Do you see your Indy hats as "formal" or "casual" hats?

[Torpedo]

Hello,

The title very much says it. This is something of an odd posting, I think...

I have just an Indy hat, an excellent Penman. I find it hard to see it as a formal hat - I use it as a casual hat, and couple it with more casual clothing than I do with other fedoras. It is just that I do not see this hat working, for me, with more dressy clothing - not even sport suit jackets and ties, which is my more usual wardrobe.

Not that is is a problem - I have plenty of hats that I can wear with more formal clothing, is just I find odd this reaction of mine.

I have a couple of brown fedoras which are not that different to this one; similar height, similar brim. My Indy hat has the Raiders style, but, apart from the tight front pinch, it has a centerdent crease which is a very common crease. It has the "turn", but even this is not that far apart from what happens when you put your hat on off center. After all, the Indy hat is a fedora. I mean, it is not the same as, say, a cowboy or a safari hat.

May it be the dimensional cut? This is the only hat I have with this feature. Or that I inconciously fail to dissociate this hat from the adventurer image? It is simply some synaptic disfunction I have?

Any opinions? How do you consider your Indy hat those of you that, like me, are regular hat (fedora) wearers, and have other fedoras too?

 

[Garrett]

To me, the "indy" style of fedora is quite versatile. Also, the color combination and pairing with different clothing can favor "dress" or "casual" - Example: we see that Indiana Jones wears a grey "clipper" for dress/travel but uses the signature dark brown "adventurer" in his rugged outdoor endeavors.

Its really what you wear with it and how you wear it. Works both ways if ya ask me.

 

[citRon]

:arated:

My current 'Indy' incarnation is a Tawny Fed 4. I actually think it's too formal for lack of a better word to wear without a collared shirt, even if just a polo. I also wear it with a suit or sportcoat. I did, however wear my dark brown Indy with a black t-shirt and khaki shorts in the late spring and felt it looked fine. So, I guess the color has a lot to do with it.

 

[avedwards]

I think so long as the suit colour is coordinated with the hat colour it can look formal. For example, a brown, blue or granite grey would probably work, but a black or worse still pinstripe would not work (there should be a law against pinstripe suits with brown hats).

 

[MattJH]

As a very basic rule of my own (and not, necessarily, of the global hat wearer), if the brim isn't bound and the color is a basic shade of brown or grey, then it can be worn with casual clothing fairly effortlessly. A bound brim makes this a bit more difficult, and any non-brown/non-grey hat makes it very difficult.

For my own collection, I typically do not obtain fedoras that cannot be worn casually since the last time I was in a suit was for a wedding.

 

[hollowpond]

Looks good here

Looks good here

 

[RBH]

I would say both.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I would say, provided it is kept clean and all, an Indy hat can be both. It's a classic brown-on-brown fedora, which is the kind of thing that blends with whatever you're wearing. Sort of like the tan trenchcoat. There's no way to go wrong.

I think your feelings are mainly because you associate the hat with the casual adventurer style. I catch myself thinking that way sometimes. But then I put it on with a nice blazer and I remember that it is a true "all occasion" hat!

 

[JohnnyB53]

More than anything, it comes down to your own attitude while wearing it.

Next would be how clean it is and how precise the crease or bash is.

Next is color and the type of bash.

A mid-grey Indy with conservative center crease and front pinch looks fairly formal, but if you have the attitude, you can comfortably wear it with a casual zip-up jacket and no tie.

A dirty, somewhat beaten brown one will easily go with T-shirt and jeans. You'd want to clean it up to wear with a suit or blazer.

My tawny fawn goes with pretty much anything, but really pops with a navy blazer.

 

[jpbales]

I see it as more of a formal hat than a casual one. I suppose it depends on your definition of casual. If it's summer time, and you're wearing shorts and a logo T, it will probably look really goofy. If it's cooler out, and you have on jeans and a coat and non-athletic shoes, it looks fine (which is what I usually do this time of year). I'd say it's a matter of having the right casual/formal clothing that makes you feel like you can pull it off. I wear my gray Fed IV with usually a minimum casualness of a coat and up to as formal as my suit and everything in between. I feel funny wearing it with just a t-shirt- which is where the panama comes into play.

 

[Wolfwood]

I always have at least a short-sleeved collared shirt on me when I have my fedora on, but the shirt's material may be relatively casual grade of cotton. I'd never use it with a t-shirt. During colder weather, I do wear it with rather a casual jacket, as you can see in my avatar pic.

I see no problem combining it with a grey suit or some such, as Indy does in a previous poster's image above. However, with a dark suit, I might choose a black or a grey fedora instead.

 

[filfoster]

Indy hats

I wear vintage fedoras almost daily in cold weather but I think the Indy high crown fedora is too vintage looking to wear to the office. I might (but have not yet) worn it casually, as I prefer the horrible knitted 'baseball cap' or even more anachronistic looking 'newsboy' cap to wear on week end errands. I admire all of you who can get away with wearing it, however.

 

[Thwack]

I have the indy brown Fed IV and I wear it casualy and to the office. I dress a bit more casually then you, no suits just button up shirts and sweaters in the winter and polos in the summer. Infact I wore it to the bar last night.

 

[JohnnyB53]

Yes.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

One more vote for both......

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Define formal for me, and i might have an opinion.

To me, formal would be morning, dinner, or evening dress. (i.e. morning suit - that you would wear to a wedding - tuxedo, or white tie and tails attire) The hat in question would look terrible with each of these combinations, as, probably, would any fedora.

bk

 

[Torpedo]

Define formal for me, and i might have an opinion.

To me, formal would be morning, dinner, or evening dress. (i.e. morning suit - that you would wear to a wedding - tuxedo, or white tie and tails attire) The hat in question would look terrible with each of these combinations, as, probably, would any fedora.

bk

Hello,

Well, I am certainly not referring to those really formal outfits; more to the range between what nowadays tends to be considered formal (or "more formal casual", so to say it), like, say, button-down shirt, tie and sports jacket, and up to, at most, 3-piece suits.

 

[avedwards]

I think Torpedo meant a suit when he said formal. Technically this classes as informal, but few people use these terms properly today (myself included).

 

[Torpedo]

I think Torpedo meant a suit when he said formal. Technically this classes as informal, but few people use these terms properly today (myself included).

That's it, indeed. Times have changed. These days, how many people willingly choose to wear a necktie? I mean, on their own accord, not because it is their company's code of dress. So, for instance, nowadays, the mere fact of wearing a necktie adds an element of formality. So much that, sometimes, this is taken to extremes and wearing a tie is actually discouraged.

 

[Nebraska Schulte]

I've found my Adventurebilt Crystal Skull fedora to be quite versatile, such as for academic conferences (also see my avatar):

Everyday wear:

And out in the field (Ramat Rachel dig, just outside of Jerusalem)

Don't mind my mug too much--I hope these are some good examples of how an Indy hat can work with lots of different styles.

best wishes,
Nebraska Schulte