What is considered a Fedora?

[Mycroft]

What is considered a Fedora? Are Orthodox Jews hats, considered fedoras? Are hombergs considered fedoras? Or is it just a hat with a snap brim, like some dictionaries say? Where do you draw the line?

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Fedoras will sometimes be referred to as Gentelmens Dress Hats.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Fedora: Shapable soft dress hat with slightly curled brim that can be worn up or down.

Homburg: Shapable soft dress hat with a brim that is pencil curled up at the edge.

Bowler: Firm dress hat with open crown and short brim that is curled in sharply at the sides and at the edges of the front and back.

Any questions?

 

[Mycroft]

Yea, I can tell the differnce, but what is the tru distinguesing factor between the fedora and other wide brimed hats?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Read the new descriptiosn and tell me what you think.

The real distinguishing factor that I would use to seperate a fedora from other wide brimmed hats is it's softness. If it is stiff it is a cut down cowboy hat, and if it doesn't have the snap brim then it is just a soft dress hat. I think the thing that make a fedora a fedora are soft felt and a slightly curled brim.

 

[Mycroft]

Thanks alot Matt, though if you are watching a movie, such as Van Helsing, and you see a soft, shapeable hat, is it considered a Fedora, as they say?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Van Helsing was wearing a leather hat. Not felt and the brim was flat with a bit of a sag. I would not consider it a fedora.

More of a aussie slouch hat made of leather.

A felt hat would last longer. The leather would dry out and get brittle, and those hats really really shrink.

 

[Dylanfan]

I don't want to know how literal people want to get but Webster defines it as:
Etymology: Fédora (1882), drama by V. Sardou
: a low soft felt hat with the crown creased lengthwise.
American heritage is the same except adding the brim can be turned up or down. Pretty much as Matt said. Wikipedia has a wider definition. Search e-bay and it is obvious the working definition is more generous. Nice Homburg Matt.
Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Mycroft]

Thank you very much, all of you.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Hey Matt, You look great in the Van Helsing getup.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Hi Matt,

I really like the look of your fedora in the top picture. What is the shape of the crown? Do you have a shot of it?

Thanks.
MKL

I don't think I have a top of the crown shot though I can get one.

 

[MKL]

Yes, Matt, I would very much like to see it, if you can come up with one.
It reminds me of the "clark kent" look. A favorite of mine.
Thanks.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I know the Van Helsing hat is leather because the man who made it is the owner of Baron hats (Marc) and he said it was leather.

The leather I've seen used for hats is usualy thicker and stiffer so the brim does not droop. I've never seen one made out of the same mterial as a leather jacket. It always depends on the tanning process and how you treat the leather over time, though my past experience with leather hats is that they dry out and shrink.

It always depends on the materials used, and your experiences are probably different than my own.

 

[Matt Deckard]

http://www.baronhats.com/vanhel.htm

 

[Victor]

Now Now,
I'm sure that you realize that soon there will ba the "Van Helsing" crowd who will all vie for a perfectly screen accurate Van helsing hat just like the Indy crowd does. There will be several Van Helsing leather jackets that come on the market and all will be scoffed at as not being the "real" Von Helsing jacket. There will be websites dedicated to this and to arguments back and forth as to whether the stitching of the hat is correct and if it has a certain "turn" or the brim is exactly the 4 inches and properly dimensionally cut... You will see.......

 

[Mycroft]

What is the difference between a Tilby and a Fedora, as seen on the James Lock of London website: http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/index.taf ?

 

[jamespowers]

What is the difference between a Tilby and a Fedora, as seen on the James Lock of London website: http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/index.taf ?

A trilby is the English version of the Fedora. As mentioned previously, the Fedora got its name from the play of the same name. The name Trilby comes from another stage production (Trilby) by George du Maurier.
In either case, the soft felt hat gave the wearer a greater control of what the shape of the hat he wore looked like and thus what he looked like wearing it. :cool2:
The crusher is a variation on the fedora in the sense that it could be creased and folded up as a travel hat. These were of lighter felt and have a pliable sweatband or ribbon as a sweatband.
All of this is sort of moot when you consider that the fedora became popular by a twist of fate more than by design. Both World Wars caused a shortage of stiffener (produced from flakes derived from South American Beetles). Therefore the bowler and homburg were in very short supply. People turned to the fedora as a substitute and never went back when they found out how much more comfortable they were to wear---especially for those with odd shaped heads. They gained a greater degree of acceptance for dress and other occassions. This is why we wear the fedora even today. :cheers1:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Mycroft]

Very intersting story about the abandonment of stiffer hats and that the two names for a fedora both come from a play.

 

[Victor]

So no one is eagerly waiting for the upcoming VanHelsinGear.com?

 

[Mr. Sable]

My grandfather was from England and he called his fedora a fedora, but my grandmother (born in Canada, raised by Scots) and mother calls it a Trilby. My mom also used to call them slouch hats and, in the early 80's when I got my first wool Indy fedora, said everyone wore slouch hats just like that during the war.

This is a great thread. Very informative.

Now, what makes a Panama? To me, it looks just like a fedora... but it's straw, right? Is a white felt fedora a panama? Are the hats they still make and wear today in Peru still considered a fedora?

Definitions with pictures always help, folks.