Your thoughts on a ribbon

[thunderw21]

I bought a modern fedora today and want to customize it a little. It is black with a black ribbon, 2 1/2 inch wide brim, 5 inch high crown. The ribbon is a little over an inch wide. Looks like this but in black:

I want to replace the black ribbon with something a little more distinctive, something that contrasts and stands out a bit without being loud or annoying. I'm thinking about adding a light gray ribbon somewhere in the area of 2 inches wide. That being said, do you have any thoughts on what would be a good ribbon color and width for a black fedora with a bit of distinction? I'm open to anything (well, almost anything ). Blues, grays, greens, let's hear what you think.
Thank you.
Billy

 

[s7eng]

My thought would be match it with what you want to wear it with. I.E. if you have a green suit go with green.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Black is tough - any lighter color ribbon might look really michael jackson 80's. What you could do is keep the black ribbon, but add a spot of color to the bow - something like what Art has been doing on a lot of hats recently. A stripe of red, or gray, might look nice.

But just changing to a wide 2" black ribbon and bow might increase the interest.

Joel

 

[Lorne]

Alternative

You could also leave the ribbon alone, and add some color to your hat with a hat pin, feather, or other decoration...


Lorne

 

[ideaguy]

Looks and sounds like you've got a classic hat-how about getting it cleaned,
blocked, and go with a slightly narrower ribbon-2", and add a matching wind
trolley?

 

[Dinerman]

I'd go with a dark grey ribbon, like on this. I like that look.

 

[duggap]

Just a guess

Unless I am mistaken, your hat looks like a Borsalino Como. If it is I would think hard about changing the ribbon because the one on it looks quite nice. That whole hat looks very, very good. Good luck what ever you do.

 

[thunderw21]

Thanks for your input all. I picked up a yard of ribbon...it's white. The reason is (1.) the store didn't have any gray or other nicely colored ribbon and (2.) white produces a vivid contrast against the black that will go well with my two tone (black/white) wingtips. The ribbon itself is 1 5/8 inches wide and fits the hat well.
I've been working on attaching it as of late. The only problem with this is that the crown tapers thereby creating slack at the top of the ribbon while the bottom is tight against the hat. After several attempts I've been able to get as little slack as possible. The bow itself is coming along nicely but it is slow going. It's taken me about 3 hours and I'm am about 3/4 of the way finished. I don't have a camera here at school but I will take pics of it when I'm at home.
One other thing, I'm afraid this color combination will make people think "pimp hat" (some of my black friends already call my vintage fedoras "pimp hats"). How does it this combo strike you? Flashy? Zoot suit-ish? "Pimp-ish"? I like it and that's the important thing, I think it looks classy. And it's meant to be a little odd.
Here's what it looks like (without the feather):

Thanks,
Billy

P.S. No, it's not a Borsalino Como. Looks similar though. I got this one for $15 at a local men's shop. Thought it would be fun to experiment with it since I already have two vintage hats like it. [huh]

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Yep - pimp hat. Saturday Night Fever also comes to mind.

 

[Fatdutchman]

Should we call your Sugar Daddy, or Huggy Bear?lol Ah, well, at least it's not a fuzzy hat...

I would have gone with a dark gray ribbon about 1 1/2" - 1 3/4" wide. Definitely a bit less "holy cow!" factor.

On the other hand, put on a dark gray or black suit, black shirt and white tie, and the black and white hat would be sharp....very Mafioso! You'd look like somebody with a name like "Kneecaps Manetti".lol

 

[MissHuff]

The contrast is, as Joel put it, a bit Michael Jackson-ish. Not that it's a bad thing. I like the hat. That slack in the ribbon can be taken care of by cutting the ribbon at a diagonal. Nice hat.

 

[thunderw21]

Hey, everyone needs a good pimp hat, right?