Stetson Open Road made down under by Akubra.

The Akubras are all rabbit fur felt, are among the best production hats around and come with a reasonable price tag at around 30 - 40 quid.

This is my carbon grey Fed iv...

If you've got a small head you have the luxury of being able to buy vintage - there's always plenty of awesome - yet sadly small - old hats floating around the "bay".

The other option is of course a custom job. You could get something original and awesome if you find the right milliner.

Good luck!

 

[Edward]

I would also recommend looking into Akubra - though sadly, with the demise of the pound, you'd need to double those figures... The high crown Akubras, the Fed in particular, tend to be wider brimmed. A lot of folks round here have had good luck with trimming down the brim on a Federation for that narrow brim / high crown look. Idea of trying that myself on a hat scares me, but if you know a good hat repairer or are good at that sort of thing yourself...

 

[RBH]

Welcome to the Lounge!
Good advice abounds here! The Lark hit it right.
Try a few before you spend the big money, by then you should have a better idea of what you want.
By the way a brim of 2 1\2 inches s fairly common on modern fedoras. They really look sharp with a high crown.
Good luck!

 

[Peter]

Good morning gentlemen

Thank you very much for your excellent advice and encouragement - all very useful and much appreciated.

I can now begin my search in earnest.

Again thank you for your swift and excellent assistance.

Your servant

Peter

 

[ken100]

the right hat

Hi Peter and welcome. My thoughts are that there is always more room for another hat, if it puts a smile on your face... buy it....wear it, if you find another that you like more, buy that one too!
Ken.

 

[danofarlington]

Hi Peter and welcome. My thoughts are that there is always more room for another hat, if it puts a smile on your face... buy it....wear it, if you find another that you like more, buy that one too!
Ken.

I agree with that. I'm starting to think of hats the same way I think of shoes. Would you just have one pair of shoes? No, eventually you probably want many, because they are clothes specific and casual-versus-formal specific. Also you get tired of wearing the same thing all the time. So why not do that with hats? There are limits--you don't need as many hats as Imelda Marcos had shoes. but having a bunch of them is a good thing.

 

[zetwal]

Hello Peter, you promptly received excellent and detailed advice. We will be interested to see and hear where your new interest takes you. I will join the others in saying, Welcome to the Lounge.

 

[carldelo]

I'm starting to think of hats the same way I think of shoes. Would you just have one pair of shoes?

That's an excellent argument for the hats currently taking over the shelves of the closet - and a good comprehensible rejoinder to the puzzled inquiries of my wife who is not quite understanding the affliction. Thanks and welcome....

 

[fluteplayer07]

Welcome to the Lounge, Peter!

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Welcome, Peter. I can't add much to the advice you've already received, except to point out that if you consider purchasing a fedora from a U.S. retailer or bid on a U.S. hat on ebay, you should be aware that US and UK hat sizes are different. Here's a link to a conversion chart:

http://www.panamas.co.uk/hats/size-guide/

Be aware that you won't be able to stop at one hat, and to my knowledge there is no 12-step program to help you overcome the certain addiction that getting your first fedora will engender, so proceed with caution, and at your own risk!

 

[Edmonds]

At Edmonds-Hats, we can help you with a personal design from Beaver Brand or an open-crown style from Akubra.