Hat style advice.

[Yeps]

I have been keeping an eye out for a good deal (read great deal, I have no budget) on a vintage hat, or maybe thinking of getting an Akubra, but I am not quite sure what I should be looking for. Lately, due to seeing some great hats here, I have been thinking about getting an open road style hat (not with a cattleman's crease). Yeah, I know that I ranted against westerns a while ago, but I always go a bit country when the sun comes out.

Anyway, I am curious what y'all think a good hat style would be for me, what brim width and crown height and such.
Here are some quick and dirty photos so you can see my face shape.

And keep in mind that I am very tall and skinny (6'6" 175ish.)

*on a side note... moustache - yea or nay?

 

[Hereward]

Others are more qualified regarding hats but I think the moustache looks fine, In this age of rampant obesity, there's nought wrong with being tall and thin (that about sums me up and I'm the wrong side of fifty).

 

[Yeps]

Others are more qualified regarding hats but I think the moustache looks fine, In this age of rampant obesity, there's nought wrong with being tall and thin (that about sums me up and I'm the wrong side of fifty).

I am perfectly happy being tall and skinny. I just included it in case anyone thought it would be applicable to what hats would look good on me.

 

[Tomasso]

It would help if you would wear a hat (any hat) to give us some perspective. We could then more easily opine as to brim/crown size.

 

[fluteplayer07]

I've heard that the taller the face and profile, the higher of a crown you can generally go. So you can push the crown height a bit more than 5' 8" short me. Maybe 5.5" or even 5.75" on the crown. Personally, I think wider brims go for anybody, at least in relation to stingies. And you have a narrower face, so a wider brim would balance everything out. I wouldn't hesitate on a 2.5" to almost 3" brim for you. But any larger, then it's uno sombrero para al fiesta. At least in my opinion. Anyone else have some other suggestions? Am I totally wrong on the generalizations?

Happy hunting,

 

[Yeps]

Okay. Here are some hat mug shots, as requested, to match the hatless ones above.

My old rather stingy wool felt thing from NY hat co. 2in brim.

My panama from panamabob. Brim 2 1/2" maybe 2 5/8"

My prized St. Regis.

My converted Bailey. The brim is around 2 3/4", but the hat itself is a bit small. I need to try again on the reblocking.

Thanks for the advice so far.

 

[CircuitRider]

With that style moustache I would think any vintage style taller crown Fedoras with a 2 1/2 brim or larger would look good...especially with the Hollywood sloped brim.

 

[Rick Blaine]

From an old text:

 

[fluteplayer07]

Thanks Rick, just what I was looking for! I was half right. Just follow the text; don't listen to me.

Cheers,

 

[Yeps]

So on that chart, would I fall in the long slender face category? I am never quite sure with those things, because the drawings have very exaggerated features.

 

[fluteplayer07]

Yes, I believe you would.

 

[Yeps]

Okay, so according to that I should avoid to tall and straight of crowns and stick to wider ribbons. Maybe I will take its advice and not go for an OR style hat.

 

[fluteplayer07]

Yeah, I was totally off on my tall person/tall crown advice, according to that. Oops. I don't know; looking over all your pictures, they all seem to work pretty well on you. I'd say just keep doing what you're doing. [huh]

 

[zetwal]

To my eye, proportions on hat number two (straw) look best on you.

 

[Aureliano]

IMHO the wool stingy looks the best on you. The bailey convert, with all due respect, is just something I would never wear in its current state. It looks sloppy and makes your very cool style look messy. Maybe Art can block it for you. But that's beside the point. I think the other hats, with larger brims don't suit you as well as the 2 inch.

I'm tall and skinny as well and have realized that having a mustache makes my face look thinner than it already is. Yours, from the pictures, looks thin too. Ever since a friend of mine (now my dear wife of 3 years ) pointed this out to me I dropped the moustache and went for a scruffy look. It made a great difference as it fills my face a bit. Hope you don't mind the comment. Some people tell me that I sound harsh when I write my opinion but know it's not my intention whatsoever. Just trying to be constructive.

 

[Yeps]

IMHO the wool stingy looks the best on you. The bailey convert, with all due respect, is just something I would never wear in its current state. It looks sloppy and makes your very cool style look messy. Maybe Art can block it for you. But that's beside the point. I think the other hats, with larger brims don't suit you as well as the 2 inch.

I'm tall and skinny as well and have realized that having a mustache makes my face look thinner than it already is. Yours, from the pictures, looks thin too. Ever since a friend of mine--now my dear wife of 3 years ) pointed this out to me I dropped the moustache and went for a scruffy look. It made a great difference as it fills my face a bit. Hope you don't mind the comment. Some people tell me that I sound harsh when I write my opinion but know it's not my intention whatsoever. Just trying to be constructive.

Thank you for the honesty.

As to the bailey, it is not worth sending out to be reblocked, and will get more work later. The brim is looking really bad today because I was trying to steam it into a shape that it didn't want to go into earlier, and I haven't gotten around to fixing it, although, it never looks particularly good. At the moment is is basically a rain hat though, so it is not that important.

I have similar thoughts about brim width, but I like my hats to be functional, and the stingy doesn't do much by way of sun or rain protection. It did great to keep my head warm during the snowmaggedon this winter and so will probably live on for winter usage. If you have any thoughts on how I can balance the function verses style there, please help me out.

And as to the moustache, I think that it actually widens my face just a bit, but that might just be my warped view. That and I don't like looking like a member of a nineties boy band. I dug through my computer and found a mediocre picture of me without the moustache. Let me know what you think.

 

[Yeps]

To my eye, proportions on hat number two (straw) look best on you.

That is what I have been thinking lately, so that is generally what I have been keeping an eye out for, but in felt.

 

[fluteplayer07]

And as to the moustache, I think that it actually widens my face just a bit, but that might just be my warped view.

Actually there, I'd have to disagree. I'd say your face looks a bit shorter and rounder without it. At least to me.

 

[Aureliano]

Thank you for the honesty.

You're welcome. I'm glad you didn't take it the wrong way.
I think that you look much better in the pic without the mustache. your faces looks rounder, fuller. It shows a bit of scrub and that suits you well.
Maybe a 2'1/2 brim will work for you. That's what I wear[huh]

 

[Yeps]

Okay, so I was wrong about the moustache making my face wider, the case against it is slowly building, but I will not cave in yet [grins].

I think that I will probably stick with around a 2.5" brim for my next hat and not worry to much about the crown. If it is too tall and straight, I can always bash it some way that looks better.

Thanks for all your help everyone.