New member, here's my hat!

[Red Leader]

Hello all!

Glad to be a part of this forum.

I have always been fascinated with the 1940s-1950s and admired the vintage style. I picked up this Peters Bros dress felt hat about 9-10 years ago. I wore it a handful of times, but it has spent most of its life in the box:

There was just something I didn't like about it. The brim felt really wide for my face, and I had always pictured a different style on the top portion.

I decided to do something about it - I marked it and cut about 1/4" off the brim:

...and then using steam reshaped the rest of the hat:

I have no idea if this styling is considered more or less authentic, but it is a little closer in my mind to what I imagined a post-WWII everyday hat would look like. The hat not only fits me better now, but 'fits' me better

Because the dress code at work is changing and I'm needing to move up as far as the dress code, it has inspired me to do some research and take some cues from the days gone by. I have lots of questions, but I'll save them for the search button to start - I'm learning a lot just by browsing. I am very inexperienced when it comes to hats, clothes, and anything about fashion (just ask my wife) but since I'm already a fan of the vintage era, it is pushing me to take the leap into this unknown world. If I'm going to dress up, why not do it with some style? I already have a smoking pipe and vintage lighter...I just need to keep working my way up.

Thanks to all for a cool place to hang out and learn. I'm looking forward to it.

-Dave

 

[Blackthorn]

Good trim job, Red Leader. I wish I had the talent to trim a quarter off some of my wider brim hats.

 

[Chepstow]

Dave, welcome. Very well job done. It looks very good.

 

[job]

I like the way you just cut and steamed away your hat as a novice. Fearless.

 

[Cicero]

You did a nice job Dave. :eusa_clap
Also, welcome aboard.

 

[hatophile]

That looks like the Peters bros Indy hat. Very nice job on the brim trim and shaping. Welcome!

 

[Red Leader]

Thanks guys for all your thoughts. It is a Peters Bros dress felt. I suppose it does look a little like the Indy hat.

How it was previously cut/shaped I just never wore it much because it wasn't my style and I'm kind of the DIY type so instead of sending it in to someone I just decided to cowboy up and do it

The fun challenge now is finding professional dress that meshes with the brown/black colors - from what I understand, the 'brown' as a working businessman's colors has lost some favor over the decades, so I'll have to do plenty of research and ask a lot of questions. I can be somewhat the king of clash, so I have to be careful what goes with what - I'm not sure if there are any hard and fast rules with this type of thing.

I know the obvious answer is to just get either a grey/black or black/black fedora (trust me, I'm already thinking...) but the budget for that will have to wait for the time being.

I'm excited about the prospect of just actually getting to wear the hat I never really wore.

 

[JohnnyDollar]

I know the obvious answer is to just get either a grey/black or black/black fedora (trust me, I'm already thinking...) but the budget for that will have to wait for the time being.

Fedoras are like peanuts, you can't stop at just one!

Look at Ebay and Etsy, you might be surprised on what you can get without having to selling off a kindey to afford it.

 

[zetwal]

Welcome, Red Leader ... :yo:

 

[dhermann1]

Let's see the face that goes under the hat, already! Welcome to the Lounge!

 

[scottyrocks]

Great job, Red. The crown reshaping, as well as the brim cutting, look dynamite. Let's see it on yer gourd.

 

[Red Leader]

Great job, Red. The crown reshaping, as well as the brim cutting, look dynamite. Let's see it on yer gourd.

Let's see the face that goes under the hat, already! Welcome to the Lounge!

Sure thing! I'll try and get a picture up with it on soon. I remember taking a picture with it in its stock configuration - it should be neat to compare if I can find the older picture.

I redid the brim this evening. After looking at several pictures of vintage hats, the brim on mine looked too artificial, with bends and folds in weird places. I used Johnnysan's Stetson Stratoliner (6th post in this thread: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?8329-The-Stratoliner-Society-photos) as inspiration and I think it looks a lot better. It has a little bit of a 'sideways' pose without turning the hat so much sideways as to push down my ear.

More pictures will follow.

 

[Red Leader]

Great job, Red. The crown reshaping, as well as the brim cutting, look dynamite. Let's see it on yer gourd.

Let's see the face that goes under the hat, already! Welcome to the Lounge!

Taking your advice, I actually did go look on ebay to see what I could find. I wear a 7 1/8 size, which I'm not sure if it is an uncommon size or not, but there was an absolutely beautiful Knox Vagabond King hat on there in my size. I'm not sure if linking to ongoing auctions is prohibited, so for now I won't, but it is pretty much the quintessential image in my head when I picture these awesome hats. It is even in a color I like (I think I'd want a grey hat next to go with more contemporary suits).

Fedoras are like peanuts, you can't stop at just one!

Look at Ebay and Etsy, you might be surprised on what you can get without having to selling off a kindey to afford it.

 

[Iyor]

Thanks guys for all your thoughts. It is a Peters Bros dress felt. I suppose it does look a little like the Indy hat.

How it was previously cut/shaped I just never wore it much because it wasn't my style and I'm kind of the DIY type so instead of sending it in to someone I just decided to cowboy up and do it

The fun challenge now is finding professional dress that meshes with the brown/black colors - from what I understand, the 'brown' as a working businessman's colors has lost some favor over the decades, so I'll have to do plenty of research and ask a lot of questions. I can be somewhat the king of clash, so I have to be careful what goes with what - I'm not sure if there are any hard and fast rules with this type of thing.

I know the obvious answer is to just get either a grey/black or black/black fedora (trust me, I'm already thinking...) but the budget for that will have to wait for the time being.

I'm excited about the prospect of just actually getting to wear the hat I never really wore.

IMO brown hats with blue suits is one of the best combos out there and definitely better than black.

 

[dogrocketp]

I recommend that you subscribe to www.asuitablewardrobe.com. It's a free clothing blog. Will has most everything custom made. While I don't have anything custom made (except a fedora), it's a good place to start learning about clothing. Also, I recommend you read as many threads as possible on Fedora Lounge. The wealth of information here is stupefying.

 

[dogrocketp]

By the way, I agree with Iyor about brown hats, and add brown suede shoes to the ensemble.

 

[Red Leader]

Okay, here are some pictures (sorry, bad lighting!)

I might try to move the front of the brim down just a bit, but I think it is still a big improvement over what it was.

So...I didn't know you could wear navy suits with brown hats! Although it was pretty interesting...looking through the Stetson ads thread, I saw all kinds of combinations, including brown hats with navy and gray suits, then gray hats with brown and tan suits. I think my favorite combo is the charcoal color hat with a light tan overcoat and tan or gray suit. Wow!

When I ordered this hat, I ordered it based on what I saw in my mind and in old movies. However, the old movies were in black and white and when I saw the hats, I thought that the ribbons were black, so I custom ordered it with a black ribbon. I think the brown hats with a dark brown ribbon are actually more historically accurate after looking through the ads not hardly seeing any of the brown/black combo - however, would this allow me to get away with wearing some black suits?

I'll try and take some more pictures when the lighting is better (during the day), but for now, I hope they work out. I'm brand new to this so I am just starting my wardrobe and my goal is to go classy, but not outdated (in today's world).

-Dave

 

[Red Leader]

Welcome to the lounge. You did a great job trimming the brim! I have the feeling you didn't win the Vagabond king. I wonder who got it ...

Thanks for your kind words! I was pretty scared when I did it because I accidently cut in a little bit from the line, but I planned ahead and decided to cut conservatively, so sanding the edge (took a while) evened everything up and gave me right around a 2 1/2 inch brim. I think 2 1/2 to 2 5/8 is the sweet spot for me.

If you picked up that Vagabond...










lucky you! What a beauty it was!

I'll hope to one day own a gray like that, but I think my next purchase that I'll be on the lookout for will be a medium to light charcoal with thin matching ribbon. Those hats, with a light/tan overcoat are killer!

 

[Benzadmiral]

. . . I'll hope to one day own a gray like that, but I think my next purchase that I'll be on the lookout for will be a medium to light charcoal with thin matching ribbon. Those hats, with a light/tan overcoat are killer!

I've got two charcoals, an Akubra Fed and a vintage Borsalino, and after your suggestion I plan to try 'em with a tan sport coat I have. Should be sharp.

 

[Red Leader]

I've got two charcoals, an Akubra Fed and a vintage Borsalino, and after your suggestion I plan to try 'em with a tan sport coat I have. Should be sharp.

Indeed! Here is the look I was talking about:

My favorite is that last one. Call me crazy, but I think the charcoal/steel/grey hat with a light or tan coat looks simply smashing!