Wider-brimmed styles - what are they called?

[nicolasb]

As I'm a fairly large size (61 or so - american 7 5/8) and have a rather round face, I find many fedora-style hats don't look right on me. To get the right look I need a rather wide brim (otherwise it just makes my head look fat). I'm definitely not looking for anything that could be described as "cowboy" or "western" - I like a slightly pinched, tear-drop-style crown. Perhaps not "Van Helsing" wide, but kind of heading in that direction.

Are there any particular named hat styles that could be described as "fedora-like, but with a wider brim"? I'm not so much in need of specific links, it's simply that I don't know what to use for a search term when hunting for something like that.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Aside from vintage, I suggest an Akubra Squatter as a good starter hat. 3" brim and a high enough crown that you can manipulate into whatever shape you want.

Check out this thread
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3204&highlight=starter+hat

And this one

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=2520&highlight=starter+hat

 

[Renderking Fisk]

Send pix to your favorate custom hatter, and have them make one that will suit your face and fit your head.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

The one thing I would caution you about is going for too wide a brim if you have a large head. I wear a size 59-60 and if I wear a really large brim it looks out of proportion with my frame (I wear about a 38 regular) A stingy brim would look just as bad of course. I think moderation is the key. If you have a small head then the world is your oyster, really. But for the large-headed folk options are few.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

well, I think

That the need for a large brim is tied more to how large your face and shoulders are. A large head does not always mean you need a large brim.

 

[G MAN]

I also have a bit of a round face and my fedora is not my best look.
Check out the Akubra Banjo Patterson hat, or the Akubra Leisure Time hat, Both are similiar in look and both work for me.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

2 5/8 inch brim, 5 inch crown (in front). Wide ribbon. Works for everybody.

 

[nicolasb]

Check out the Akubra Banjo Patterson hat, or the Akubra Leisure Time hat, Both are similiar in look and both work for me.

Aside from vintage, I suggest an Akubra Squatter as a good starter hat. 3" brim and a high enough crown that you can manipulate into whatever shape you want.

I'll have to see if I can find somewhere where I can try on an Akubra hat. My initial reaction to the photos is that they look like the sort of thing one would have to be tall and muscular to get away with. While I'm not short (a shade under 6 feet) I'm anything but muscular. :cry:

Matt, when you say it can be "manipulated", do you mean instantly by hand, or do you mean reblocked by a hatter? Or both? If you meant instantly, then does it actually stay in the shape you put it in?

Send pix to your favorate custom hatter, and have them make one that will suit your face and fit your head.

Sadly this a heck of a lot more expensive in the UK than it would be in the US. ("Rip-off Britain" is a phrase that has appeared in the papers an awful lot in recent years, and hats are no exception ).

 

[Matt Deckard]

I mean by yourself by hand. You can apply some steam by holding an iron a few inches away, then shape the hat.

Pops from Stompy Jones, I believe it is a Stetson Open road.

 

[hatflick1]

SQUATTER

Matt,
It was great getting together with everybody at Musso's for the Fedora Lounge dinner.
And your pitch of the Akubra Squatter is an excellent suggestion. Interestingly enough, looking at vinatge Akubra photos, the original Squatter was a much smaller hat. More of a...fedora.

 

[nicolasb]

Talking of brim sizes, where exactly do you measure the width of a hat brim in order to say that it is 3" (or whatever)? Do you measure from the outside of the crown to the edge of the brim on top, or from the inside of the crown to the edge underneath? And at the front or the side (if they're not the same but only one figure is quoted)?

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Good question, it never occurred to me to measure from the inside, but it would probably be easier to do.

My feeling about brim sizes is this: if they are under 2 inches, they are stingy brims and I don't wear them.

If they are over 2", but under 2 1/2" they are small brims, some are OK but I usually avoid them unless the hat is really cool looking.

If they are 2 1/2 to 3", they are just right for me and my face depending on the lack of taper.

If they are over 3" I tend to think they are cowboy hats, Aussie hats, Phantom of the Opera or pimp fedoras. I love cowboy and Aussie hats, I stay away from the others.

karol

 

[jamespowers]

Then again there are the Zoot suit hats that are like Cab Calloway used to wear. The brim could be up to five inches with a fedora block crown.
The last time I saw Cab with one on was in a Janet Jackson video. I forget which one though. :kick:

Regards to all,

J

 

[nicolasb]

Talking of wide-brimmed hats, what sort of hat does The Shadow wear? I think I've heard it referred to as a "slouch hat" but I'm not precisely sure what that means, or if it's an accurate description.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Outside

Talking of brim sizes, where exactly do you measure the width of a hat brim in order to say that it is 3" (or whatever)? Do you measure from the outside of the crown to the edge of the brim on top, or from the inside of the crown to the edge underneath? And at the front or the side (if they're not the same but only one figure is quoted)?

Most hatters measure from the outside of the crown to the edge of the brim on top.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Whatever The Shadow wears, it is akin to the hat that is worn by the Phantom of the Opera.

karol