Newbie itching to buy his first hat -- Somebody stop me!

[Ugarte]

Long Oval means front to back on your head.

Wide Oval means side to side. (The oval is still front to back but it is wider.)

Right. I got that part, but how does one know when the obliqueness of one's cranium has advanced from simply "oval" to "long oval"?

I have both.

And I've got to tell you this ridge running down the center of my noggin has got me concerned. But if your head is both long oval and wide oval, then maybe my center ridge is not such a horrible thing.

More as it develops.

M.

 

[carter]

Throw the feather away.

Greetings loungers.
I'm a middle-aged guy with a full head of hair that is going salt-and-pepper pretty quickly....I've always liked the idea of a snap brim fedora... I think it may be time to buy a hat.
I like the color of the "Bogie" above because I would like a hat that I can wear with my charcoal, my blue stripe, my navy jacket, and my black double breasteds.
Also, my face is not slender...here's a clammy me resting on the way into Carlsbad Caverns a few weeks ago...

... I'm looking for a particular style and color of hat to occasionally fit a size 7 3/8 (23", 59 metric) head....
Also, I definitely have something of an oval going on with my skull -- how does one measure to determine if it's a long oval? There is also a kind of high ridge running down the center of my skull. My sense is that I need a high crown to pull off a diamond crease that l admire so much.
Mark

Welcome Mark,
It sounds like your head resembles many, mine included. From your description, I'd say you need a 7 3/8 Long Oval with a 2 3/4" brim with a 5-5 1/2" Crown in Grey, Charcoal, or Black.
There are usually a number of vintage fedoras on OFAS that meet this criteria.
There may also be hats available from Lounge Members [if you haven't sourced one already].

I wear a 7 5/8 Long Oval but a 7 5/8 Wide Oval fits just as well (perhaps abit better actually). I have a ridgeline as well. This is why a 5" or higher crown is recommended. It will also work well with a broader face.

I recommend a nice vintage hat with a bound brim if you can find one.

 

[RBH]

You have already heard it, but an Akubra cant be beat for a good all around fedora. Either the Campdraft or Federation would be great and both come open crowned.
Good Luck!

 

[deanglen]

Here, Mark,

the ribbon has been changed to look like this one

dean (fatwoul will love this)

 

[Ugarte]

Ah

Looks like a winner from here Dean.

M.

 

[fatwoul]

...(fatwoul will love this)

:rage:

Dean keeps giving all his stuff away, even if it suits him. Idiot. Nice guy, though.

Actually, in this case I think it is OK to give away this hat, because Dean is right that brimmed hats don't suit him as well as caps do. Of course, he gave me one of his caps last week, even though it looked good on him... :rage: lol

 

[RBH]

...., because Dean is right that brimmed hats don't suit him as well as caps do. ....

WHAT.... WHAT... What do you mean fedoras dont look right on The Dean???

Dean-fedora--fedora-Dean, the two go together!:eusa_clap

Dean, in a cap to me, looks.... it just looks like he is unfinished. lol

 

[Ugarte]

Hey, Dean's a swell guy. I can tell already. And if he wants to make some room in his closet, who am I to argue?

M.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Not-Bogart13, I've heard nothing but praise for the Akubras, most notably the Federation. Is that a Fed in your avatar? Very nice look.

Actually, that is my Adventurebilt. Don't worry, you'll graduate into one of those babies one day.
The Federation one of the best options in it's price range, as is the Campdraft. Both are open crowned, and loads of fun to play with!

My Brown Federation

My Campdraft

 

[indycop]

WHAT.... WHAT... What do you mean fedoras dont look right on The Dean???

Dean-fedora--fedora-Dean, the two go together!:eusa_clap

Dean, in a cap to me, looks.... it just looks like he is unfinished. lol

Yes DG!! come back to the fedora clan!:fedora: :fedora: :fedora: :fedora: :fedora: :fedora: :fedora:

 

[indycop]

Indycop, I've had my eye on the Federation or the Fed. Deluxe. Of course, I think the Deluxe comes in only black or brown. The Moonstone Federation does look like a hot ticket. But I don't think I'd wear a decent anything into the Caverns -- I'd pick up a cheap wool Indy because it's kind of nasty down there.

In fact, thank you all for the attention. I may slip into lurker mode for long stretches, but I'm having a wonderful time with you folks. I'm looking forward to learning a lot. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to return a little to you someday.
Mark

The way I knew I was a long oval was because the pressure on my forehead would give me a headache, once I got a proper fitting long oval hat no more headache!

Also no need to slip into lurking!! You have to show pics!!! And I have a black federation with a diamond bash that I wore doing some yard work and sawing. It was brown it had so much saw dust and sweat. A good brushing and it looked brand new as well as fit great after sweating in it. The sweatband took to my head shape after that.

 

[jamespowers]

jamespowers, I understand the, umm, bias of folks around here. But I think about actually wearing a hat, as you would wear a pair of shoes, a shirt or any other piece of apparel and it seems there's no end to the hats one could wear in a lifetime. My wallet shivers at the thought.

As does mine, as does mine :

 

[Ugarte]

As does mine, as does mine :

Sweet mother of almighty Zeus!

Are you telling me that there are hats in all of those boxes?

 

[Rider]

Rider, did you get the Federation with an open crown? If not, does the preformed shape cause problems when you bash it yourself?


Mark

I got the open crown Federation from Hatsdirect. Doing the bash myself wasn't a problem. It's a little intimidating when you're standing there thinking about it, but it's not rocket science. I have a diamond crease I'm pretty satisfied with. Next, I'm going to set the crease with a little steam or water.

 

[Ugarte]

I got the open crown Federation from Hatsdirect. Doing the bash myself wasn't a problem. It's a little intimidating when you're standing there thinking about it, but it's not rocket science. I have a diamond crease I'm pretty satisfied with. Next, I'm going to set the crease with a little steam or water.

I've gone and ordered myself a Fed. I have had a correspondence with a terrific Sheila named Jenny who has set me up with a largish 58. She's put it on a long oval block for a bit and will ship it soon with an open crown.

I can't wait.

 

[indycop]

I've gone and ordered myself a Fed. I have had a correspondence with a terrific Sheila named Jenny who has set me up with a largish 58. She's put it on a long oval block for a bit and will ship it soon with an open crown.

I can't wait.

Jenny is nice, but a largish 58? uh, some of us folk are a largish 61!!!

 

[indycop]

Sweet mother of almighty Zeus!

Are you telling me that there are hats in all of those boxes?

Must be a mouse hat in that little blue box!!!lol lol lol lol

 

[Ugarte]

Must be a mouse hat in that little blue box!!!lol lol lol lol

Yeah, I noticed that too.

Hey James, what's in the little blue box?


Mark

 

[Ugarte]

Jenny is nice, but a largish 58? uh, some of us folk are a largish 61!!!

We had a thorough discussion about it. My head measures a solid 23 inches. According to her I am not quite a 59, so she's setting me up with a 58 that runs a little big and blocking it for long oval. We'll see how it breaks in.

The only other hat with anything like a size I have access to is a boonie hat that somebody brought back from Florida this summer. It has a tag identifying it as a "57 cm". It is too small, therefore, I feel good about 58 1/2 or 59.

Kind of surprises me because in high school my football helmet was a 6 7/8 - 7. Then again my size 10 feet were only size 9 and my waist was a 28.

Life can be cruel.


Mark

 

[indycop]

We had a thorough discussion about it. My head measures a solid 23 inches. According to her I am not quite a 59, so she's setting me up with a 58 that runs a little big and blocking it for long oval. We'll see how it breaks in.

The only other hat with anything like a size I have access to is a boonie hat that somebody brought back from Florida this summer. It has a tag identifying it as a "57 cm". It is too small, therefore, I feel good about 58 1/2 or 59.

Kind of surprises me because in high school my football helmet was a 6 7/8 - 7. Then again my size 10 feet were only size 9 and my waist was a 28.

Life can be cruel.


Mark

I measure 24 inches exactly. I also have 2 boonies and the sizing is horribly inaccurate for those things.:eusa_doh: