What to wear with a fedora....

Zoukatron · Mar 6, 2018

Black can be a very awkward colour to work with. If I was to do an office job requiring a suit again, I would most likely wear a charcoal suit with black shoes, but I would certainly be most inclined to wearing a dark grey hat rather than a black one. Lots of people do like their black hats though.

scottyrocks · Mar 7, 2018

I tend to keep earth tones together, and monochromes together, and wear a hat and coat that are significantly different in light and darkness.

So, browns, greens and tans together. Blacks and grays together. But I don't do black hats often - I have just one.

Tan-family pants or coat gets a brown hat and vice versa. Light gray pants or coat get s a dark gray hat and vice versa.

If I wearing a blue coat or trousers, then almost anything goes.

This doesn't necessarily mean, of course, that I won't mix these families occasionally, rebel that I am. haha

avedwards · Mar 7, 2018

Cisco Kid said:
Hi all, new member here, first time poster. I have a question for the forumites about matching, since I have no fashion sense. I have a tobacco colored coat, which is sort of dark tan, and I wonder what colors of hats might go with this coat? Something of the same type color? I do have a tannish fedora. Would a black go with it? How about dark grey? Any other colors? How about a black coat? Black hat? Thanks, and sorry for all the color questions, but I couldn't find these specific ones in my meager attempt at a search, so perhaps it will help someone else as well.

If you're new to hat wearing a grey hat (of any shade) and a brown or tan hat are your best friends. A grey hat will go with nearly everything except certain earthtone combinations. Brown or tan will go with earthtones and some greys and blues.

To answer your specific questions:
1. Your tobacco coloured coat should work with a tan or brown fedora.
2. A grey fedora would be the safest choice for a black jacket. Black hats are a little bit more difficult to match and look good in, so I would recommend avoiding them until you've tried some other hats.

avedwards · Mar 7, 2018

Zoukatron said:
It depends a lot on what type of overall outfit you're trying to put together, and how formal or casual it is. Generally speaking, avoid getting a hat in a similar colour to your coat, unless they match really REALLY closely. If they are similar but not quite a near perfect match, it will look quite wrong. If you were to wear a tan coat with, for example, dark grey trousers, you could go with a dark grey hat that doesn't match as well, because there's a lot more distance between your hat and trousers. A good thing you can do is to match the colour of the hat to your shoes - black shoes with black hat, brown shoes with brown hat. Really depends what sort of outfit you're putting together as to what colours are appropriate though. You can probably find endless videos on youtube that talk about colour and pattern complimenting in outfits.

I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree with this. In my opinion worrying about the colour of a hat being too close to that of your suit or jacket is over thinking things. Providing that the colour of the hat and coat don't clash there is usually nothing to worry about. For example, if you look at my avatar picture you can see that both my suit and hat are dark grey. I don't think anyone could reasonably say that it looks wrong.

There are no doubt endless YouTube videos and fashion blogs about colour and pattern coordination. Some of these may be very useful but others run the risk of causing people to over think their outfits when the purveyors of advice pass off their own opinions and tastes as rules.

scottyrocks · Mar 7, 2018

avedwards said:
I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree with this. In my opinion worrying about the colour of a hat being too close to that of your suit or jacket is over thinking things. Providing that the colour of the hat and coat don't clash there is usually nothing to worry about. For example, if you look at my avatar picture you can see that both my suit and hat are dark grey. I don't think anyone could reasonably say that it looks wrong.

There are no doubt endless YouTube videos and fashion blogs about colour and pattern coordination. Some of these may be very useful but others run the risk of causing people to over think their outfits when the purveyors of advice pass off their own opinions and tastes as rules.

I'd say there is a middle ground here. Too many (as in two) close tans, especially of a lighter variety, can look off. Personally, I think grays are easier to work with.

But either family can be challenging, as colors often have undertones in the mix that can make some colors look pretty queasy together, especially if they are close in color.

avedwards · Mar 7, 2018

scottyrocks said:
I'd say there is a middle ground here. Too many (as in two) close tans, especially of a lighter variety, can look off. Personally, I think grays are easier to work with.

But either family can be challenging, as colors often have undertones in the mix that can make some colors look pretty queasy together, especially if they are close in color.

I'll concede those points. I wear a lot of greys and find that even several grey items of a similar shade can look fine, I don't really wear earthtones so I can't speak from experience there. I just think that the risk of over thinking whether the shade of a hat and jacket are too close is usually greater than the risk of looking bad.

Zoukatron · Mar 7, 2018

I too think grey is easier to work with. The hat in your avatar picture, to my eyes at least (and maybe it is my computer screen) looks different enough in shade and looks really good with the suit. I've worn a lot of almost purely earth tone outfits in the past which didn't have enough contrast and ended up looking bad.

I will say though, I think felt hats have a bit of an advantage here. I usually wear wool flat caps, and it is very easy with them to not have enough contrast because of the similarity of the materials. Felt reflects light differently, so it has more leeway.

DanK76 · Apr 7, 2019

Since it will be summer soon, just wondering ifi it would be appropriate to wear a fedora with a t-shirt. Sorry if this question has already been answered.

Frunobulax · Apr 7, 2019

Sure.

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AbbaDatDeHat · Apr 7, 2019

^^^^what he said.
And i’ll add, under the right conditions, you can wear one with nothing or everything!
B

Zombie_61 · Apr 7, 2019

I'm very much a "jeans and t-shirt" kind of guy and wear my fedoras with them all of the time. Whether or not that's "appropriate" I don't know (and don't really care), but so far no one in this part of the world seems to be bothered by it.

deadlyhandsome · Apr 7, 2019

When casual dress for me was a wool knit tie with a sport coat, I though that fedoras with tee-shirts didn’t look right. I also hated the idea of wearing a homburg with anything less than a suit. After seeing so many others here pull it off and look great, and after a change of jobs where suits etc. were no longer de rigueur, I’ve come to embrace them all worn casually as well as more formally. Wear what you’re comfortable in and maybe just a bit uncomfortable with to test the waters.

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Hurricane Jack · Apr 8, 2019

Members other than newbies will remember the "Tee shirts with thin ribbons only; no wide ribbons rule". We had a lot of fun with that one.

GHT · Apr 8, 2019

DanK76 said:
Since it will be summer soon, just wondering ifi it would be appropriate to wear a fedora with a t-shirt.

You really don't need to ask. Wear whatever you like, with or without a hat. Your life, your money, your choice.

The Jackal · Apr 8, 2019

At this point I don't see that it makes much difference if that's what you feel like wearing.

I've pretty much cycled Tshirts out of my everyday attire in favor of a polo, but really a polo is just a Tshirt pretending to be dressy anyway.

Try it out and see how it feels to you. If you don't like it don't wear it. It doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks of it. Your average passerby won't know the hardline etiquette rules about hats anyway.

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deadlyhandsome · Apr 8, 2019

There are times when I think it’s still important to know the “rules.” If you’re in black or white tie or if you’re in morning dress then know the rules and follow them precisely. That is not the time to get creative or show how much of an individualist you are.

For wear with a tee shirt? You can do whatever you want. I’d stay away from a topper unless your a musician or some sort of artist.

Hang out and see what the fellows here are pairing their hats with and get some ideas. I’d also encourage you to move a bit out of your comfort zone and see if a new style grows on you. I’m personally moving more toward modest sized westerns now in addition to my fedoras and homburgs.

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ruvort · Apr 8, 2019

I'm going to go against the pack and say that you should always try and keep your outfit within the same formality level. Most fedoras, other than thin ribbon or felt ribbon, would be a mismatch with a t-shirt.

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Mustang Mike's Hats · Apr 8, 2019

I wear my straw fedora with jeans and tee shirts, but leave the felt ones for times when I actually wear a shirt. That said, all personal preference in my opinion!

scottyrocks · Apr 8, 2019

As of late I have been wearing bajas over my Carhartt work shirts, and a fedora on top.

Since most bajas are a blend of stripes, often within the same color family (but not always), finding hats that works with them, colorwise, has not been a challenge. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And I don't go for ribbons less than 1.5", so the point of thin ribbons with informal clothing is moot.

Rogera · Apr 10, 2019

GHT said:
You really don't need to ask. Wear whatever you like, with or without a hat. Your life, your money, your choice.

That's the answer

What to wear with a fedora....

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