Convert a humburg to fedora?

[Pilgrim]

I know this has been discussed in the past, but I can't find an outcome to the discussion by searching the forum.

Has anyone had good results flattening the brim on a homburg and turning it into a conventional fedora? I have a nice black homburg that would have the right width brim for me if it were flattened. As a homburg, I'm not interested in wearing it - not my style. Yes, it does have a bound brim, so I assume it would be a tussle to get it to lie down. I'm thinking of using an iron with damp linen cloth to provide steam......?

What say you - can it be done by a shade-tree type such as myself, or should I re-sell it to someone who wants a 7 1/4 black homburg? I don't want to ruin the hat.

(Sorry no photo available - I'm headed out of town and will have to check in on this thread while traveling through the week.)

Your sage counsel (and inevitable razzing) is welcomed. lol

 

[epic610]

Sell the hat...

use proceeds to buy fedora.

what you want to do sounds a bit like buying a cadillac .....taking off all the chrome stuff .....and hoping to end up with a pontiac.

 

[luvthatlulu]

Check out the hat that the piano player is wearing in the first scene at the Bamville Club in The Cotton Club. You will see it for only a few frames at about the five minute mark in the movie.

I had asked Art Fawcett about duplicating it and he informed me it was, in fact, a homburg that had been converted. You might contact him for suggestions a/o assistance.

--Not the Lulu

 

[Forgotten Man]

Not a Homburg Man...

However, I have just one in the collection and I just paired it with a nice 30’s “Stroller” outfit which consists of gray/black stripped cutaway trousers and a black suit coat and a striped tie. A light gray Homburg set it off very nicely. The outfit was a less formal version of the morning suit.

What I’m getting at is that I’ve never worn Homburgs, then, I tried it out with one I have… I now love it! I say it’s good to have one homburg to hold onto for formal events when wearing a tux or in my case, a “Stroller”.

Hold on to it, try it out again, remember, ya gotta wear a Homburg off to one side and it will look completely different… also will take a your look to an earlier period!

One last thing, a friend of mine tried to convert a Homburg into a Fedora once with ill results… it didn’t work well at all… he tried to make it go back to being a Homburg… well, kind of went back but, didn’t look the same.

If you just don’t want it, sell it to someone who wants it and buy a Fedora!

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Pilgrim, I have seen some that turned out very nice, others that were so so. Like most things I guess, with the right tools and the knowledge on how to use them wonderful things can be accomplished.

 

[Fletch]

Ie: like so very many other finer points of gentlemen's attire, leave it to the (increasingly harder-to-find and higher-priced) experts.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Pilgrim, like you, I have a Homburg that I wear very seldom; but, like the Forgotten Man, I find that it is just perfect with certain outfits.

If you don't like the way the Homburg looks on you, shape it differently. Just like the fedora, there are an infinite variety of subtle changes you can make to a Homburg. Typically, they are a good deal stiffer than a fedora, so you will need to use a lot of steam.

Many of us who are accustomed to wearing snap-brim fedoras don't like the way the Homburg brim turns up in the front. Try making a more pronounced 'dip' in the front of the brim. Homburg brims are very stiff, so you will have to pour-on the steam. I did this with my Homburg and now I like it much better.

Homburgs usually come from the factory with a simple center-dent crown. You can try to widen the dent, or narrow it, to suit your taste. Another option is to put a subtle pinch in the front of the crown. Alternatively you can put dimples in the sides of the crown, like HST and FDR. The dimples can be large or small, placed high or low on the crown.

To sum up, before you give up and try to make your Homburg into a fedora, try tweaking the Homburg shape into something that better suits your taste and style.

 

[Edward]

However, I have just one in the collection and I just paired it with a nice 30’s “Stroller” outfit which consists of gray/black stripped cutaway trousers and a black suit coat and a striped tie. A light gray Homburg set it off very nicely. The outfit was a less formal version of the morning suit.

What I’m getting at is that I’ve never worn Homburgs, then, I tried it out with one I have… I now love it! I say it’s good to have one homburg to hold onto for formal events when wearing a tux or in my case, a “Stroller”.

Hold on to it, try it out again, remember, ya gotta wear a Homburg off to one side and it will look completely different… also will take a your look to an earlier period!

One last thing, a friend of mine tried to convert a Homburg into a Fedora once with ill results… it didn’t work well at all… he tried to make it go back to being a Homburg… well, kind of went back but, didn’t look the same.

If you just don’t want it, sell it to someone who wants it and buy a Fedora!

This would be my feeling also. I bought a vintage homburg on OFAS not so long ago with the specific purpose of wearing with black tie / stroller (the stroller being, as you correctly point out, the pre-6pm equivalent of black tie and alas all too rare these days....). At a 2" brim, it's narrower than what I would normally wear, but it looks great when a more formal look is desired, even with a lounge suit. I look on it as being midway between a bowler (a style I've never personally cared for) and a fedora. Mine is black, which I prefer for formal wear, though I'm increasingly in favour of the idea of other colours - maybe a grey or a tawny brown shade a la Michael Collins. Probably a slightly wider brim also - 2 1/2"-2 5/8" maybe. I was almost tempted to buy an ivory coloured one to go with the ivory jacket I keep for hot weather black tie, but I came to the conclusion it was a bit too hip hop for me - and in any case, when it's hot enough for a light coloured jacket, a panama is normally preferable.

If you really can't get on with it, better to sell and buy a nice fedora with the proceeds. Homburgs, while in lesser demand, are also rarer, so you should have no problem finding a home for it.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

As others have stated, you will like the Homburg better if it has a slight "dip" in front. With a stiff brim, this is very difficult to achieve with steam. I found a cold water soak woks more easily. Whatever shape the brim and crown dry in, it will keep from then on.

You can make a fedora out of a Homburg. If you can turn the front brim down, while dry, it will be easier. If you can't, you will either have to cut the brim down, or work for DAYS with a steam iron. If you do the second (ironing) you almost have to accept some "breaks" in the felt. The problem is that the edge binding will not stretch as much as felt. Good luck, whatever you do.

 

[jpdesign]

To turn a homburg into a fedora takes all of 2 to 3 hours, including flanging.

Have the right shackle iron is a big help (I have only seen the one I own).

Jimmy

 

[Feraud]

As others have stated, you will like the Homburg better if it has a slight "dip" in front. With a stiff brim, this is very difficult to achieve with steam. I found a cold water soak woks more easily. Whatever shape the brim and crown dry in, it will keep from then on.

Yep. They look stylish like this -

 

[Edward]

Funny, I was thinknig of that hat while I posted, I remember discussing it a while back. It's certainly an interesting hybrid. I'd love to see one for real, looks like it could be a great hat for wear with a lounge suit.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

Here are a couple of modified homburgs. I have yet to convert all the way to a fedora, but these are an option. As always i believe in the hat owner right to do as he or she wishes with their own hat.

 

[Feraud]

I like what you are doing with the crown Bud. It is hard to argue with success.
Doesn't Mr.H also have a modified homburg? Maybe we can get him to post a pic.

 

[big kahuna]

sell and use the $$$ to get what you want..

I have two neat Homburgs (the '20's 8 1/2 mallory and a '60's Stetson beaver) that were "fedora-ized" at some undetermined point in time. The Steson's brim was too stingy for my taste, and the Mallory's crown is again too tall for the narrow brim. So I had 'em reblocked back to their previous glory, and I wear 'em when I feel like it.

Might as well get what you want and let someone else enjoy the hat in its vintage glory....

 

[Forgotten Man]

Yep. They look stylish like this -

That is a soft brim Homburg... I have one from the 30's... It's not very possible to snap the brim on a stiff brimmed Homburg. I never flip the brim down on mine because, to me it seems like a forced look. I enjoy my Homburgs, I have enough Fedoras in my collection so, why do I need all my hats to look like Fedoras? I'm about having some variety in the collection... you know what I mean?

Hang on to it... you just need to figure out how to wear it.

 

[Feraud]

FM, I see your point about soft and hard brimmed homburgs. It might take an un-necessary effort to get a stiff brimmed homburg to snap down.
A bit of variety is good.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Here's one I did a while back. It is soft, but it was still nearly impossible to flatten the bound brim as much as I wanted. I ended up settling for a smaller "roll" and a Fedora effect. (I'm still not 100% satisfied, but it is wearable.) I only did it because I had a surplus of Homburgs, and I wanted to learn.

 

[Forgotten Man]

The woman in the painting doesn't look as if she approves of the effort. lol

Homburgs are dressier then fedoras... most men in the teens and early 20's wore Homburgs and or Bowler/Derby types.

The reason why the brim is so hard is because they were designed to stay curled in heavy weather and retain their shape; as most hats were designed. Remember, you're trying to re-correct the felts memory to do something it wasn't designed to do. To get the most satisfaction, I'd sell off a few Homburgs and keep an eye out for a few nice Fedoras that you'd put to better use.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Forgotten Man, Something like this?