Brim up or brim down

[Edward]

I think most often I let the hat decide. I do have a few that work both ways (up or down) but many of my hats make the decision for me.

Yes. I think there is, undoubtedly, an element of personal preference that can be generic, but I think a lot comes down to the hat itself. Colour can play into it in part, but very much so dimensions. I was always a brim down guy, but in more recent years I've come also to appreciate the brim-up look on a very specific style. Typically a 50s-style hat, with a shorter brim (2"-2.25") and a slightly lower c-crown, especially in a lighter shade, looks great with a turned up brim al round. I don't think it works so well with a wider brim (2.6"-3" and upwards) unless you're gonig for a specific Western style like an open road or a Stratoliner. These days moreso the open road (my experience of those models is all with modern production, mind) as, despite its similarities to the Stratoliner, it's in my experience a much stiffer felt, definitely heavier on the Western in the mix, whereas the Straoliner imo leans more into being a dress hat.

I think the answer MAY be this ad....

View attachment 556383



and they elaborate on style and practice here

I instinctively rejected this idea as a reflex, but the more I think about it the more I think it might be right, even if I can't articulate why. Maybe it's because the sort of hats I like the look of, brim up (per above) tend for me to lend themselves more to more casual dress?

I realise that there is no account for taste or rules , but brim up are a frequent feature of the elegant people of a by gone era and not a modern thing only. Duke Ellington (who wore also hats brim snapped down at the front) was certainly one of the most elegant people of his times.

That is the look that I am talking about and I am after with SOME of my hats

It may be that this is predominately a musician thing ( I play although I am not a great saxophone player), but this look Is carried on by many modern musicians too.




click to enlarge if you so wish

I think it might be something that went in and out of fashion too - not unlike having your jeans cuffed. (Which amuses me as I deliberately buy jeans overlong so I can cuff them, which mystifies my dad, who has his tailored to length. Child of the Sixties vs a son who looks to the parent's parents generation for style tips. )

I can't for the life of me remember where I saw it - it may even be aa memory of something I read about on TFL - but there is a film somewhere from the 40s where the male lead likes to wear his hat brim up, and he's teased for it by his slightly-younger date, who insists the fashion "now" is to wear it flipped down.

Whatever people prefer, it's mazing how - I think especially on a brim with a bit of width - it can radically change the look of a hat. See The Big Sleep, where Bogie goes into the book shop in disguise:

Vs:

 

[livelyjames]

Brim up for me 90% of the time…..the only hats I wear brim down are outdoorsy ones.

 

[Who?]

Wear brim up in the rain, and you have an instant birdbath on your head.

It kind of destroys the image of acute coolness.

 

[milandro]

I have a short brimmed Christys Panama which is impossible to wear brim down I also have a Stetson Diamond Raffia which would be possible to wear brim down but would look pretty ridiculous (I have curled the side off the brim even more up than it normally is so that now closely resembles an homburg)

 

[AndyR]

Whatever people prefer, it's mazing how - I think especially on a brim with a bit of width - it can radically change the look of a hat. See The Big Sleep, where Bogie goes into the book shop in disguise:

The Big Sleep. Great movie, great scene. I love his attitude change when he snaps the brim back down. No one did it cooler than Bogie.

 

[AndyR]

I bumped into this older thread and i was wondering how do you wear your hats now? Brim up or down? I mostly wear my brim down for 75%, brim up for 25% depends on the brim width. The smaller brims (about 5cm) i wear brim up. I know @alanfgag wears mostly brim up. What about you?

Thanks for reviving it. As Andy Taylor once told Barney Fife, "I guess down for evenin' and up for day."

I kind of consider 'up' as somewhat of a hipster look these days. I do like it with my Stratoliner, but my wife and dad always tell me to snap it down, so I wear it both ways. My Panama looks ridiculous snapped up for some reason, so I guess it all depends on the hat..

 

[Zombie_61]

...My Panama looks ridiculous snapped up for some reason, so I guess it all depends on the hat..

I'd agree with this--the "depends on the hat" part, that is. For me, if the brim is 2" or narrower, brim up all the way 'round. Brims wider than 2" will usually be snapped down in the front, but that can change depending on my mood. 2-1/2" wide brims and over, snapped down in the front at all times.

 

[AndyR]

I'd agree with this--the "depends on the hat" part, that is. For me, if the brim is 2" or narrower, brim up all the way 'round. Brims wider than 2" will usually be snapped down in the front, but that can change depending on my mood. 2-1/2" wide brims and over, snapped down in the front at all times.

I'll have to experiment with mine regarding brim size and see if it works that way for me. I have one straw with a larger brim that I never wore 'up'. I'll have to see how that looks.

 

[Pellie]

I'd agree with this--the "depends on the hat" part, that is. For me, if the brim is 2" or narrower, brim up all the way 'round. Brims wider than 2" will usually be snapped down in the front, but that can change depending on my mood. 2-1/2" wide brims and over, snapped down in the front at all times.

I think i am in that same categorie!