The layman's guide to classic hats

[wandering-trader]

Updated with hat size chart and how to measure for hat size.

Please tell me if I missed anything on page 4.

 

[gtdean48]

Pinch looks to be pointing too far back in the side dent.
It is the very front part. I like long side dents. JMHO...

 

[danofarlington]

Pinch looks to be pointing too far back in the side dent.
It is the very front part. I like long side dents. JMHO...

Like Franklin Rooseveldt's hat, then.

 

[dhermann1]

Here's my 2 cents: I think if you keep in mind that this is a general guideline, not an absolute set of rules, you'll be good.
About the boater, or as they were called back in the day, straw hat, I'd say that they were worn with just about every possible type of clothing, from black tie all the way down to day laborers digging ditches in work clothes.
Regarding flat caps. do you gents on the forum think that maybe a distinction might be made between driving caps (illustrated), with the single piece of cloth for the head (think Jackie Stewart) and the news boy, or eight section? I think of the news boy as more old fashioned, bit not necessarily more or less "formal" than a driving cap.

 

[scottyrocks]

A driving cap and an 8-panel are about as different as a fedora and a homburg, maybe even more so, as they are patterned and assembled differently, so a differentiation should be made, imo.

 

[rlk]

Even if you pinned the examination to one year in one location it would still be a broad generalization, and progressively less valid as you approach the last few decades. Increase the geographical coverage and/or time frame and it rapidly loses any consistency. The only hat that was traditionally(for an extended continuous period) "formal" would have been the Top Hat. Currently the issue of formality rules is pretty nonsensical as even a hint of formality is largely the concern of a small minority without concensus.

 

[mayserwegener]

Even if you pinned the examination to one year in one location it would still be a broad generalization, and progressively less valid as you approach the last few decades. Increase the geographical coverage and/or time frame and it rapidly loses any consistency. The only hat that was traditionally(for an extended continuous period) "formal" would have been the Top Hat. Currently the issue of formality rules is pretty nonsensical as even a hint of formality is largely the concern of a small minority without concensus.

Totally agree!

 

[mayserwegener]

A driving cap and an 8-panel are about as different as a fedora and a homburg, maybe even more so, as they are patterned and assembled differently, so a differentiation should be made, imo.

The problem is the Homburg and the Fedora were pretty much the same late 19th century early 20th.

 

[jlee562]

Yeha, GTDean is right about the "pinch" arrow. The pinch is the front part of the hat. You have "crease" pointing to the center dent, which is not incorrect per se, but to me, "crease" always meant the entirety of the shaped hat.

Also, if you're going to include a size chart, the caveat isn't just about Stetson's sizing (and I've never found their sizing to be larger than "standard" US sizing), it's about every hat manufacturer and variables of shrinkage in older hats as well. A size chart can be considered a general guide, but certainly not a hard and fast rule given the general variability across brands.

 

[Shangas]

The top-hat isn't that formal when you think of it. Back in Victorian times, EVERYONE wore one. The navvies, the engine-drivers, the toffs in the West End. New York bankers and gangsters from the Five Points.

 

[mayserwegener]

Regardless of the exceptions (which I totally agree with) the Top hat (specific types + excellent condition) has been consistently (from the time of introduction until now) considered ok for the most formal of occasions.

Edward VII and the Homburg

"His wearing of the Homburg felt hat on leisure occasions led to a marked change in the headgear of his male subjects, as, to a lesser degree, did his wearing of Tyrolean hats. However, his practice of creasing his trousers at the side rather than the front did not produce frequent emulation."

http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/printable/32975

King Edward VII (1841-1910) photographed six months after the Coronation (08/09/1902), at Sandringham. In this image, King Edward is seen wearing plus-fours (sporting attire) and his favourite Homburg style hat.

 

[wandering-trader]

Updated project folder with people's suggestions.

+Added formality range to homburg
+Noted how this is a general guide and formality changes with era and region
+labeled center dent, side dent, and pinch
-crease label (no room on page after above change)
^size chart disclaimer

Changes for next time:
+newsboy cap
+top hat
+types of parts of hat
+ribbon bow styles

Thank you and keep the input coming.

 

[gtdean48]

Like Franklin Rooseveldt's hat, then.

More like this:

 

[John in Covina]

About the boater, or as they were called back in the day, straw hat, I'd say that they were worn with just about every possible type of clothing, from black tie all the way down to day laborers digging ditches in work clothes.

With reference to a boater I had heard that some hats like boaters were also called a Skimmer.

 

[wandering-trader]

Project folder updated.

+Top hat
+newsboy cap
+crease label
minimize size of url citations
new panama picture

I'm not doing the ribbon types or types of parts of the hat, as those are too numerous and are covered in more detail among the threads here.

Does the crease label indicate all the areas contained within the shaped hat? If not, where on the page should the brackets wrap to?

 

[bowlerman]

Well said!

'Bandit's Roost' off Mulberry Street (Manhattan), 1887

I have nothing constructive to add, but I absolutely love this pic. Thanks for posting it, Rabbit!