What makes a dress hat dressy?

[fmw]

I realize people can wear what they want but I'm curious about how we think of hats in terms of application. I would see a bowler, for instance, as something to be worn with a suit and a Kangol cap something to be worn with casual attire. I know these aren't rules. The image below is a Stetson Ashby fedora, a hat I happen to like and am considering buying. I don't need a dress hat. Because of the color, it seems like it would do just fine with casual attire. The black version of the same hat seems dressy to me. Am I off base?

 

[hatophile]

I think black in general is considered a dressy color, although I have seen a black fedora worn nicely with more casual clothing. The color, and style of the fedora I think are what lends it the dressy look. I think of a dark, center dent fedora with a wide ribbon and brim binding as more dressy than a lighter colored diamond thin ribbon hat.

On the other hand, I have seen some Open Road hats look very nice with a suit. Maybe also depends on what you wear with the hat. One of our loungers has a homburg he wears with casual clothing that I think looks very nice.

 

[Wolfwood]

Definitely depends on what you wear with the hat. When I wear a dark blue suit and my brown fedora, it looks very dressy, but it also works with my casual brown jacket and looks far less dressy with that one.

 

[danofarlington]

I realize people can wear what they want but I'm curious about how we think of hats in terms of application. I would see a bowler, for instance, as something to be worn with a suit and a Kangol cap something to be worn with casual attire. I know these aren't rules. The image below is a Stetson Ashby fedora, a hat I happen to like and am considering buying. I don't need a dress hat. Because of the color, it seems like it would do just fine with casual attire. The black version of the same hat seems dressy to me. Am I off base?

That one is fine with casual attire. As to the question in your tag line, danged if I could tell you in advance what makes a hat dressy. I have one Borsalino that is really dressy, meaning that it will only go with a suit, sport coat, or dress shirt. I don't know why that is and couldn't have told you in advance that it would be that way, but it is. Believe me I have tried matching it with other clothes but it just won't go. (I'm ignoring those who maintain that anything can go with anything, because I don't buy that.) My other hats have a range of dressiness. Some of my hats are nothing but casual. Hard to say in advance what specifically makes a hat dressy! Maybe a hatmaker could say. Good question.

 

[gtdean48]

I think style & trim have a lot to do with dressier hatness = a country hat versus a city hat.
A wider ribbon treatment is dressier to me. This hat is a black Open Road with a custom ribbon treatment

Compared to it's thin ribbon self...

A bound edge is a bit more dressier as opposed to a raw edge.
I think welted or mode edges are dressier too.

 

[fmw]

Perhaps even the material from which the band is made makes a difference. Strings, leather etc. would seem to be more casual than a silk ribbon to me. For me straw hats are more casual than felt even though I grew up in Cuba where straw hats were worn everywhere by everyone. So the hat material can make a difference too, I suppose. The hat in the picture appears to meet hatophile's definition except for the center dent. I think it meets mine mostly because of the color. GTdean makes an excellent illustration with the same model done two different ways.

 

[John in Covina]

The image below is a Stetson Ashby fedora, a hat I happen to like and am considering buying. I don't need a dress hat. Because of the color, it seems like it would do just fine with casual attire. The black version of the same hat seems dressy to me. Am I off base?

The fact that the hat does not have a grosgrain ribbon puts it in more of a sporty class.

Black is a formal color and would lend more formality or dressy quality to this design.

 

[Lefty]

a monocle, a sash, and dancing girl

 

[Pompidou]

In my opinion, it's all about the rest of the outfit. I'm willing to bet that the Fedora Lounge could host a party, and nearly any one hat could be proven to be all things to all people. When Neophyte dons the hat, people would say, "Oh, this hat is for adventurers." When say, Mario and Aureliano don the hat, they would say, "This is a hat that movie stars wear." Give the hat to The Good, and discover the generations divided as to the formality of the hat -the modern generation would say, "That is extremely formal," and the older generation would say, "That was fairly casual to me". Bear in mind this is all with the same hat. Everyone can make a hat do what they want. That's why they're handy. Mess with the brim a little, adjust the angle, and it's a whole new deal.

 

[frussell]

Thank you Lefty. Unfortunately, that post might be the highlight of my Friday night.

 

[Tomasso]

GTdean makes an excellent illustration with the same model done two different ways.

Yep, ribbon choice and edge treatment have a great impact on dressiness.

 

[azhiker]

Again, the type of finish has alot to do with it. I was picking out my black Biltmore. I had two hats, basicly the exact same hat..my Biltmore Ark, and a Biltmore Rosellini. Same color, ribbon, etc. The Rosellini had a very shiny Silk finish, so it looks dressier. In fact, I didnt get it, as it was too dressy. Now that beig said, I will probably buy this same hat later, to wear only for very dress occasions.

 

[Fletch]

I think a black ribbon makes for a dressy hat - at least I can't imagine a cazh' felt hat with a black ribbon.

 

[gtdean48]

Thank you Lefty. Unfortunately, that post might be the highlight of my Friday night.

That Marge is a hottie!!!!