Ribbon/felt color combinations - same or contrast - your preferences

[barrowjh]

This is a softer shade of brown ribbon against a medium-dark brown suede finish felt:

Major Moore rehab'd that one; it was originally a custom Borsalino with a similar ribbon combo.

The grey hat in this group is original, and I think this color combo is fairly common, grey felt with wine ribbon:

Other than those, my hats are same-same. I won one recently with a vintage combo that should be interesting - a rust colored ribbon on a light olive/tan felt - OFAS#280426286523. May send this one to Major Moore for a rehab, to get a rich look from the felt (it looks kinda dry in the seller's pics).

 

[Dr Doran]

I am finding this thread very useful. It is helpful to SEE (rather than to imagine) different colors up against each other like this. Because then I imagine how it would look with which one of my suits, which color shirts, which pocket squares, etc.

If the very light fedora on the left with the wine-colored ribbon is indeed common, I have not seen that combination much. It's very attractive.

 

[Mario]

The grey hat in this group is original, and I think this color combo is fairly common, grey felt with wine ribbon:

Beautiful! I absolutely love that color combo, light gray with a wine/maroon colored ribbon. :eusa_clap

Hmmm...I think I'll really have to put this combo on my agenda...

That reddish one on the far right also sports some wonderful color! What is it?

 

[Dr Doran]

Beautiful! I absolutely love that color combo, light gray with a wine/maroon colored ribbon. :eusa_clap

Ditto!

 

[barrowjh]

The hat on the right (in that group of 4) is a dark brown Bond 15 w/ 2 1/2 in felted edge. I have since obtained a Dobbs in same color with 2 3/8 in felted edge, but the felt is not quite as good as the Bond. Also, a Stetson selve-edge w/ 2 1/2 in brim in silver-belly; I need to retake that photo to include these 2 plus the new one just won.

I thought that the grey-wine combo was common (similar to the popularity of red ribbons/pugarees on panamas), but cannot point to any proof of it - maybe I have seen several in other sizes on OFAS (or maybe I'm just wrong!). Anyway, cannot put forth a specific for why I thought it was common. I definitely like it; really makes that hat versatile. I need to send that one to Major Moore also to see if he can pounce some life (oil?) back into that felt, as it is dry, dead-looking close up.

 

[Fedora]

Here's another take on a Sahara-colored body ...

I love it! I have that same green ribbon, or something very close. Never thought about using it on Sahara though. You just showed me it looks very nice. Thanks.

With Sahara being what us old cabinet makers call a neutral color, almost any other color will go with it. I had forgotten that until I saw this hat! Fedora

 

[gtdean48]

The majority of my hats are same on same but I had Major Moore make me this Natural with matching binding but dark green ribbon...

He also tuned up this black Pinnacle with an olive binding & ribbon...

I did send this OR to Optimo & went with darker binding & ribbon for replacement renovation...

 

[barrowjh]

gtdean48 - all 3 of those are great combinations! Darker ribbons on light felt make them both 'pop' and the light olive ribbon on the black adds life to an otherwise 'dead' color. All 3 were great ideas!

 

[Not-Bogart13]

That's a sweet one, Tony! :eusa_clap

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Speaking of light sand-colored hats... I posted my favorite color combination (the green on black), but my favorite hat so far is a much lighter, much more dramatic contrast:

 

[tonyb]

Speaking of light sand-colored hats... I posted my favorite color combination (the green on black), but my favorite hat so far is a much lighter, much more dramatic contrast:

That's a sweetie, all right. Who made it? And is the color combination something you cooked up?

As to daizawaguy's original question ...

What level of color contrast do I prefer? Oh heck, man, it so much depends on the colors, you know? You just gotta hold the ribbon(s) against the body and see how it feels. And then there's a bunch of other considerations, too. A ribbon color that might be just the ticket in a 4 ligne might be too much in a 22 ligne. And a bolder color (or greater contrast) might be balanced by the height and profile of a crown and the width of a brim. Or not.

It's almost like asking which hat color goes with what color suit. Sometimes a brown hat works better with a blue suit than a blue one would.

The good news is that there's always another combination to try.

 

[gtdean48]

gtdean48 - all 3 of those are great combinations! Darker ribbons on light felt make them both 'pop' and the light olive ribbon on the black adds life to an otherwise 'dead' color. All 3 were great ideas!

Thanks John! And since UGA finished with a win over rival Ga Tech, here is another example. The ribbon is a deep red but the flash washes it out some. Sic 'Em Dawgs!

 

[barrowjh]

Well that deserves an answer - yes, Georgia surprised everybody with that win, and moreover, the fact that they did it on the ground - big win, maybe a parting gift to the recently deceased Ugga. I am not a UT grad, but when I attend their games, I often put an orange ribbon on a hat - here is an example using a Strat-

I'm looking forward to Saturday night's annual Alabama - Florida game, as I am an Alabama grad. Will Florida be able to beat a Nick Saban defense back to back? I have an old grey Borsalino Alessandria (thin ribbon) that has a really nice wide crimson ribbon on it that I wear to watch Alabama. I don't have a pic of it.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

That's a sweetie, all right. Who made it? And is the color combination something you cooked up?

That is one of Art's creations. If I remember right, I asked for the felt color, the bash, and expressed a desire for an eye-catching ribbon choice. The results were... well... when I pulled it out of the box for the first time, I found out the literal meaning behind "breathtaking." To this day, sometimes I just take it out to look at it. lol

 

[Quapaw]

That is a winner...

Here's another take on a Sahara-colored body ...

I wanted to do something different with a silverbelly I have coming in. This one is smokin'.

 

[gtdean48]

Well that deserves an answer - yes, Georgia surprised everybody with that win, and moreover, the fact that they did it on the ground - big win, maybe a parting gift to the recently deceased Ugga. I am not a UT grad, but when I attend their games, I often put an orange ribbon on a hat - here is an example using a Strat-

I'm looking forward to Saturday night's annual Alabama - Florida game, as I am an Alabama grad. Will Florida be able to beat a Nick Saban defense back to back? I have an old grey Borsalino Alessandria (thin ribbon) that has a really nice wide crimson ribbon on it that I wear to watch Alabama. I don't have a pic of it.

Don't let my son who attends Auburn hear this but Roll Tide this Saturday!
Can't believe you'd treat a Stratoliner with ORANGE like that!

 

[duggap]

A little tide never hurts a gator.

 

[tonyb]

I wanted to do something different with a silverbelly I have coming in. This one is smokin'.

Thanks for the kind words. It's among my faves. It was almost painful to send this one on its way, seeing how the customer and I are close enough in size.

Depending on the silverbelly (different makers have called some very different colors "silverbelly" over the years), a light silver-gray ribbon can look quite nice. At least with a body color on the cooler end of the silverbelly spectrum.

 

[job]

I have two customs being made and I have been going over and over in my mind what color combinations to use. The crown and brim will have different colors. Blue and burgundy on the crown and NOT blue and Burgundy on the brim. It was easy on this one. Bone color felt with black ribbons.

Personally I want some of both and I even want a contrast on the crown and brim on some in the future.