First post, asking for first hat

[phoenixx]

Hi,

Kinda new here, fell into this forum via another one sepaking of clothes in general.
I'm french, medecine student, and want to buy my first fedora.

I mostly wear informal clothes : t-shirts, often vivid (but plain), shirts (white, sky blue for the most), jeans or chinos. As for jackets, I wear either a classic, kinda dark grey one, or a black trench, or nothing.

So I'm looking for a hat I could wear at all occasions. I don't plan (yet) to have more than one.

So far my choices are the Akubra Fed IV in grey or the Fedora in moonstone.
About sizing, should I pick it true to size or size up ? (I think my head is kinda oval, see the pictures)

Here're pictures of me so you can give some advice about which to choose.

Thanks !



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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[scottyrocks]

Measure around your head with a tape measure. If you are at all in between sizes, go the size up. Its better for the hat's sweat to shrink to fit you than trying to stretch out a slightly too small one. Use Hatsdirect.com's sizing chart to help you determine your hat size, or better yet, call them if you want one of their hats specifically.

 

[danofarlington]

Hi,

Kinda new here, fell into this forum via another one sepaking of clothes in general.
I'm french, medecine student, and want to buy my first fedora.

I mostly wear informal clothes : t-shirts, often vivid (but plain), shirts (white, sky blue for the most), jeans or chinos. As for jackets, I wear either a classic, kinda dark grey one, or a black trench, or nothing.

So I'm looking for a hat I could wear at all occasions. I don't plan (yet) to have more than one.

So far my choices are the Akubra Fed IV in grey or the Fedora in moonstone.
About sizing, should I pick it true to size or size up ? (I think my head is kinda oval, see the pictures)

Here're pictures of me so you can give some advice about which to choose.

Thanks !

You look like a wide-brim guy to me. That Akubra ought to be a good start. I don't have one myself, but they look good in the pictures and certainly get a lot of enthusiasm from the messages I read here. I don't know about the sizing. But brim size to me is a major thing to keep track of when considering new acquisitions. Then, crown height. The Akubra is an Indiana Jones hat meaning a high crown. Other hats have a lower crown, so you might want to explore that sometime. Finally, a more casual dress-down hat with a decent brim and relatively high is a vintage Stetson Open Road or a clone. Those seldom fail. You can see those pictured all over the place on the FL site to see if it suits you.

 

[phoenixx]

Thanks for you answers !

The Stetson looks too much cowboyish fo me though, i'd really like more a classic fedora shape.
I don't want to look like Indy either, hence the gray colour, or the other "Fedora" model. But I can't say I like the "Fedora" ribbon, I prefer the Fed IV one.

 

[danofarlington]

Thanks for you answers !

The Stetson looks too much cowboyish fo me though, i'd really like more a classic fedora shape.
I don't want to look like Indy either, hence the gray colour, or the other "Fedora" model. But I can't say I like the "Fedora" ribbon, I prefer the Fed IV one.

Well, now you've got some ideas fixed and can go from there. It's helpful to have parameters to eliminate many possibilities, otherwise you'd be at sea for quite a while. You can go the vintage hat route for style ideas and save some money, and at the same time search around for new hats. But eventually you have to try them on to see how they work on you. One bad thing about buying virtually every hat on the Internet is that you can't try them on before you buy them, whereas in a store you can try everything on before the purchase. But, in a store selection is always limited, so that's their disadvantage.

 

[RBH]

Welcome to the Lounge!!!
Enjoy you stay, and I hope we hear more from you!

Get an Akubra Campdraft....

 

[phoenixx]

Well, I don't like the bound edge, and find the ribbon to be a little thin.

To clarify and sound a little cliché, I like the hat Bogie has in Casablanca.

 

[elvisroe]

I'd say Bogart's hats would be a pretty good model for you.

There's a few charts around showing what works best with different face shapes. Off the cuff I'd suggest you try on a few fuller crowned hats before pulling the trigger on a Fed IV. The blocky crown doesn't always work with a longer face, but then you can bash that out of it to a certain extent.

Best thing you can do is get into a hat shop and shamelessly "play" with their hats. Take your time and see what you feel most comfortable in.

Think too about where you want to wear it. I have several fuller crowned, broader brimmed hats but, against my original instincts, mostly get around in a stingy as it suits my urban lifestyle [huh] I can wear it casually with a tee and jeans without making too obvious a statement.

 

[Thunderbolt]

Sounds like you could use a Stetson Chatham.
http://www.millerhats.com/stdress_index/stetsondresshats.html

 

[phoenixx]

Stetson Chatam is fine, but I can have a custom-made hat for $200 from a guy near where I live (Paris, France). So it seems a little too "in-between" price-speaking.

And there isn't any shop in Paris that sells Akubras, that I can reckon...

Elvisroa what are you saying by "fuller crown" and "blocky crown" ? Are you saying the crown would be too high, and to few tapered ?

As for the stingy part, well, I don't wanna look like guys I see in the streets with half-inch brim hats ; but I guess there's a margin between this and a wide brim.

So I narrowed to Akubras "Bogart" or "Fedora" ; I like the ribbon from Bogart more, but the open crown and no bound edge from Fedora more.

 

[Jabos]

Welcome to the Lounge. My first hat was a Campdraft and I love it, but the Fed IV is an all around great first hat too. I agree it is easier to put a piece of felt in the sweat band to size down rather than to have to stretch out a hat that is too small. Please post pics when you get your first. It won't be your last.

 

[Hereward]

$200 for a handmade hat would be too much temptation for me I think. Perhaps I need to pop over to Paris sometime soon?

 

[phoenixx]

Here's the website :

http://www.dbm.tm.fr/

Make it more around 250, but still...

 

[elvisroe]

Elvisroa what are you saying by "fuller crown" and "blocky crown" ? Are you saying the crown would be too high, and to few tapered ?

As for the stingy part, well, I don't wanna look like guys I see in the streets with half-inch brim hats ; but I guess there's a margin between this and a wide brim.

So I narrowed to Akubras "Bogart" or "Fedora" ; I like the ribbon from Bogart more, but the open crown and no bound edge from Fedora more.

The Federation IV and the Campdraft have much fuller crowns that most hats, which is what attracts most people to them, but you've got to have the right shaped head to really pull off that look. As i mentioned, there is a great little chart floating around the lounge somewhere with suggestions of which goes with what.

The general rule though seems to be that a shorter broader face suits a fuller, squarer hat, while a long thin face is best complimented by a lower more tapered crown. Of course you can just bugger the rules and wear what you like!

I think you're on the right track with the Bogart and the Fedora. From what I've seen the Fedora seems to have a little bit more crown and being 'open' is easily modified. I've got a brown one on my Christmas list!

As for the stingies - I feel the same way about the majority of "fashion hats" around but find that people recognise a good quality felt as a cut above.

All the best with you choice!

 

[Hereward]

Thanks for the website Phoenixx. Stretched my French somewhat but I can get by with reading it at least.

 

[Yeps]

I found the chart with the guidelines. Take it all with a grain of salt, but it will help you narrow down your search.

 

[zetwal]

Best thing you can do is get into a hat shop and shamelessly "play" with their hats. Take your time and see what you feel most comfortable in.

I agree that for choosing general style and color this is indeed the single best thing you can do. Once you decide on color, brim and ribbon width it's just a matter of choosing the brand and ordering that hat. This hands-on approach will greatly increase the chance that your initial purchase will yield something that you will actually feel good about wearing. When it comes to figuring out what looks and feels good on you, here is nothing better than actually seeing oneself a variety of hats.