A Fedora by any other name...

[shamus]

A thread in suits about the fedora made me look into the fedora and what I found what might be an interesting idea to some.

The question is What is a Fedora? I checked three on-line dictionaries and found 3 different answers.

Merriam Websters definition is:
a low soft felt hat with the crown creased lengthwise

American Heritage definition is:
A soft felt hat with a fairly low crown creased lengthwise and a brim that can be turned up or down

While the cambridge is
a man's hat, like a trilby but with a wider brim
(triby): a man's hat made of felt (= thick firm cloth), with a deep fold along its top

So a Homberg fits all three, but what about my Open Road? It did when I bought it, but now it doesn't have a crease lenghtwise.. what is it now?

Does a 30's hat with a tall crown, make it not a fedora because it doesn't have a low crown?

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Does a 30's hat with a tall crown, make it not a fedora because it doesn't have a low crown?

"Low" is a relative term. A 6" crown in a low crown compared to a Pre-Civil War top hat or a tri-corn, or whatever those hats that Napolean wore were!

Great thoughts, Shamus. I think this group could write a better definition than these dictionaries.

 

[Pilgrim]

I understand the name Fedora was the leading character of a play in the 1880s. Actress Sarah Bernhardt played the title role. The author was Victorien Sardou (b. 1831, d. 1908) [This has been previously noted in a Fedora Lounge Forum.]

A quick web search reveals that "Fedora" is derived from "Theodora", and means "gift from God." There is another, similar derivative, "Pheodora".

 

[Twitch]

I guess a fedora is like pornography- you know it when you see it!:fedora:

 

[John in Covina]

with the crown creased lengthwise
crown creased lengthwise
with a deep fold along its top

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Does this mean that those hats with c-crowns or the teardrop shape ARE NOT fedoras?!!!!!!

 

[shamus]

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Does this mean that those hats with c-crowns or the teardrop shape ARE NOT fedoras?!!!!!!

Technicality, according to the dictionary... yes, they're not Fedoras Just hats I guess?