Lamentations of the Large-headed!

[CRH]

... We all know that by and large, eBay sellers can't measure worth squat, ...

On the contrary, Sir. eBay measurement are exactly worth squat.

 

[Mr E Train]

On the contrary, Sir. eBay measurement are exactly worth squat.

I stand corrected.

 

[vintage68]

Well I feel your pain: I have a 7 7/8, and even worse a Long Oval shape which is impossible to fit off the rack. Luckily I discovered a great custom guy that sent me a conformer kit years ago and I've been a happy man ever since.

 

[St.Ignatz]

7 5/8 here... I feel your pain!

I'm a puny 7 5/8 XLO. A coworker is a 9 and a fellow than shows up at the cigar store on Saturdays is a 9 1/4. Will a conformer even fit these melon heads.
Tom D.

 

[Wildblue]

I too have a 7 3/4" head. I have pretty much given up on factory made hats since one companies 7 3/4 is not the same as another companies. Although I have to say I have had good luck with Akubras in a size 62. Other than that, I stick with custom made fedoras.

I COMPLETELY agree with this. I wear between a 7 3/4 and 7 7/8, Long Oval. My Stetson Temple 7 7/8R is snug and perfect front and back, but a big gap on the sides. Some hats I buy in "**L" are okay, whereas others are still too small. I've come to find that I can NOT order off the internet or over the phone by size, if I'm not there in the store in-person to try it on, UNLESS there's some sort of very trustworthy customization process, like the hat manufacturer sending hat sizes. Combine this problem, with the death of hat stores today, low inventories, and then add in that I live in Alaska, and you can see why it's almost IMPOSSIBLE for me to find good hats for myself. Heck, I just did a shopping trip in NYC this week, and consider myself lucky that I only found three hats I like!

To show how bad the problem is, last weekend I bought two of the SAME BRAND AND MODEL HAT (Selentino Sterlings) from two different stores, in-person, in NYC. The first I had to buy in 63 or 7 7/8, and then have the store steam it, and put sizing strips in the side to fit right. The second one, the 62 or 7 3/4 molded right to my head when I put it on, and fit perfectly off the shelf. Again, both hats are the SAME HAT. (just different colors) Go figure.

Well I feel your pain: I have a 7 7/8, and even worse a Long Oval shape which is impossible to fit off the rack. Luckily I discovered a great custom guy that sent me a conformer kit years ago and I've been a happy man ever since.

Oh, yeah? Please do tell... what is a conformer kit???

Big noggin hat wearers of the world, unite!!! (perhaps I'll add that as my signature line)

 

[Cane Rod Maker]

A big head here....

I'm a 7 3/4 and I just can't seem to locate any nice vintage lids in my size; and when one does surface, well folks seem to know they got you by the short hairs.

I pretty much threw in the towel looking for vintage; heck for the money I will spend, I can purchase a custom.

As mentioned, Tony B does some really nice work. His attention to detail is evident in his work; his ribbon treatment is unique.

And Art Fawcett also does some really nice work. Both Gentlemen are in the same price range which I feel is very reasonable.

If you got the dough to spend on a lid, I suggest a custom from one of those guys; you will be so glad you did after having recieved it.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[tonyb]

I'm a puny 7 5/8 XLO. A coworker is a 9 and a fellow than shows up at the cigar store on Saturdays is a 9 1/4. Will a conformer even fit these melon heads.
Tom D.

Wow! I don't know of anyone who even has the blocks and flanges to make a hat to fit those guys. What you can do is make a block functionally larger by stretching an otherwise worthless old body or two over it, and then cutting off the brim(s). And increasing a flange's inside circumference is just a matter of trimming away wood. But then the hatter has a flange he'll rarely if ever have another use for.

 

[vintage68]

.


Oh, yeah? Please do tell... what is a conformer kit???

Big noggin hat wearers of the world, unite!!! (perhaps I'll add that as my signature line)

A conformer kit is a gizmo the hat guy sends out to you when you place an order, or you can use the one in the store. It's placed over your head so they can measure not only the size but, just as important, the shape of your head. We all have little bumps and irregularities on our heads and the conformer kit allows for those so you don't get those annoying gaps where the hat band doesn't touch your head. That goes double for us long oval types. Well worth the extra effort to track one down..

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Head ratios

The circumference measurement is simple to take, but doesn't address the round oval, regular oval, and long oval question.

If you take two additional measurements (mid forehead, over the top to where the parietal bone joins with the occipital bone in the back) and from just above the ear, over the top of the skull to the top of the opposite ear, you should be able to calculate a ratio.

Does anyone know the ratio's corresponding to the various oval shapes?

I just took my own measurements:

Circumference: 62 cm
Forehead to back of skull: 32 cm
Top of ear to top of ear: 31.5 cm

If I buy a hat off the shelf, I buy a 7 3/4 LO.

How about some others taking the same measurements so that we can compile a chart for hat sizing that is more complete than the usual circumference-only charts you can find online.

If I get good response, I'll post a chart.

 

[Stoneface]

I got a similar problem with hatsizes.
For maybe 20 years I only wore baseball caps and sometimes hard hats and I only had one baseball cap that was a bit too small - and that was a cool gift from my best friend (a Taz cap...).

I`m relatively tall (1,93 m, 6`4") and so my proportions are stretched - long arms, long torso, and a tall and oval head (which is also the reason for my glasses and need for braces in my youth).

Circumfence: 59 cm (L)
Forehead to back of skull: 40 cm
Top of ear to top of ear: 36 cm

Without hat I look like this:

(I am the walrus!)

With my Mayser Fedora (L) on I look like this:

But only because I cheated and lifted the crease a bit with the top of my hat.

If I would wear it properly and wouldn`t lift the crease it would look more like a porkpie hat:

Even more obvious with my new Scippis Byron (XL because they are a bit smaller than other hats) which has no crease:

In the summer it`s no problem but when it get`s colder and wet in autumn I guess it`s not very comfortable.

 

[Zemke Fan]

See the classifieds for 7.75 hats for sale

Loungers have until 9:00 pm (EDT) to buy these from me from 10% off the eBay price. Auctions go live at 9:00 pm. ALSO, loungers get unconditional guarantee less shipping (both ways).

Link is here: Melon-Size Fedoras and Newsboy Cap for Sale

 

[MattJH]

I'm a 7 5/8 LO. I understand, I really do. After years buying and selling hats, though, I've come upon a Stetson Whippet, Stetson Stratoliner, Stetson Sovereign, MacLachlan, Dobbs Golden Coach, Knox Foxhound, Adam Executive, Champ Featherweight, Herbert Johnson, Brooks Brothers, Lock & Co., Crofut & Knapp, and multitudes of other quality vintage hats (including two bowlers) all between 7 5/8 - 7 3/4. Persistence pays off! I purchased the Herbert Johnson (7 5/8) and Adam Executive (7 5/8) for under $30 shipped each. True story. You have to be diligent, thorough, and most of all, patient.

As far as Akubra sizing, at 7 5/8 LO, I would purchase a size 62 after reading this thread if I had never owned an Akubra. As it were, the size 61 fits me perfectly. I have two Federations, both size 61. It's going to vary from person to person whether to size up or down. The only way you'll know? Throw caution to the wind and order one, preparing for the potential necessity of returning it for the next size down/up. We've all been there. It's nothing. Good luck!

 

[MattJH]

the 24" circumference puts it at 7-5/8, but chances are the measurement is not precise anyway - pity there's no tag.

I'll be honest; even with a tailor's measuring tape, I still can't measure internal circumference. I'll use paperclips to hold it on, and even so, I'll come up with three different measurements three different times (albeit within 0.25" every time, so I'm not totally haphazard about it!). It's annoying, but I can especially see how sellers without hat experience get this wrong nearly 100% of the time. That specific type of measurement is awkward, and when reviewing auctions, I don't rely on it even a little bit. If there's no size tag, then I don't now the size and neither does the seller, period, end of auction.

 

[scotrace]

There's a pretty great *Blanked* right now. Search:

*Blanked*fedora



*no affiliation

PLEASE DON'T DO THAT. It is the same as linking to a live auction, which is prohibited.

 

[Wojo]

9 1/4!!!! I'm a 8 1/32 and thought I would have to get one of those orange hats from The Home Depot>

 

[marshack]

I am another 7 3/4 with an extra long oval head. I also have the challenge of needing my hat to "sit down" at least 4.5" on my head to fit properly. I can't tell you how many times I "pop" the crease by putting my head into a standard 7 3/4 hat.

With all that said, I have worked with Art Fawcett and he made me a hat that fit perfectly. He uses a conformer that generates the exact shape of your head. He can even make a "block' from the conformer (for purchase) that you can insert in the hat when its not being worn to ensure it keeps its shape.

Art's a great guy and he'll make a great hat for you. Once he get the shape of your head from the conformer he saves it for future hats you may be interested in as well.

Good Luck

 

[RichardH]

I am another 7 3/4 with an extra long oval head. I also have the challenge of needing my hat to "sit down" at least 4.5" on my head to fit properly. I can't tell you how many times I "pop" the crease by putting my head into a standard 7 3/4 hat.

With all that said, I have worked with Art Fawcett and he made me a hat that fit perfectly. He uses a conformer that generates the exact shape of your head. He can even make a "block' from the conformer (for purchase) that you can insert in the hat when its not being worn to ensure it keeps its shape.

Art's a great guy and he'll make a great hat for you. Once he get the shape of your head from the conformer he saves it for future hats you may be interested in as well.

Good Luck

I´m also another 7 3/4. I just bought my first fur-felt fedora the other day; A Stetson Saxon (from delmonico) . Fits like a glove!
I could probably wear a size 60 / 7 1/2 , but that would be pretty tight.

I wore a size 7 1/8 beret when I served in the army though, but it sits completely different on yer head though. Like this :

(Not me in the picture, but the beret is the same one as mine.. GO CAVALRY! )

 

[150719541]

Now I am so glad, my size is 60 (7 1/2) or 61 (7 5/8) ¡¡¡¡¡

 

[jmak]

Gents,

I've read as many big head threads as I could find, but everyone is talking about their woes suffering through life with a 7-3/4 or 7-7/8 hat size. Unfortunately, for me things aren't so simple. My head is at least an 8 or 8-1/8, if not 8-1/4. I have recently fallen for the idea of having a proper hat, and I am genuinely in love with the stingy fedoras I have seen at Penman hats and other places. I'm not deadset on having to have a stingy brim, as many of you have pointed out that it is useless for keeping the sun at bay. My biggest worry buying a hat over the internet is that it wont fit comfortably, and for prices that range between 150 and 1000, I'm not interested in the gamble. John at Penman seemed optimistic that he could order up a block and create a masterpiece for me, but I'm afraid that I'll go to the expense and he'll go to the effort and the hat wont fit comfortably or it will look odd on me. Where can a giant headed fellow try on a hat? If I have to wait until I can go to Chicago to visit Optimo or somewhere else, I'm going to be really really sad. I'm in the mid atlantic, and I'd be okay with a day trip here or there if anyone knows of a destination hat store that would maybe have a few hats I could try on so I can get an idea of what works with my face/frame and what size and shape are comfortable for me. Baltimore? Philly? Richmond? Washington DC? Atlantic City? If anyone knows of any place, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for your input.

Jeff

 

[casechopper]

If you truly are a size 8 1/4 I doubt many stores would have much in your size to try on. Maybe you could try a cheap straw sunbody hat to see how a certain size fits you. That way you'd know your size without spending a great deal of money? They have some hats in sizes 8 and 8 1/8. http://www.sunbody.com/index.cfm